MetroStars Claim Another Victory

Written by Antonis Pangonis

NPL SA: Round 14 wrap (theinnersanctum.com.au)

Round 14 kicked off with Croydon FC and MetroStars facing off in their annual celebration of Indigenous Round. After a powerful smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country, both sides were ready for action in their indigenous jerseys, but only one was to shine.

After a strong start, MetroStars converted its dominance with a Christian Esposito free-kick being deflected past John Hall to open the scoring 20 minutes in.

Esposito scored again before the end of the first half, with Ariath Piol releasing the veteran who beat John Hall in a staring contest, finishing coolly to double his side’s advantage on the stroke of halftime.

The second half was the Piol show, with the youngster being in the right place at the right time and tapping in a saved Esposito shot. Piol iced the game at the hour mark, running onto an Esposito through ball and dinking the keeper with aplomb; a finish that resembled a striker’s with years of experience, not a teenager.

A strong MetroStars win and a solid team performance saw American import Cameron Woodfin be awarded the Man of the Match award for the second week running. This week he received the Travis Dodd medal, named after the former MetroStars player and current Croydon coach who was the first Indigenous player to score a goal for the Socceroos.

Croydon 0

MetroStars 4 (Esposito 2, Piol 2)

Photos by Adam Butler