FFSA: Blue Eagles reclaim third as Strikers see red

Luca Cetta

Western Strikers 0-2 Adelaide Blue Eagles

Adelaide Blue Eagles reclaimed third position on the Devine Super League ladder after a 2-0 win over nine-man Western Strikers in Round 16 of the Devine Super League at Carnegie Reserve on Saturday.

A close match was settled by a second half Kym Harris double as Jordan Spadavecchia and Calvin Mbarga both saw red for Strikers.

Blue Eagles Coach Vojo Gluscevic said his side dropped psychologically after the red cards and that third place is still up for grabs. He also believes the Coca-Cola Federation Cup final between the two sides will be a different match altogether.

"I thought we played better against eleven men," he said.

"Against ten, then nine, we mentally thought it was easier and slowed down. We are third, but nothing is settled just yet. As for the (Cup) final, this game does not make much difference for that match; it will depend on the day itself."

Western Strikers Coach Aldo Maricic saw a positive performance from his side despite the player disadvantage and believes it will be a good learning curve for the finals and Coca-Cola Federation Cup final.

"Blue Eagles were probably superior before the first red card," he said.

"After that we got better as we reorganised. After the second red card we attacked but in the end they finished their chances and we were not able to."

"This match is a good learning curve for the finals. It also gives us confidence for the Cup final because we showed we can play well."

Strikers had the best opportunity of the opening exchanges, with Mbarga one-on-one with Gino De Lucia, but he was denied by the veteran goalkeeper.

The first red card arrived just before the half-hour mark, as Spadavecchia was deemed to retaliate and foul his opponent, being shown a straight red card.

Ten minutes into the second half and Blue Eagles won a penalty. Ambesager Sium Yosief brought down Fortunato Filletti and Harris blasted the resulting spot-kick high into the corner.

Strikers went down to nine men mid-way through the second half with Mbarga the second Strikers' player to be dismissed.

Harris had a chance to extend the lead but saw his one-on-one effort kept out by Strikers' 'keeper Takumi Takahashi.

Blue Eagles striker Nicholas Bucco was denied on a counter-attack by Takahashi as midfielder Evan Kounavelis also found the shot stopper difficult to beat.

Strikers did not give up but as they chased an equaliser late on the inevitable gaps appeared at the back. Harris found himself through on goal and was able to slot his strike past Takahashi to seal the three points in injury time.

The top three players for Western Strikers were Chahine Noujaim, Adrian D’Alfonso and captain Michele La Stella. For Blue Eagles, Christopher Atsikbasis, goal-scorer Harris and Filletti were the standouts.


Raiders 1-1 Modbury

Raiders and Modbury shared the points after a 1-1 draw at the Croatian Sports Centre on Saturday.

Both goals arrived in quick succession as Anthony Solagna put the Jets a goal to the good 20 minutes in, only for Adam Harris to grab a share of the spoils three minutes later.

Best on ground for Raiders were Daniel Hain, Mimi Saric and Paul Mackey, while Chris Dean, Dan Elekwachi and Solagna were Modbury’s top players.


Adelaide Galaxy 0-1 Adelaide City

Adelaide City returned to the winners list with a 1-0 victory over Adelaide Galaxy at Con Makris Park on Saturday.

Going into this match after a loss and two draws, City captain Nicky Budin scored the only goal of the game in the first half.

Best on ground for the defeated Galaxy were Paris Okai, Tom Dittmar and Adam Lecornu. For Adelaide City, Paul Pezos, Jace Cummins and Jonathon Negus were the top performers.


Croydon 0-3 Campbelltown City

Campbelltown gave themselves an outside chance of reaching the finals after a 3-0 victory over Croydon at Polonia Park on Saturday.

Stephen Maio scored a second-half brace for the Red Devils, with Matthew Deegan sealing the result with just over ten minutes to play.

Dion Gazettas, Alemayo Kebede and Andrew Harous performed ably for Croydon, while Campbelltown’s best were Christopher D'Alfonso, Oliver Totani and Nicholas Green.


Para Hills 0-4 MetroStars

MetroStars romped to a 4-0 victory over Para Hills at The Paddocks on Saturday.

The win, secured with all goals coming in the first half, keeps Metro a point behind Adelaide City. Scott Tunbridge scored a hat-trick with Michael Matricciani netting the other goal.

Tunbridge was best on ground, joined by Steven Grelli and Adam van Domelle. For Para Hills, Rhys Townsend, Brett Selga and Shane Tobias collected votes for their efforts.

POS		TEAM	P	W	D	L	For	Agst	GD	FF	PTS
1		Adelaide City	16	12	3	1	41	14	27	0	39
2		Metro Stars	16	12	2	2	43	12	31	0	38
3		Adelaide Blue Eagles	16	9	2	5	22	19	3	0	29
4		Western Strikers	16	8	2	6	22	15	7	0	26
5		Adelaide Galaxy	16	6	4	6	22	24	-2	0	22
6		Campbelltown	16	5	3	8	15	19	-4	0	18
7		Raiders	16	4	3	9	20	26	-6	0	15
8		Para Hills	16	3	4	9	11	25	-14	0	13
9		Croydon	16	3	4	9	10	25	-15	0	13
10		Modbury	16	3	3	10	18	46	-28	0	12