Lea’alafa scores to end Vipers drought

By Ethan Habru in Adelaide

Micah Lea’alafa and his club Vipers FC finally put an end to their winless drought by beating Adelaide Olympic 2-1 on Saturday in the Football South Australia (FSA) State League One.

Lea’alafa became the club’s hero of this match by scoring the winning goal in the 80th minute.

He collected a pass from an intercepted throw in from Adelaide Olympic. 

Calm, collected and steady, he dribbled past the last defender before putting the ball into the net, confusing the keeper to do a wrong dive. 

The win ended Vipers winless run since round five, however they remain in 10th place in the FSA State League One table. 

This win will be a huge morale boost for the Vipers squad as they will come head-to-head with Rovu Boyers’ West Adelaide.

Boyers was featured in West Adelaide’s match against Fulham United on Saturday. He played until the 87th minute before he was substituted. 

The match ended in a draw with both teams leaving with a point each. West Adelaide remains secured in third place, four points behind second place Adelaide Blue Eagles and two points ahead of fourth place Fulham United. 

Although there were victories recorded for William Komasi, David Junior and Javin Wae’s respective clubs, Boyers and Lea’alafa were the only two of the five Solomon Islanders in Adelaide making an appearance for their clubs.

In the SA National Premier League (NPL), Junior was on bench to witness his club, Croydon FC’s 3-1 victory over WT Birkala on Friday. Croydon sits seventh on the ladder with 15 points.

Wae did not feature for Campbelltown in their match against FK Beograd on Saturday. The match resulted in a 1-0 victory for Campbelltown as they shove FK Beograd off their fourth place standing and placed them fifth as Campbelltown are now the rightful owners of fourth place this round.

Komasi also did not make an appearance for his club, Adelaide Cobras in the FSA State League One, as Cobras recorded a 2-1 victory over Cove FC on Saturday. This vital victory pushes Cobras to eighth place on the table, just a point behind the club they just defeated.

In the New South Wales (NPL) NPL, Raphael Leai featured for the Wollongong Wolves in a 0-2 defeat in round 16 match against APIA Leichhardt FC on Saturday. 

Leai who started as the central striker for the Wolves was later replaced in the 71st minute despite showing glimpses of his electric pace around the WIN stadium, the home of the Wollongong Wolves.

Wollongong Wolves are currently ninth on the NSW NPL table whilst Leichhardt is in fourth position.

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