Adelaide City v Campbelltown City
South Australia National Premier League Round 25

When: Saturday, August 9th. Kick off 3pm
Where: Adelaide City Park, Corner Fosters Road & Hilltop Drive, OAKDEN

Teams:

Adelaide City: R. Veitch, M. Acton, J. Allwright, P. Blefari, N. Bucco, M. Halliday, T. Love, M. Mittiga, M. Mullen, L. Ostbye, A. Rideout, A. Sunasky, S. Tobias

Campbelltown City: M. Graham, J. Halliday, J. Handley, N. Harpas, S. Harvey, T. Hatzis, M. Matricciani, T. Mcsorley, G. Pacillo, M. Paleka, V. Parhas, O. Totani, R. Townsend

Form:

Adelaide City: D W W

Round 22: Cumberland United 1-1 Adelaide City, A.A. Bailey Reserve
Round 23: Adelaide City 1-0 Raiders, Adelaide City Park
Round 24: West Torrens Birkalla 0-2 Adelaide City, Jack Smith Park

Campbelltown City: W L W

Round 22: Western Strikers 0-2 Campbelltown City, Carnegie Reserve
Round 23: Campbelltown City 1-5 MetroStars, Steve Woodcock Sports Centre
Round 24: Raiders 0-2 Campbelltown City, Croatian Sports Centre

Preview:

Adelaide City and Campbelltown City have it all to play for in their South Australia National Premier League Round 25 clash at Adelaide City Park, with the sixth finals spot still up for grabs.

Both sides scored 2-0 away wins last round, with Adelaide City beating West Torrens Birkalla and Campbelltown knocking off Raiders.

Adelaide City sit in sixth place, just three points ahead of reigning champions Campbelltown City with two games remaining.

Adelaide City midfielder Shane Tobias said the team is well prepared for Saturday’s match.

“We need to work a bit harder and put pressure on higher up the ground so they don’t get into dangerous positions,” Tobias said.

“We’ve just prepared as we have before. We’ve got ourselves ready and focused on what we need to do.

“We haven’t really focused on them too much because I think we’ve got enough talent to get us over the line.”

With the Westfield FFA Cup clash against Western Sydney Wanderers coming up on Tuesday night, Tobias admitted it has been difficult for Adelaide City to focus solely on Campbelltown.

“Campbelltown is our next game, so that’s what we are focusing towards,” he said.

“Sunday morning we’ll wake up and then we’ll start focusing on Western Sydney, but until the game finishes on Saturday, the focus is well and truly on the Campbelltown game.”

Campbelltown defeated Adelaide Blue Eagles 2-1 in the 2013 SA NPL final, but a loss on Saturday would effectively end their 2014 campaign.

Red Devils captain Vas Parhas said it was very important for his team to maintain its structure on Saturday.

“I think Adelaide City’s movement off the ball is fantastic, so I think for us, if we remain structured across the park, we’ll give ourselves a good shot at maintaining control of the game,” Parhas said.

“It goes without saying that we play to win championships and we’re going into this game thinking that we’re going to play finals.”

Parhas said his side was relaxed and looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s been a really good week on the track. We’ve worked really solidly, we’ve increased our intensity and we’ve worked a lot on our structure,” he said.

“We know it’s going to be a very physical game, but there is a sense of excitement around the place because these are the types of games you look forward to playing.”

Campbelltown City defeated Adelaide City 1-0 in Round 12 earlier this season.