FFSA: Galaxy Strengthen Finals Claim

Luca Cetta

Adelaide Blue Eagles 1-4 Adelaide Galaxy

Adelaide Galaxy strengthened their finals aspirations with a 4-1 victory over Adelaide Blue Eagles in Round 15 of the Devine Super League at Marden Sports Complex on Saturday.

A spot kick from Tom Briscoe and goals to Evan Metanomski and Shaun McGreevy gave the visitors a commanding 3-0 lead before Chad Bugeja managed to pull a goal back.

But, after a red card apiece Briscoe converted his second penalty of the match to put Galaxy close to cementing a top five position.

Galaxy’s John Fusco said that while the score-line may have flattered his side, they were the better team on the day and can take a lot from this result.

“It was a great game for us, but perhaps the score was flattering in the end,” he said.

“They hit the post but I think we created greater chances and were better on the day. We don’t want to get carried away, they are a good side and we have a tough run coming up, but on our day I think we are competitive with all teams.”

Blue Eagles Coach Vojo Gluscevic lamented his side’s missed opportunities during the second half.

“We were down at half-time but in the second half we played good and created chances. At 3-1 we hit the post and it was just disappointing,” he said.

Galaxy looked most likely to open the scoring early on but McGreevy saw his point-blank effort kept out by Blue Eagles goalkeeper Gino De Lucia.

The visitors did break the deadlock via the penalty spot just after the half-hour as Evan Kounavelis was adjudged to have handled inside the area.

Briscoe stepped up and while De Lucia got a hand to it, he was unable to keep the shot out.

Six minutes later Metanomski extended Galaxy's lead, rising above the rest to head truly from a corner.

Blue Eagles came close to getting themselves back into the match just before the break but were denied by the post.

McGreevy looked to have sealed the result ten minutes into the second half as he raced away on a Galaxy counter-attacker to slot the ball past De Lucia.

However, direct from the kick-off Blue Eagles had a lifeline as Fortunato Filletti’s cross was met by Bugeja.

With the score 3-1, the hosts struck the woodwork for the second time, as Galaxy also failed to put the game to bed.

Michael Doyle saw his effort cleared off the line and Jake Markham forced a save out of De Lucia from a tight angle.

Both sides were reduced to ten men in the space of a minute when Galaxy's Kodi Madeley was dismissed for a second bookable offence in the 78th minute, before Nicholas Bucco received his marching orders after a last-man foul which gave Galaxy their second penalty of the match.

Briscoe again found a way past De Lucia, but for the second time the veteran custodian got a hand to it.

The best three for Galaxy were Madeley, Briscoe and Doyle. For Blue Eagles, Bugeja put in a solid performance and was assisted by Kym Harris and Ian Kamau.


Modbury 2-1 Para Hills

Modbury defeated local rival Para Hills 2-1 at Jet Park on Friday night to boost their chances of avoiding relegation.

Fighting for local bragging rights and the Micky Dye Cup, Rhys Townsend gave the visitors a half-time lead only for Brandon Pirone to draw the Jets level. Chris Dean grabbed the three points minutes from the end.

Todd McSorley, Matt Kelly and match-winner Dean were Modbury’s best players while Alex Mullen, Townsend and Tom Blackett were Para Hills top performers.


Croydon 0-0 Western Strikers

Croydon and Western Strikers played out a 0-0 draw at Polonia Park on Saturday.

The result sees Western Strikers leapfrog Blue Eagles in the battle for third spot on goal difference ahead of their meeting in Round 16 as Croydon secured a valuable point in their fight to avoid the drop but still sit second-last on goal difference.

Alemayo Kebede, captain Michael Papacharalambous and Matthew Heirn were the standouts for Croydon as Ambesager Sium Yosief, Jordan Spadavecchia and Andreas Weins were all impressive for Strikers.


Campbelltown City 1-1 MetroStars

MetroStars temporarily moved into first position on the Devine Super League ladder as they earned a 1-1 draw with Campbelltown at Steve Woodcock Sports Centre on Saturday.

Matthew Deegan gave Campbelltown an early lead but Ivan Karlovic hit-back in the second half to see the ‘Stars go above Adelaide City on goal difference.

Captain Michael D'Aloisio was the Red Devils best, joined by Nicholas Green and Toby Nelson. For MetroStars, Jackson Groves, Scott Tunbridge and Karlovic were the top three.


Adelaide City 1-1 Raiders

Adelaide City maintained their one-point lead atop the Devine Super League table with a 1-1 draw against Radiers.

Metro had edged ahead of City on goal difference over the weekend but the result sees the defending champions return to the summit.

Ricardo Da Silva opened the scoring inside the opening quarter hour as City went into the break a goal to the good.

Nik Kuzman equalised for Raiders in the final 15 minutes to help salvage a deserved point.

Raiders are a point clear of the relegation zone.

POS		TEAM	P	W	D	L	For	Agst	GD	FF	PTS
1		Adelaide City	15	11	3	1	40	14	26	0	36
2		Metro Stars	15	11	2	2	39	12	27	0	35
3		Western Strikers	15	8	2	5	22	13	9	0	26
4		Adelaide Blue Eagles	15	8	2	5	20	19	1	0	26
5		Adelaide Galaxy	15	6	4	5	22	23	-1	0	22
6		Campbelltown	15	4	3	8	12	19	-7	0	15
7		Raiders	15	4	2	9	19	25	-6	0	14
8		Para Hills	15	3	4	8	11	21	-10	0	13
9		Croydon	15	3	4	8	10	22	-12	0	13
10		Modbury	15	3	2	10	17	45	-28	0	11