Adelaide City and Port Pirates played out enthralling 1-1 draw in Round 6 of the PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia.

Pirates enjoyed the better opportunities in the first half and took the lead just after 25 minutes. Lewis Farquhar pounced on a loose ball just inside his own half and showed great poise to take the ball into left channel the box before squaring up to his teammate Jonathan Mavromatis.

Stationed near the edge of the box, Mavromatis placed his ball to perfection as it deflected off the right post into the back of the net.

Adelaide City didn’t give in and their hard work paid off with a goal on the 75^th minute. A beautifully weighted set piece delivery from the left was carefully flicked into the goal by City’s Anthony Costa to make it an even ball game. Both sides enjoyed good chances but the winner could not be found.

Adelaide City’s Joseph Costa talked about what his side had to do to get themselves back in the game.

“We knew they liked to play short passes in the middle and they kept the ball really well and in the first half we allowed them to do that, we weren’t really pressing really high. We changed that a little bit in the second half, started to press a little bit higher and we finally got the equaliser.”

“We could’ve pushed for the winner but I guess one all is a fair result.”

Despite saving a point, Costa said his club won’t take these draws lightly.

“Everyone was disappointed. The culture at Adelaide City, since I’ve been there 3 years ago, is a winning mentality, so every time we don’t win, everyone is disappointed.”

Costa remained positive his side is not far away from their best though and talked about what areas needed some work.

“I think if we can keep the ball a little bit more, we’ll start to put a bit more pressure on the other teams and if we start erasing individual errors I think we’ll be fine.”

Pirates’ Kieren McFadyen spoke about the mixed feelings his side had after the draw.

“We were really disappointed with the draw, we felt we done enough up there to hold up for three points but our first half performance was probably the best we’ve played all year, away from home against a team like Adelaide City.”

One highlight that stood out from the match for McFadyen was the form of frontman, Lewis Farquhar

“He didn’t stop running, was always a constant threat and they didn’t know how to deal with him.”

“He’s so quick and sharp and plays with a lot of confidence. That’s what Derek’s (Senior Coach Derek Hall) told him to do, just don’t even second guess, just do what comes natural, just attack.”

McFadyen remains confident this can be another learning curve his side will overcome in time for their next match.

“Last year we would’ve just coasted to a victory but we got to fight tooth and nail to the end because just one little moment of brilliance from the other team and they’ll score a goal at this level.”

Article by Matthew Carcich - @MattCarcich