Salisbury United v Port Adelaide Pirates
NPL State League Round 25

When: Friday, July 25th. Kick-off 8pm
Where: Steve Jarvis Park, Decimal Rd, SALISBURY NORTH

Teams:

Salisbury United: A. Bullock, H. Cardle, J. Foat, Y. Jamal, C. Mcdevitt, M. Menechella, S. Monteleone, P. Naayirata, S. Orange, A. Pompey, A. Taye, L. Vallelonga, H. Vukic

Port Adelaide Pirates: G. Agalidis, I. Carmody, J. Coley, A. Costalos, R. Gray, Y. Koulocheris, N. Krznaric, M. Mastropaolo, J. Mavromatis, E. Nash, S. Parkinson, D. Pearce, J. Skeffington

Form:

Salisbury United: D W W

Round 22: Adelaide Cobras 2-2 Salisbury United, Adelaide Airport Stadium
Round 23: Salisbury United 3-0 Sturt Lions, Steve Jarvis Park
Round 24: Seaford Rangers 0-1 Salisbury United, Karingal Reserve

Port Adelaide Pirates: D W W

Round 22: Port Adelaide Pirates 1-1 Northern Demons, Pirate Park
Round 23: Port Adelaide Pirates 1-0 Adelaide Cobras, Pirate Park
Round 24: Sturt Lions 1-2 Port Adelaide Pirates, Adelaide Shores Football Centre

Preview:

In Round 25 of the NPL State League, Salisbury United host Port Adelaide Pirates in the battle of first and second on Friday night at Steve Jarvis Park.

Salisbury hold a two-point lead over Pirates, while Adelaide Olympic are 10 points adrift in third position.

Salisbury have not lost in 14 games, winning 1-0 away against Seaford Rangers in Round 24.

However, Salisbury’s last loss was against Pirates back in Round 10, with the second-placed team snatching a 5-4 win at Pirate Park.

Salisbury coach Rocky Aloisi said his side was very focused on the game.

“The boys have got to be positive in what they’ve been asked to do and they’ve got to be on their toes,” Aloisi said.

“They know it’s a big game and they know they’re playing against a quality side, even though we’ve got quite a few injuries.”

In their previous meeting, Salisbury came back from 4-1 down to tie the game up at 4-4, only to concede a last minute penalty.

“The boys were pretty disappointed that night. Not a lot has been spoken, but it’s in the back of their mind,” Aloisi said.

Pirates are without a loss since Round 19 and, like Salisbury, scored an away victory last round, defeating Sturt Lions 2-1.

George Agalidis of Pirates said the team added in an extra training session this week to work on specific match day situations.

“We’re ready to go, we’re well prepared, we’re in good form at the moment and we’ve got most of our squad back, so we’re looking forward to a good game tomorrow night,” Agalidis said.

“Considering the stage of the season we’re in, three points is absolutely vital, not just tomorrow night, but for every game in the run until the end of the season.”

Agalidis believes their home win against Salisbury would give them additional confidence going into Friday night.

“We produced a very good display of football for the most part of that game and we lifted considering the occasion and quality of the opposition,” he said.