Round Seven of the RAA NPLSA season saw Adelaide United host the newly promoted West Torrens Birkalla at Service FM Stadium in a match that promised goals between two sides with strong attacking intent.
Pace and precision beat pressing game
When taking on the newly promoted West Torrens Birkalla, Adelaide United faced a familiar face on the opposition bench in coach Stav Gelekis, who was the club’s NPL assistant coach during Paul Pezos’ reign. That influence can be seen in the way Birkalla play their football, scoring heavily while pressing their opponents into errors.
Airton Andrioli took that strength and devised a game plan where it became a weakness, with the Young Reds’ ball-playing backline instrumental in their demise. The Birks press was often baited by the likes of Ethan Cox, Sotiri Phillis, and Feyzo Kasumovic, who invited their opponents to put them under duress before picking out a free target further down the pitch, usually in the form of Brody Burkitt, Ryan White, and Joey Garuccio.
With the numerical advantage on their side, the next outlet was the pace and skill of wingers. Amlani Tatu and Harry Crawford, who caused havoc any time they were allowed the opportunity. This trend continued throughout the first half and combined with some excellent finishes past goalkeeper of the year contender Nicholas Harpas to give the Young Reds an imposing four goal half time lead.
Caption: Harry Crawford and Amlani Tatu were instrumental in Birkalla’s downfall (Image: Brock Pearson Photography)
Terrific Tatu shines on return
After missing some NPL games due to representing the Joeys in the U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025, Amlani Tatu returned for Adelaide United’s match against West Torrens Birkalla. He looked lively from the start, being caught offside twice in the game’s opening sequences, but he was not denied in the ninth minute when he caught Harpas off at his near post to open the scoring.
The winger added to his tally in the 24th minute before assisting Brody Burkitt on the stroke of half time for his third goal involvement of the afternoon. This influence continued minutes after the restart when Tatu set up Harry Crawford for his own second goal in the afternoon.
Late in the game, Tatu was able to seal his first senior hat trick, and fifth direct goal involvement of the night, when he was sent through on goal by Ryan White before chipping the proactive Nicholas Harpas to add the exclamation mark in an impressive result. While Tatu grabbed the headlines, it would be remiss not to mention Harry Crawford’s two goals and Ryan Whites’ three assists that directly set up all of Tatu’s goals.
Caption: Amlani Tatu celebrating one of his three goals with a trademark flip (Image: Brock Pearson Photography)
Complacency leads to sloppy errors
At the end of Round Seven, Adelaide United stand in second on the table, only two goals behind MetroStars at the league’s summit. The one troubling trend, which we have mentioned previously, is complacency in advantageous positions.
Against West Torrens Birkalla, the Young Reds were five goals up. For the fourth consecutive match, Adelaide United conceded multiple goals after holding a lead of two or more goals.
Adelaide United were never going to squander a lead of this size, so a sloppy own goal from a set-piece and careless distribution that cut the lead from five to three don’t make a big difference in the context of the season. Still, for a developmental side where repetition is everything, this complacency is becoming a troubling habit that oppositions are pouncing on and punishing.
Caption: Just like Croydon FC, MetroStars, and Para Hills Knights, West Torrens Birkalla scored multiple goals after Adelaide United took a sizeable lead (Image: Brock Pearson Photography)
