Message From Danny

Hear from our Head Coach Danny Graystone before tomorrow's match against Adelaide City.

Welcome to Round 19 of the NPL 2023 season.

Today we welcome all the supporters and officials of Adelaide City Football Club to TK Shutter Reserve.

Last time we were here we recorded a resounding 5-1 victory against South Adelaide Panthers. Whilst there were a couple of defensive moments at 1-1 which could have made the tie a lot more difficult we came through the second half comfortable winners scoring 4 more goals to see out the game with 5 different goal scorers adding to their tallies for the season and keeping us top of the ladder going into the last 5 rounds of the season.

The following week we headed to Service FM Stadium for the Federation Final against our close rivals Campbelltown City for what turned out to be a historical night for the club. Despite some early scares and a few fantastic moments by Isaac Carmody we gradually began to control the game, eventually dominating possession and turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead following a brace from Hamish Gow.

We continued where we left off into the second half however a momentary defensive lapse let Campbelltown in for an equaliser. We responded to this excellently however and continued to control the game resulting in some frustration from the opposition and a lash out on Michael Cittadini forcing a red card that put our opposition down to 10 men.

The rest is history as we continued to take the game to our opposition, control possession and after numerous good opportunities to take the lead we eventually broke through in the dying second of extra time through Ren Nagamatsu with some excellent work on the edge of the box bringing home our first piece of silver ware of the 2023 season.

Thank you for all your support on the night - you were our 12th man and I will never forget the scenes at the final whistle. These moments are why we put in all the hard work and I am pleased for everyone at the club that we got to share that moment. Its moments like that which make all the hard work worthwhile and makes you hungry for more as we challenge for more titles this season.

Last week we continued our push to win the league as we returned to Service FM to take on Adelaide United. I am sure you will remember our first game against them when we went down to 10 men early on and suffered our last defeat of the season in what still remained a tight game which could have gone either way. Games against Adelaide United are always tough games and we knew they would have players returning from International duty making the job even tougher. However we once again controlled the game and ran out 2-1 winners in what was another closely fought tactical battle against a very organised, young and industrious team.

Today we take on Adelaide City in what will be a very tough game for us. They have found some recent form, are well organised and will no doubt be working hard to over come us and get a psychological boost going into the final series. Last time we played them despite controlling the game we were unable to break the deadlock and came back with a frustrating 0-0 draw. Today we will have to be more clinical in the final 3rd and be mindful of their ability to counter attack quickly and effectively to take the three points.

We hope that you enjoy the game and as always, thank you for your support and lets get behind the boys today as we look to get another win and continue our fight to keep us on top of the table.

Yours in football

Danny Graystone