Junior David’s Croydon FC picked up another win in Round 19 of the Football South Australia (FSA) National Premier League (NPL) on Saturday in Adelaide and his club looked set to finish second this season.
David started on the bench against Adelaide Croatia Raiders in a match which ended in a 3-1 victorious for Croydon.
The first half saw no goals. It was not until the final third of the match that a goal was converted.
Croydon picked up a goal in the 70th minute to take the lead. David was introduced in the 74th minute to help bolster their defence.
A cross into the box with a header by a Croatia Raiders’ attacker punished Croydon’s defence to equalize the scoreline.
Croydon answered with two game ending goals, one in the 86th minute and another in the 95th minute to increase their lead.
The game ended 3-1 to David’s Croydon side and cemented its place in second place with 35 points.
David has been a consistent performer for Croydon and his contribution has earned his club a second-top finish in the FSA NPL table for 2025.
Meanwhile, Metro Stars has claimed three back-to-back premierships in the FSA NPL competition having declared 2025 winners after a 3-1 win over Modbury Jets in Round 19 on Saturday.
Metro Stars were FSA NPL champions in 2023, 2024 and now in 2025. With three more rounds to go, there is no way Croydon will overtake Stars who are currently leading with 45 points, 10 points ahead of Croydon who has 35 points.
“We claim our third straight National Premier League South Australia Premiership!” Metro Stars stated in their social media page after Round 19 on Saturday.
In the FSA State League One Round 19 on Saturday, Solomon Islander Michah Lea’alafa and his Vipers FC battled against Javin Wae’s and William Komasi’s Adelaide Cobras.
Komasi was not featured again for Adelaide Cobras. He was last seen playing alongside Wae in Round 17 where they saw defeat.
Both sides played an equal match where a goal in the 15th minute by the Cobras was neutralised by Vipers in the 27th minute.
The Vipers then scored at the half-time mark to end the first half 2-1. Cobras returned the favor by bagging an equalizer at the beginning of the second half in the 48th minute.
Both teams shared balanced statistics in terms of shots and shots on target. Cobras had eight shots and Vipers had six and their shots on target equal at two. The equal statistics translated into an equal scoreline with the game ending at 2-2.
Wae’s and Komasi’s Cobras are still ahead of Lea’alafa’s Vipers, sitting ninth on the FSA State League One table with 18 points. Vipers are 11th on the table with 15 points.
Furthermore, Rovu Boyers and his club West Adelaide bagged three points after their 3-2 win against Cumberland United in another FSA State League One on Saturday.
Cumberland United took the lead in the first half before Tito Bontor added a double for Hellas. His first was from a free kick deflection which supposedly touched the hands of Cumberland United’s defender and West Adelaide players appealed for handball. Bontor who was in the box, continued playing when he used the handball panic as an advantage to slot the ball into the opponent’s goal for the equaliser in the 60th minute.
Bontor equalized again to make it 2-2 after Cumberland went ahead with a goal in the 64th minute.
A final goal by frequent West Adelaide goal scorer Yuya Kato marked the final goal of the match as Cumberland could not find another chance to equalize.
The game ended 3-2 to Boyers’ West Adelaide. They climbed up the table to third place with 34 points, two points behind second place Fulham United and 15 points behind first place Sturt Lions.
Another Solomon Islander Raphael Leai playing in the New South Wales (NSW) NPL for Wollongong Wolves has not played in the last two rounds for his club.
Leai in Wollongong with David, Lea’alafa, Wae, Komasi and Boyers in Adelaide are six Solomon Islands soccer players currently playing club football in Australia since early 2025. This was made possible through a funding support from the Australia High Commission in Honiara in partnership with the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF).
By Ethan Habru
In Adelaide
