Adelaide City v Adelaide Comets
PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia Round 23

When: Saturday, July 25^th. Kick-off 3pm
Where: Adelaide City Park, Corner Fosters Road & Hilltop Drive, OAKDEN

Teams:

Adelaide City: 2 M. Acton, 7 J. Allwright, 11 N. Bucco, 19 B. Corbo, 9 A. Costa, 8 E. El Wali, 12 L. Farquhar, 5 M. Halliday, 16 G. Kolopelnyk, 13 N. Mauriello, 17 M. Mittiga, 18 J. Mori, 6 M. Mullen, 20 J. O'Donnell, 3 A. Sunasky, 14 F. Suzuki, 4 S. Tobias, 1 R. Veitch

Adelaide Comets: 16 G. Aslanidis, 32 J. Daly, 6 M. Daly, 5 P. Eleftherakis, 2 Z. Hristodoulopoulos, 7 E. Kostopoulos, 8 D. Makridis, 19 D. Signoriello, 1 J. Solari, 4 M. Tesema, 15 S. Tesfagabr, 14 S. Warner, 23 D. Zerillo

Form:

Adelaide City: W W L

Round 20: Port Adelaide Pirates 0-4 Adelaide City, Pirate Park
Round 21: Modbury 1-2 Adelaide City, Jet Park
Round 22: Croydon 2-0 Adelaide City, Polonia Reserve

Adelaide Comets: L L W

Round 20: Adelaide Comets 3-4 Campbelltown City, SA Athletics Stadium
Round 21: West Torrens Birkalla 4-0 Adelaide Comets, Jack Smith Park
Round 22: Adelaide Comets 2-1 Raiders, SA Athletics Stadium

Preview:

Both Adelaide City and Adelaide Comets can shape their end of season destiny in Round 23 of the PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia at Adelaide City Park on Saturday.

Adelaide City saw a four-game winning streak come to a halt against Westfield FFA Cup Qualifying Final nemesis Croydon, the 2-0 defeat leaving it sitting sixth.

Defender Matthew Mullen admitted it was a damaging loss.

“It was disappointing on our behalf. We had talked about the importance of starting well and we did the opposite. Croydon took advantage of that. We came to play, but things didn’t happen and frustration built,” he said.

“It was a huge loss. We thought with results going our way a top two spot was possible. Now the aim is to get as many points as possible in the remaining matches.”

The Black and Whites have much to play for in the final four rounds. Their first aim is to keep seventh placed MetroStars, currently four points behind, at bay.

Adelaide City demolished Comets 8-1 earlier in the season, but Mullen says that match will have no bearing on this weekend’s contest.

“We have a tough run home. All teams have something to play for, so the aim is to consolidate our position in the top six.

“No team has dominated this season, anybody in the six could win it and we think if we are there and play to our ability, then we can go far.

“We had a huge win against them. Yet we’ll put that behind us because Comets are a decent side. However, if we play our game we believe we can get the points.”

Adelaide Comets picked up a much needed 2-1 victory over Raiders last week. Goals from Evan Kostopoulos and Samuel Tesfagabr ended a seven-match losing run.

Domenic Signoriello called it an important win.

“I thought it was a scrappy game. However, we took our chances and defended well to get the points,” the mid-season signing stated.

“It was a very important win. Teams below us had been picking up points and we went in level with Raiders, so it was good to create a buffer to those sides.”

Comets had been in danger of sliding towards the relegation fight. Currently eighth on 27 points, they are now four clear of the drop zone with four matches remaining.

They face two relegation threatened sides in South Adelaide and White City, while also meeting finals contenders West Adelaide. Before that, however, is Adelaide City.

Signoriello says it will be a tough end to the campaign, but the group remains positive.

“We face teams fighting for the top six and some fighting for survival in the League. So it will be difficult.

“The mood is pretty good. The win gave us a much needed confidence boost. We are confident we can get the points required to stay up.

“Adelaide City are always tough. It will be a difficult game and they will put us under pressure. We need to stay compact and then take our chances.”

Article by Luca Cetta - @l_cetta