R22 Preview: Adelaide Comets v Raiders
Adelaide Comets v Raiders
PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia Round 22
When: Saturday, July 18th. Kick-off 3:00pm
Where: SA Athletics Stadium, 145 Railway Terrace, MILE END
Teams:
Adelaide Comets: 16 G. Aslanidis32 J. Daly6 M. Daly5 P. Eleftherakis2 Z. Hristodoulopoulos7 E. Kostopoulos8 D. Makridis10 Y. Nakaki30 D. Newall12 E. Ramos19 D. Signoriello1 J. Solari4 M. Tesema15 S. Tesfagabr14 S. Warner17 Z. Waters23 D. Zerillo
Raiders: 3 I. Baragomwa23 A. BoccaccioGK D. Chamberlain14 H. Fombason8 M. KamaraRGK S. Kamara10 E. Kamsoba11 P. Karittevlis19 F. Kido6 C. King5 A. Manocchio16 M. Marcinko12 J. O'Doherty15 J. StephensRGK V. Tryfopoulos
Form:
Comets: L L L
Round 19: Adelaide Blue Eagle 2 v 0 Adelaide Comets, Marden Sports Complex
Round 20: Adelaide Comets 3 v 4 Campbelltown City FC, Santos Stadium
Round 21: West Torrens Birkalla 4 v 0 Adelaide Comets, Jack Smith Park
Raiders: L L W
Round 19: Raiders 0 v 3 Port Adelaide Pirates, Croatian Sports Centre
Round 20: Modbury Jets 4 v 2 Raiders, Jets Park
Round 21: Raiders 3 v 1 Croydon Kings, Croatian Sports Centre
Preview:
Adelaide Comets will try to rectify their season after a string of losses as they host Raiders at SA Athletics Stadium in Round 22 of the PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia this Saturday.
The Mile End side is currently undergoing a seven game losing streak, the last defeat being a 4-0 demolition at the hands of league leaders West Torrens Birkalla.
Given the situation, the mood is relatively good at Comets as Davide Zerillo explained.
“I guess it’s never a nice feeling to be losing but we’re certainly trying to keep our spirits up and working hard at training to try to change recent results.
“But the mood is good and everybody is trying to keep their head up and their confidence up, and be positive.
“We’ve got five games left and it’s really important that we get maximum points from all of them.”
However, Zerillo cannot pinpoint the exact cause of the seven game losing streak that he and his team mates are currently going through.
“It’s been a mixture of all sorts of things,” he said, “there’s been a few changes, injuries, players coming and going, and I guess some confidence (issues).”
“It’s been a mix of things that lead to it, but I guess we got to turn it around as soon as we can.
“We got no choice!”
With Raiders, Comets do not only meet a competitor that just sits ahead of them in the standings on goal difference(8th place)but also a team that’s high on confidence since their 3-1 win over Croydon in the previous round after being taken over by new coach Joel Porter.
“I’ll guess it’s a very important game for both teams,” Zerillo said.
“I’m sure both teams will be going into it like it was a mini grand-final.
“For both of us, there is really no choice but to get maximum points. So we got to treat it like a mini grand-final.”
Zerillo’s Raiders counterpart, Jackson Stephens, agrees on the importance of the match for both teams but goes on to explain what sort of positive effects a win would have on the team for the remainder of the season:
“Firstly, obviously coming off a high against Croydon we want to know that it wasn’t just a fluke and that we got some team structure that can be a continuing sort of thing,” Stephens said.
“So a win in that sense is very important, but also the fact that we need confidence going in the last four games of the season.
“We’ve got to play against Blue Eagles, Adelaide City, some of the top teams in the league.
“So, obviously a bit of momentum; everyone feels a bit better after a few wins and everyone feels more confident.
“So that’s very important for us going into the last four games to hopefully get some results in those games as well.”
Stephens further on the importance of the match:
“Basically it’s a six point game really,” he said, “every game is a six point game for us at the moment.”
“Especially against them (Comets) to bridge a bit of a gap between them, it’s extremely important obviously.
“To play against a team like Comets that sit on the same points as us; to gain a three point bridge against them is massive.
“But also we’ve got teams that are breathing down our necks as well.
“Then I think there’s also a lot of the bottom side playing each other this weekend.
“So points will be gained and lost, so it will be a real opportunity for us to gain some points this weekend.”
Article by Christopher Munker
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