Elimination Final Preview - Olympic vs. MetroStars

We preview the Elimination Final in the National Premier Leagues - SA competition as North Eastern MetroStars face Adelaide Olympic away at the VALO Football Centre on Saturday afternoon.

MetroStars are coming off a comprehensive 4-0 win against Raiders (match highlights here) in their Elimination Final last Saturday.

MetroStars did very well to edge the first half, despite playing against the strong winds.

Chrisitan Esposito opened the scoring on the 40th minute mark, controlling a Nahuel Bonada cross before slotting home.

Liam Wooding earnt his team a penalty in the first minute of the second half. Nahuel Bonada stepped up and confidently dispatched the spot kick.

Midfielder Hamish Gow capped off a man-of-the-match performance with a stunning free kick which gave goalkeeper Nick Munro no chance.

Flying winger Matthew Dawber completed the rout in the final minute with an outrageous chip on the edge of the area.

Meanwhile Adelaide Olympic will be preparing for their third game in seven days after a disappointing 3-1 loss at home to Hume City in the FFA Cup Wednesday night.

It started well for Olympic who took the lead on 23 minutes through an moment of individual brilliance from Mamadi Kamara.

In what may have been the goal of the round, Kamara made an incredible run down the run the left hand side, beating three defenders and blasting home into the bottom corner.

Olympic were dreaming of the last eight when until Hume striker Marko Delic equalised nine minutes later.

Delic doubled his tally when he found himself unmarked at the far post and handed Hume the lead on the hour mark, before completing his hat-trick in the 71st minute.

Michael D'Aloisio and Dylan Smith are fit to play after both coming on as second half substitutes against Raiders. Fabian Barbiero will miss this game due to suspension following his red card against West Adelaide. Lachlan Barr and Tom Strain are unlikely to feature due to injury. Justin Davis and Matt Charalambous are both out with season ending injuries.

Fausto Erba and Christos Pounendis will come back into the squad after missing the midweek cup game through suspension. There will be concerns over goalkeeper Daniel Vaughan, who has been outstanding so far this season, after he went off injured in the FFA Cup game.

The winner of Saturday's Elimination Final will go onto the face either Adelaide Comets or Campbelltown City for a spot in the Grand Final at Coopers Stadium.

MetroStars Squad: 1. Isaac Carmody, 3. Cohan Morris, 6. Lachlan Barr, 7. Michael D'Aloisio (c), 10. Anthony Solagna, 12. Benjamin Head, 15. Liam Wooding, 16. Alexander Jakob, 17. Matthew Dawber, 19. Cooper O’Donnell, 20. Luis Beneditti, 22. Hamish Gow, 23. Christian Esposito, 24. Nahuel Bonada 25. Jackson O’Donnell, 26. Stefan Cali, 45. Jayden Spruyt

Adelaide Olympic Squad: 1. Daniel Vaughan, 2. Jacob Butler-Bowdon, 3. Matthew Halliday, 5. David Makridis, 6. Eli Vlassis, 7. John Karatzas, 8. Manni Katopodis, 9. Christos Pounendis, 10. Ricardo DaSilva, 11. Alexandros Koutoulogenis, 12. Dimitri Toumazos, 13. Paul Espina, 14 Fausto Erba, 15. John Tsimopoulos, 16. Jack Chivers, 17 Mamadi Kamara, 21. Nick Harpas, 23. Michael Alexandrou

Hamish Gow was superb in midfield and scored a cracking free kick against Raiders. Photo credit: Joe Janko

Form (last 5 games):

Raiders 0-4 MetroStars

West Adelaide 0-4 MetroStars

MetroStars 4-2 Adelaide City

Adelaide Blue Eagles 0-2 MetroStars

MetroStars 0-2 Raiders

Adelaide Olympic 0-0 Hume City

Adelaide Olympic 2-0 Adelaide Blue Eagles

Para Hills Knights 3-3 Adelaide Olympic

Adelaide Olympic 1-1 West Adelaide

Adelaide United 2-1 Adelaide Olympic

Last 5 meetings:

20.7.19 - MetroStars 1-2 Adelaide Olympic

3.3.19 - Adelaide Olympic 3-1 MetroStars

11.8.18 - MetroStars 1-0 Adelaide Olympic

23.6.18 - Adelaide Olympic 1-0 MetroStars

17.3.18 - MetroStars 1-0 Adelaide Olympic

MetroStars are on a four game winning streak Photo credit: Adam Butler

Come and join us Saturday afternoon for a massive game of football! The game will be live streamed on the Football Federation South Australia Facebook and YouTube pages. Alternatively, you can follow live updates on our Twitter @NE_MetroStars or by using the hashtag #MetroStars.

Referee Appointments:

Christian Verdicchio - Referee

Torin Cooper - Assistant Referee 1

TBA - Assistant Referee 2

Nicholas Quirk - 4th Official

Adelaide Olympic vs. MetroStars Saturday 31st August - 6PM

Under 18 | MetroStars vs. FFSA NTC 10AM

VALO Football Centre, Angle Park