R17 Preview: Adelaide Comets v Raiders
PlayStation4 National Premier Leagues South Australia
Round 17: Adelaide Comets v Raiders
When: Saturday, July 9 2016 at 7 PM.
Where: SA Athletics Stadium, Marjorie Jackson Nelson Drive, Mile End South.
Teams:
Adelaide Comets: 2. Guy Miller, 4. Zachary Hristodoulopoulos, 5. Kingsley Francis, 6. Jack Bladen, 7. Evan Kostopoulos, 9. Steven Grelli, 10. Christopher Pepe, 11. Andreas Wiens, 13. Peter Eleftherakis, 15. Oliver Zafiridis, 17. Zakariah Waters, 18. Theo Balomenos, 19. Luke Colalancia, 21. Alexander Woodlands, 22. Allan Welsh, 23. Davide Zerillo, 25. Harry Keramidas, 33. Dyan Newall, 99. Kevin Mbuti
Raiders: 2. Mason Robinson-Norwood, 3. Andrew Tamburrino, 4. Paul Karittevlis, 5. Matthew Mullen, 6. Pietro Piantedosi, 7. Alex Cosmidis, 8. Michael Paleka (C), 9. Mario Marcinko, 10. Justin Bralic, 11. David Carosi, 12. Jake Mccabe, 13. Deale Chamberlain (GK), 14. Shekubah Hutton-Addy, 16. Thomas Sosa, 17. Yasmin Sudic, 19. Fuma Kido, 20. Zack Doyle, 21. Mislav (mimi) Saric, 24. Michael Marchi, 37. Vasilios Tryfopoulos
Adelaide Comets: L L W
Round 15: Adelaide City 4-2 Adelaide Comets, Adelaide City Park.
Westfield FFA Cup Qualifier: Adelaide Comets 0-1 MetroStars, Coopers Stadium.
Round 16: Adelaide Olympic 2-4 Adelaide Comets, Elite Systems Football Centre.
Raiders: L L L
Round 14: Raiders 1-4 Croydon, Croatian Sports Centre.
Round 15: West Adelaide 2-1 Raiders, Adelaide Shores Football Centre.
Round 16: Raiders 0-4 Adelaide City, Croatian Sports Centre.
Cellar-dwellers Raiders will be looking to break their four game losing streak when they face Adelaide Comets in Round 17 of the PlayStation4 National Premier Leagues South Australia at SA Athletics Stadium this Saturday.
The Gepps Cross-based side was at the end of a 4-0 drubbing by ladder leaders Adelaide City last weekend, but Raiders captain Michael Paleka says the score line didn’t reflect the team’s performance.
“Last week, we were actually not too bad,” Paleka said,” I don’t think the score actually reflected the full game.”
“It was up until about the 70th minute mark, until we conceded the second goal, we were very much so in the game – we were defensively sound.
“I think we just ran out of legs towards the end.”
Going through a four game losing streak, the youthful Raiders team is doing its best to remain positive.
“We’re still trying to remain positive,” Paleka said, “It’s been a tough season for us, all year.”
“The four losses in a row hasn’t (sic) really changed much, in regards to what our results that have happened throughout the year.
“We’re still trying to remain very positive.
“We’re still looking at an opportunity with six games to go.
“If you can get the results within the actual six games, then there is an actual hope of avoiding relegation.”
As he has been doing throughout this season, Paleka is expecting another tough encounter, this time against the Comets on their home ground.
“Comets, like any game for us, isn’t going to be an easy game,” he said.
“Good thing for us: we beat them in Round 1, so we can take that as a positive into the game.
“So, we just need to concentrate on our game, that’s the main thing.
“They are obviously looking for a top three finish and we are looking to avoid relegation.
“There is a lot on the line for both teams.”
The Comets will be looking for consecutive wins when they host the Raiders, after last week’s 4-2 win over Adelaide Olympic.
Midfielder Davide Zerillo on the last week’s win:
“We spoke all week, after the disappointment of losing the grand final,” Zerillo said.
“We spoke about how we, you know, use that experience and try and turn that into a positive, and really, from now on, just build – build on that.
“So, certainly last week was a good step in the right direction.
“I thought we did what have to do to get the win.
“Olympic to their credit, played a good game, but we took our chances and we got them.”
Zerillo spoke further on the disappointing 1-0 loss against MetroStars in the Westfield FFA Qualifying Final:
“It was very disappointing,” he said.
“A lot of us were saying that we haven’t been that disappointed after a game for a long time.
“So, a lot of players felt quite disappointed and upset with the result, because you don’t want to ever lose a grand final.
“I guess it was an opportunity missed, so you know, we’re just trying to regroup, and full attention now goes to the league.”
And the Comets’ full attention will be at Raiders this weekend, and despite their opponents sitting last and going through a four game losing streak, Zerillo will not take them lightly.
“Just because they are bottom, it doesn’t mean anything really,” he said.
“For them, it’s pretty much - the last five, six games of the year - for them it’s pretty much grand finals every week.
“So, they are going to come out – we expect them to come out firing.
Written by Christopher Munker
Comments
Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.