Croydon jumped to second spot with a 3-0 victory over West Adelaide in Round 20 of the South Australia National Premier League at Polonia Reserve on Saturday.

Andreas Wiens opened the scoring just before half-time, with Shaun McGreevy adding to the advantage after the interval. Wiens made the game safe with his second of the game shortly after.

Croydon’s Rocky Visconte said an improved second half showing helped them over the line.

“The first 45 minutes were even, both teams had opportunities. In the second half we got over West, put them under pressure and put our chances away,” he said.

“[Coach Mark] Brazzale said to us the performance was not good enough and that in the first half-hour nobody was switched on. He reminded us of what we can do.

“It’s a big win. We knew we needed to get the points to go into second and now we have another big one against Adelaide Blue Eagles next week.”

West Adelaide Coach Paul Pezos says the goal just before the interval changed the game.

“Our first half was quite good, then we dropped off after the break. The boys were up for the challenge, but the goal hit us at the wrong time. We tried to regroup, but credit to Croydon as they were disciplined and hurtful up front,” Pezos noted.

“Taking your chances is always important, because in this league you always face good teams. If you don’t, they can hurt you.

“A loss is always disappointing, so now we have to bounce back.”

The Kings took the lead just before the interval when McGreevy cut the ball back for Wiens to finish past Lewis Moss in the West Adelaide goal.

Visconte’s corner was met by the head of McGreevy to extend Croydon’s advantage just past the hour mark.

They made the points safe shortly after in a move which had Visconte and Chris Pepe involved and Wiens slotting home the finish.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Adelaide Comets ran away against 10-man Campbelltown City to win 5-1 at Santos Stadium.

Michael Matricciani brought the Red Devils level early in the second half, only for a red card to change the contest and open the door for four additional Comets goals. Davide Zerillo scored twice, with Samuel Tesfagabr, Elias Demourtzidis and Kosta Christofilos also on target.

Raiders reignited their finals flame with a 1-0 success against Para Hills at The Paddocks.

Daniel Pritchard scored the only goal of the game to see Raiders in with a chance of qualifying for the top six, while the Knights failed to steer clear of the drop zone.

MetroStars continued on their merry way, enjoying a 3-0 win over Western Strikers at Carnegie Reserve.

It was the league leader’s ninth straight win, brought about by Perry Mitris’ double – taking his season tally to 18 – and Scott Tunbridge’s strike. They hold a four point advantage, while Strikers are two from safety.

Adelaide Blue Eagles erased a half-time deficit to defeat West Torrens Birkalla 4-1 at Jack Smith Park.

Tom Dittmar gave Birkalla the lead, but Calvin Mbarga ensured he sits alongside Mitris atop the scorers chart by netting a hat-trick. Sheku Saccoh also scored, as Blue Eagles now trail Croydon only on goal difference.

Cumberland United and South Adelaide could not be separated, the match at A.A Bailey Reserve ending 1-1.

Dylan Torr gave the Panthers the lead in the second half, however a late Jack Schoen equaliser moved the Foxes to within two points of safety.

Adelaide City climbed to sixth spot thanks to a 2-0 win over White City at Frank Mitchell Park.

Joel Allwright and Alex Rideout were on target as the black and whites finally took advantage of slip-ups above to take possession of a finals place and at the same time dent the Warriors aspirations.