FFSA: Campbelltown ease relegation fears

Luca Ceta

Campbelltown City 3-1 Modbury

Campbelltown secured an important victory against Modbury Jets in their Round 13 Devine Super League relegation showdown at Steve Woodcock Sports Centre on Saturday.

Modbury took the lead through Adrian Giacomelli, but the Red Devils hit back with goals from Paolo Beltrame, Raff Frisina and player-Coach Jason Trimboli.

Domenic Signoriello said Campbelltown knew it was a significant match but while it was a relief to secure the points, he does not want to look too far ahead.

"I think we knew what was at stake and realised we better start getting wins on the board if we want to be playing Super League next year," he said.

"There was a mixture of joy and relief at getting the win, which was made all the better since we had a lot of players missing. Everybody put in more effort and we were able to put our chances away."

"There are five games to go, we could sneak into the five or be in the relegation battle come seasons end. We will just take it one game at a time."

In a closely-fought first half, it was the Jets who struck first after ten minutes with Giacomelli’s shot from just inside the box slotted beyond despairing keeper Les Pogliacomi.

The hosts waited only two minutes for the equaliser as Beltrame received a pass and from outside of the penalty area struck an unstoppable shot past Modbury keeper Paul Reilly.

The Red Devils created the better chances, with Matthew Deegan spurning a one-on-one with Reilly, who was equal to the task.

Trimboli then headed on to the cross bar for the league’s lowest scoring side as both camps went into the break with a goal each.

Campbelltown finally took the lead in the 72nd minute with Frisina grabbing his first of the season. Working the ball down the left-hand side, Frisina made himself available inside the area, controlled a pass and placed his shot expertly past Reilly.

As Modbury made a late push for the equaliser, gaps appeared in their defence, allowing Trimboli to net his side's third in injury time.

It was the first time this season Campbelltown had scored three goals in a match and the first time since the opening round they had scored more than once.

Best on ground for the hosts were Deegan, Toby Nelson and Nicholas Green while the Jets were led by Anthony Solagna, Todd McSorely and goal-scorer Giacomelli.


Western Striker 4-1 Adelaide Galaxy

All five goals came in the second half as Western Strikers crushed Adelaide Galaxy 4-1 at Carnegie Reserve on Saturday.

The visitors took the lead within five minutes of the restart through Jake Markham who clinically dispatched his half volley into the bottom corner, before Calvin Mbarga equalised with his 12th goal of the season.

The Cameroon goal-machine pounced inside the six-yard box smashing the ball into the back of the net after a goal-mouth scramble.

Callam Flanagan put Strikers in front minutes later, looping a header over Ryan Veitch in the Galaxy goal after an inch-perfect cross from man-of-the-match Ambesager Yoseif.
Substitute Stephen McNeill sealed the result for Strikers with an explosive double.

In almost identical finishes, McNeill picked out the bottom corner from outside the area leaving Veitch little chance on both occasions.

Best for Western Strikers were Yosief, Flanagan and Jordan Spadavecchia, with Veitch the standout for Galaxy.


Adelaide Blue Eagles 3-1 Para Hills

Adelaide Blue Eagles recovered from a goal and man down at half-time to defeat Para Hills 3-1 at Marden Sports Complex on Saturday.

Alex Mullen gave the Knights a second minute lead, with Tony Hatzis’ red card making it an uphill battle for Blue Eagles. They hit back with a double from Kym Harris either side of a Chad Bugeja penalty.

Harris was joined by Damien Di Mella and Dean Kendrick as the top three players for Blue Eagles, while Ben Moore, Simon Catanzaro and Mullen were Para Hills best.


Croydon 0-3 Raiders

A first half blitz from Raiders gave them a 3-0 win against Croydon at Polonia Park on Saturday.

Nik Kuzman was on target with a brace and Ben Tarabar made sure of the points minutes before half-time, scoring against the side he left last month.

Raiders move above the Kings and away from the relegation zone.

Best on ground for Croydon was Ermias Tekle, Dion Gazettas and captain Michael Papacharalambous.

For the triumphant Raiders, Dan Atkins, Kuzman and Scott Weidenbach were impressive.

POS		TEAM	P	W	D	L	For	Agst	GD	FF	PTS
1		Adelaide City	12	11	1	0	38	10	28	0	34
2		Metro Stars	12	9	1	2	30	7	23	0	28
3		Adelaide Blue Eagles	13	7	2	4	16	15	1	0	23
4		Western Strikers	13	7	1	5	21	13	8	0	22
5		Adelaide Galaxy	13	4	4	5	16	22	-6	0	16
6		Campbelltown	13	4	2	7	11	17	-6	0	14
7		Raiders	13	4	1	8	18	21	-3	0	13
8		Para Hills	13	3	3	7	10	19	-9	0	12
9		Croydon	13	3	3	7	10	20	-10	0	12
10		Modbury	13	2	2	9	12	39	-27	0	8