Round 13 National Premier League Preview - Adelaide City v Croydon Kings
Adelaide City v Croydon Kings
South Australia National Premier League Round 13
When: Friday, May 16th. Kick-off 7:30pm
Where: Adelaide City Park, Corner Fosters Road & Hilltop Drive, OAKDEN
Teams:
Adelaide City: M. Acton, J. Allwright, P. Blefari, N. Bucco, N. Budin, S. Day, M. Halliday, T. Love, J. Mori, M. Mullen, L. Ostbye, A. Rideout, A. Sunasky, V. Talladira, S. Tobias
Croydon Kings: J. Brazzale, D. Christison, N. Farrell, D. Gazettas, M. Kamara, L. Klimek, S. Mcgreevy, J. Panagaris, C. Pepe, F. Rinaldo, F. Violi, R. Visconte, A. Wiens
Form:
Adelaide City: W W L
Round 10: Raiders 0-2 Adelaide City, Croatian Sports Centre
Round 11: Adelaide City 3-0 West Torrens Birkalla, Adelaide City Park
Round 12: Campbelltown City 1-0 Adelaide City, Steve Woodcock Sports Centre
Croydon Kings: D W D
Round 10: Croydon Kings 4-4 White City, Polonia Reserve
Round 11: Cumberland United 1-2 Croydon Kings, A.A. Bailey Reserve
Round 12: Croydon Kings 0-0 West Torrens Birkalla, Polonia Reserve
Preview:
With three points separating them, the South Australia National Premier League Round 13 clash between Adelaide City and Croydon Kings at Adelaide City Park on Friday night is set to be a thriller.
In Round 12, Croydon were held to a goalless draw by West Torrens Birkalla, while Adelaide City suffered a 1-0 loss against Campbelltown City.
Croydon dropped from third to fifth position, three points ahead of seventh-placed Adelaide City, who slipped out of the top six after last week’s loss.
The two sides met just last week in the semi-finals of the Coca-Cola Federation Cup, with reigning champions Adelaide City prevailing as 3-1 winners to book their place in the final.
Adelaide City’s Nick Budin said a win against Croydon is very important after last week’s loss.
“It was disappointing to lose, we had such a good run including the cup games since we copped it from White City,” Budin said.
“We all worked hard and everyone did their job really, it’s just unfortunate that we couldn’t penetrate the goal enough to score.
“We need the points, we’re not in any position to drop points like we did on the weekend. It’s only halfway through the season but it doesn’t matter, we do really need to get back up in the top six.
“We’ve got Croydon then West Adelaide in the league, we need six points out of these games, there’s no question about it.”
While Budin admitted that last week’s win over Croydon does give them confidence going into Friday’s clash, he said it will be a totally different game.
“Go back to when we lost to Blue Eagles in the league and then beat them in the cup. Cup games are totally different to league games.
“We’re confident in how we play, but we were just unfortunate on the weekend. We just need to do more in our final third, which we are working on and hopefully we’ll show it on the weekend.”
Croydon captain Luke Klimek spoke about the importance of coming away with a good result Friday night.
“It’s very important for us to get a result; we’re definitely looking to get the three points against Adelaide City,” Klimek said.
“It was a disappointing result last week so we’re looking to bounce back.
“We’ve had a good week on the training tracks, we had a good training session on Thursday, so I think we’re definitely ready for Friday night.”
Klimek said that last week’s semi-final loss has not been playing on Croydon’s mind.
“We spoke about the Semi Final after last Wednesday night, but we haven’t spoken about it at all this week.”
A win for Adelaide City will see them leapfrog Croydon, whereas a win for the visitors could elevate them as high as second place.
Saturday May 17
Adelaide Blue Eagles v Raiders
3pm - Whyalla Croatia Park, McDouall Staurt Avenue, WHYALLA
Cumberland United v Para Hills Knights
3pm - Gambier Centrals Soccer Club, 89 Bishops Road, MOUNT GAMBIER
South Adelaide v MetroStars
3pm - O'Sullivans Beach Sports Complex, Galloway Road, O'SULLIVANS BEACH
West Adelaide v Campbelltown City
3pm - Adelaide Shores Football Centre, West Beach Road, WEST BEACH
White City v Western Strikers
7pm - Frank Mitchell Park, 55 Minnis Street, WOODVILLE WEST
West Torrens Birkalla v Adelaide Comets
7:30pm - Roxby Leisure Centre, 1-15 Richardson Place, ROXBY DOWNS
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