Adelaide Blue Eagles v Port Adelaide Pirates
PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia Round 13 

When: Saturday, May 16^th. Kick-off 3pm
Where: Marden Sports Complex, Lower Portrush Road, MARDEN 

Form: 

Adelaide Blue Eagles: L W D 

Round 10: West Torrens Birkalla 3-1 Adelaide Blue Eagles, Jack Smith Park
Round 11: Adelaide Blue Eagles 1-0 MetroStars, Marden Sports Complex
Round 12: Raiders 1-1 Adelaide Blue Eagles, Croatian Sports Centre

Port Adelaide Pirates: W L W

FFA Cup Qualification Round 2: Port Adelaide Pirates 2-1 Raiders AET, Pirate Park
Round 12: Port Adelaide Pirates 0-4 MetroStars, Pirate Park
FFA Cup Qualification Quarter-Final: Sturt 2-3 Port Adelaide Pirates, Adelaide Shores Football Centre

Preview:

As Adelaide Blue Eagles aim to keep pace with the leaders, Port Adelaide Pirates are hoping to claim a major scalp when the sides meet in Round 13 of the PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia at Marden Sports Complex on Saturday.

Blue Eagles are currently third following a mixed run of results. A 1-1 result against Raiders last time out means the Marden club sits five points behind leaders West Adelaide.

Yet coach Gianluca Lagati is generally pleased with how the season has progressed.

“Our performance against Raiders was not the best. We came up against a very good team and did not play too well,” he admitted.

“We started fantastically this season, lately we have slowed a little bit. But I’m happy. The club has done well, I have a good squad. Last year we struggled a bit at the back, but this season I am happy with how we are going defensively.

“It’s a high level of competition this year, so there are no easy games. Overall it has been positive.”

In the previous meeting this term, Blue Eagles fell to a thrilling 5-3 defeat in Round 1 of Westfield FFA Cup Qualifying.

And Lagati does not believe having a week off is much of an advantage.

“The Cup match was unbelievable. From a goal up at half time we conceded four so quickly. I still don’t understand what happened!

“That match showed you can’t think you are better than the opposition. Mentality is so important. You must be focused each game.

“I don’t think having a break is an advantage. After we played MetroStars we stopped and then drew with Raiders. If you don’t play for a week you need time to get up to speed again.”

Port Adelaide fell to a 4-0 loss in its last League game against MetroStars, yet recovered in midweek to advance to the last four of FFA Cup Qualifying with a 3-2 win over Sturt.

Coach Derek Hall was thrilled to continue what has been a positive return to the top flight.

“We played very well and scored some good goals. It was tough in the second half, but we are delighted to get through to the last four,” the coach said.

“We are pleased with how we have travelled so far. It’s a new experience and we’ve held our own. The players have been great and we’ve got another half of the season to do even better.”

The ninth-placed Pirates have won just one game out of five against the current top six this season. While they can also count the FFA Cup win over Blue Eagles, Hall believes it will be a different game this weekend.

He also stressed the Pirates relish the challenge of facing the state’s biggest clubs.

“They’ll be strong on their own ground. But we’ll go there and play our usual game. What we’ve learnt so far is we have held our own against all sides.

“We love to play the big clubs; we wanted to be promoted for games like this. It’s wonderful to take on the likes of Blue Eagles.

“I don’t think us having a game in midweek will be much of an issue in terms of fatigue.”

Article by Luca Cetta - @l_cetta