R3 Preview: Raiders v West Adelaide
Raiders v West Adelaide
South Australia PlayStation4 National Premier League Round 3
When: Sunday 1st March. Kick-Off 3:00pm
Where: Croatian Sports Centre, Main North Road, State Sports Park, GEPPS CROSS
Form:
Raiders: D
Round 1: Raiders 2-2 White City, Croatian Sports Centre
Round 2: Raiders v South Adelaide - postponed
West Adelaide: D, W
Round 1: Campbelltown City 0-0 West Adelaide, Steve Woodcock Sports Centre
Round 2: West Adelaide 4-2 West Torrens Birkalla, Adelaide Shores Football Centre
Preview:
West Adelaide travel to the Croatian Sports Centre to take on Raiders in round three of the South Australian Playstation4 National Premier League.
The visitors currently sit in fourth place and are full of confidence coming off the back of a 4-2 win against West Torrens Birkalla, while the home side have not played since round one after last week’s clash with South Adelaide was postponed.
It will be over two weeks since Raiders took to the field on Sunday, but despite this, young winger Jordan O’Doherty believes that the extra rest will play into their hands as they have had longer to prepare for the clash.
“We have been training hard this week to top up on any missing sessions, so I don’t think it will be any different,” he said.
“We have looked sharp this week in training and we are switched on ready for the game.
“Against White City, being a new squad that had just been put together and having our first competitive game with each other it was a bit hard to get everything right,
“But we showed good signs, and I’m excited to see what happens for the rest of the season.”
After starting off the season well and sitting inside the top four, West Adelaide’s Robby Lippett says there is a positive feeling around the club and they are heading into this week full of confidence after coming out on top in a tough contest.
“The feeling is always a positive feeling, we have always got that winning mentality,” he said.
“We take each week as it comes, and as soon as we walked off the field on Friday night we were focused on Raiders.
“The first win of the season is always a good confidence booster. Raiders are always a physical and passionate team so we can’t go out there and switch off.”
West Adelaide did the double over Raiders last year, but O’Doherty admits that the team have not been focusing too much on their opponents, rather focusing on improving their own game plan.
“We haven’t fully concentrated on West Adelaide,” he said.
“It has been more about us going into the game.
“Although we lost twice to them last season, I think we might be able to give them an upset.
“I think if we concentrate on our game and not worry about what they are going to have. If we make sure we do all the right things, we can snatch the three points.”
For Lippett, the key to getting the win is all about the team’s determination once they set foot on the pitch.
“We have to go out there and make sure we are hungry for the ninety minutes,” he said.
“We have eighteen players in training that are fighting for a spot in the starting eleven, so all the players have a job to do because everyone is fighting for positions.
“We have to stick to our plan for the ninety to ninety-five minutes and make sure we come out the better team.”
Article by Brendan Simpkins
Round 2 Raiders v South Adelaide, Wednesday 15 April, KO 7:30pm
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