Reigning champions Croydon Kings were held to a 1-1 draw against ladder leaders Adelaide Blue Eagles in the round 4 fixture of the South Australia PlayStation4 National Premier League at Polonia Reserve on Saturday night.  

The Kings took the lead in the 70th minute through Michael Doyle with the Blue Eagles equalising in the form of goal-getter Kym Harris with seven minutes to spare.  

Croydon Captain Luke Klimek was sent off in added time for a second bookable offence.  

Croydon goalkeeper Nicholas Munro says that the draw was a fair result.  

“I think it was a pretty even contest,” he said, “Both sides had a couple of chances, but I think a draw was a reasonable result.” 

“We would’ve liked to have held on after going up 1-0, but I think a draw was a pretty fair result.” 

Blue Eagles goal scorer Kym Harris wasn’t too happy about the result, but was satisfied about the way his team played on the night.  

“Look, we only got the point with just a draw,” he said,” But we were happy (about) how we played.” 

“I think on another day, we probably could’ve gotten three points.  

“But going down 1-0 late in the game, I mean, (we’re) quite happy to get the draw in the end, but we’re disappointed we didn’t take three points.” 

The match kicked into gear in the second half after an uneventful opening 45 minutes that saw no serious threat on goal by either team.  

The Blue Eagles played with high intensity, constantly pressurising Croydon’s defence, which held firm but often failed to play the ball from out the back, which led to stray passes and long balls to the wings.  

In the 55th minute, the Blue Eagles threatened the goal with a stinging curving free kick that was saved by Munro.  

Eleven minutes later, a hard-hitting Harris drive was blocked by a Croydon defender, which appeared to have had Munro beaten.  

However, four minutes on, the Blue Eagles fell behind, against the run of play:   

A Rocco Visconte corner was nodded towards the right hand post, where Blue Eagles Keeper Michael Catford failed to properly clear the ball, which eventually landed at the feet of Michael Doyle, who managed to scramble the ball over the line.  

The equaliser occurred soon after, seven minutes before the break, when the ball landed at the feet of Harris on the edge of the box, who quickly turned his marker to strike the ball into the back of the net to collect his seventh goal of the campaign.  

Two minutes before full time, the Blue Eagles almost snatched the win, when a powerful drive struck the Croydon post with the rebound landing at the feet of Harris, who standing within the six yard box, but was unable to push the ball past Munro.  

A minute into added time, Croydon Captain Luke Klimek was sent off for a second bookable offence.  

The draw sees the Blue Eagles remain in top spot on goal difference, whilst Croydon drop to fifth place.  

Article by Christopher Munker