R11 Wrap: Adelaide Blue Eagles v MetroStars

Kym Harris gave Adelaide Blue Eagles a quick return to the winner’s circle, as his second half strike was enough to down Metrostars 1-0.

It wasn’t the most pleasing of games for spectators, with the wet conditions hampering both sides from executing their pass-reliant playing styles that have got them into the top half of the PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia.

It looked as though Harris and the rest of the Blue Eagles forwards left their shooting boots at home on the day, with the ball going high or wide nearly every time they lined up a shot. It was much of the same for the visitors too, unable to capitalize on the chances they did manage to create.

A draw looked to be on the cards heading into the dying stages of the second half, but the deadlock was finally broken on 80 minutes after Harris’ namesake Adam played his brother through, the forward making no mistake as he fired low into the far corner.

Metro substitute Terry Theodorou provided the visitors with an attacking spark, linking up well with Perry Mitris. A nice one-two was worked by the pair, culminating in a teasing delivery into the box from Mitris, but it evaded the outstretched Andrew Orphanou.

However, the home side manage to hold on for a bounce back victory. 

Blue Eagles captain Chris Annicchiarico was pleased to walk away with the three points in a hard fought battle.

“It was a tough ninety minutes given the conditions and playing a top quality side in MetroStars, but I thought the boys performed quite well; we created some terrific chances and I thought we kept the ball well in stages of the game, so I’m very happy with the result and the performance.

“We created a few chances that we could’ve put away, but unfortunately the conditions were quite difficult and we weren’t able to capitalize, but that’s football and that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Annicchiarico added that the win will provide the side with momentum in their hunt for the premier’s plate.

“It’s quite tight at the top, West Adelaide are three points ahead of us and Birkalla are one point behind us, so we’re looking to build upon our result and close the gap on West Adelaide.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Metro Coach Michael Pirone was disappointed that his side were unable to get anything out of the contest.

“I’m extremely disappointed with the result; I thought we played reasonably well in the first half, but that second half was nowhere near up to the standard required to win games.

“I was disappointed with the amount of turnovers we had, particularly in the midfield. That ultimately cost us the game. You can’t keep guys like Kym Harris to 2 or 3 chances because he’s going to score one of them.

“At the end of the day we just couldn’t do enough to win, now we just have to focus on next week.”

Article by Brendan Simpkins

 




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