MetroStars meet Campbelltown City in the 2024 NPL SA Grand Final on Friday night, and with two rivals meeting in a clash that feels like it has been a long time coming, Front Page Football looks at the storylines in place leading up to the decider.
Campbelltown City and MetroStars captains Alex Mullen and Fabian Barbiero fight for the ball in Round 3 of the 2024 season. (Image: Ken Carter)
A North-East redemption season
To say the 2023 NPL SA season was a two-horse race between MetroStars and Campbelltown City would be an understatement, but when the time to cross the finish line came, neither horse was anywhere to be seen. Despite finishing the regular season on 56 and 53 points respectively, with the team nearest to them being Adelaide United on a modest 39 points, Metro and Campbelltown bowed out in their respective semi-finals to the Modbury Jets and the Young Reds.
Fatigue, injuries, and a packed schedule that featured deep Australia Cup and Federation Cup runs saw the two powerhouses run out of fuel. While the 2024 season was much less routine for the two sides, they reclaimed their spots in the top two and took care of business this time in their semi-finals.
The MetroStars defeated Adelaide City in an arm wrestle, while Campbelltown City outclassed the Modbury Jets, with both progressing to a Grand Final they were disappointed to miss the previous season. The two sides have not featured in South Australia's most significant local game in recent years and will be plotting to take advantage of their big day.
Campbelltown City celebrate qualifying for the 2024 NPL SA Grand Final. (Image: Pagonis Photography)
Matricciani's last game comes against familiar foes
As the stars began aligning for Campbelltown City, who found form to win the Federation Cup and finish in the top two, fortune also favoured their manager, Michael Matricciani, who received the opportunity to coach in the professional game with Melbourne City's A-League Women's side. Winning Federation Cup silverware with the Red Devils would have been pleasing for Matricciani, but the coach decided to stay put until the end of the season in a bid to also bring a championship back to Newton.
In his way stand the MetroStars, a side he is undoubtedly familiar with. While Campbelltown City and MetroStars engage in a heated rivalry on the pitch, Matricciani enjoyed time at both clubs in his playing career.
He played for MetroStars in 2012, the last time the club brought the championship to Klemzig, and even ended that season as the competition's equal top goalscorer.
While Matricciani enjoyed a star-studded career at MetroStars, he will be hoping to deprive his former side of the glory it is seeking in his last match coaching at a local level.
To add another layer to the coaching narrative, Campbelltown's next head coach and Matricciani's replacement, Daniel Mullen, is expected to start at the heart of their defence in Friday night's Grand Final.
An impenetrable new-look defensive pairing collides with elite attacking talent
While the MetroStars' 2023 departure list was highlighted by attacking stars James Temelkovski and Austin Ayoubi, the most experienced part of their backline, captain Anthony Solagna, called time on his career. Noah McNamara has been the side's mainstay central defender. Alongside usual partner Christian D'Angelo and backup Maceo Jones, the trio managed a competition-best 28 goals conceded in the regular season.
D'Angelo was unavailable for the Semi-Final matches against Adelaide City, and Graystone surprisingly opted to partner McNamara with Jackson Fortunatow, who usually finds himself in the midfield.
The move undoubtedly paid off, with the duo refusing to put a foot wrong against their talented opposition, helping goalkeeper Cody Oestreich to consecutive clean sheets.
It is hard to see Graystone moving away from the duo that helped his side qualify for the Grand Final, but they will have their hands full against Campbelltown's dynamic striking duo of Marc Marino and Josh Mori. The two forwards, combined with back-to-back Sergio Melta medallist Alex Mullen, pack a punch, something evident in the 3-3 draw the two sides played out the last time they met in 2024.
Noah McNamara (second from left) and Jackson Fortunatow (third from left) forged a new defensive partnership under the pressure of a two-legged Semi-Final clash against Adelaide City. (Image: Pagonis Photography)
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An imposing Grand Final record meets a 12-year wait
It is a well-known fact that when Campbelltown City make a Grand Final, they rarely leave empty-handed. Since 2013, the Red Devils have appeared in five NPL SA Grand Finals and have come out victorious on each occasion, usually in style. To find a losing NPL SA Grand Final on Campbelltown's record, you have to go all the way back to 1994 when the Red Devils fell short in a penalty shootout against fellow Italian North-East residents Adelaide Blue Eagles.
Meanwhile, MetroStars last won a local league title in 2012. While they were the best team throughout the 2014 regular season, even winning the National NPL Grand Final, they fell short against Croydon in the state's Grand Final.
Since then, MetroStars have achieved much success, and it should be noted that they did defeat Campbelltown in the Federation Cup Final last year. But NPL Championship glory has eluded the Klemzig-based club. They will love nothing more than to break that drought against their rivals, who would also be relishing the chance to continue their imposing Grand Final winning streak.
Campbelltown City won the NPL SA Grand Final in their last appearance in 2020. (Image: Adam Butler/80kms)
The 2023 Cup Final thriller
While both MetroStars and Campbelltown City fell a step short of the 2023 NPL SA Grand Final, the two sides met at ServiceFM Stadium in the Federation Cup Final. The big match started with Shogo Yoshikawa opening the scoring for Campbelltown before Hamish Gow's stunning double put MetroStars ahead.
Alex Mullen's goal levelled the Final again before Yoshikawa was sent off in a moment of madness when his attempt to break up a counter-attack was judged to have been executed with excessive force. The Red Devils held on as the match went deep into extra time, but, coming off the bench then, backup striker Ren Nagamatsu broke Campbelltown's hearts with a long-range strike that returned the Federation Cup to Klemzig.
The aforementioned names will once again compete in a Final at ServiceFM Stadium, and if their 2023 clash is anything to go by, this encounter is going to be a tantalising one that promises action.
Two sides stacked with attacking talent but also with the ability to nullify their opposition will stake their claims to be the new champions of South Australia.
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