By Ethan Habru
In Adelaide
Junior David’s club Croydon has climbed into second place after another win last Saturday in a Round 15 match of the Football South Australia (FSA) National Premier League (NPL).
Croydon FC beat Adelaide United 4-1 at Regency Park, home of the Polonias in north Adelaide in a match the Solomon Islander played a part in the second half.
In their first encounter in March, Croydon FC lost 3-2 to Adelaide United. For David’s side, the win on Saturday was a sweet revenge.
Croydon was leading 1-0 in the first half before David came onto the field of play in the 61st minute replacing teammate, Lachlan Docherty.
From then on, Croydon dominated the game by scoring two back-to-back goals within a minute and added the fourth in the 94th minute.
David’s defensive side conceded one goal from United in the 89th minute but it was enough to push Croydon into second place in the FSA NPL ladder with 27 points.
However, Croydon is still miles behind first place Metro Stars United, who are leading the FSA NPL table with 38 points, 11 points ahead of the Polonias. FK Beograd is third with 27 points and a goal difference of two behind Croydon.
Saturday’s Round 15 win was the fifth league win in a row for the club of Polish origin in which David has been a key defensive player – usually coming in the second half to protect their earlier goals.
Meanwhile another Solomon Islander Rovu Boyers scored the second goal in West Adelaide’s 4-0 demolishing of Adelaide Cobra – which featured Solomon Islander William Komasi in its defence.
Boyers had contributed to the first goal when his cross from the right side was cleared by Komasi who headed the ball straight into Ethan Nassau to score in the eighth minute.
The Hellas were leading 1-0 before the break and Boyers added the second goal straight after the second half kick-off. Jun Ota and Omali Felix added the third and fourth goals respectively in the second half to cement West Adelaide on second place in the FSA State League One.
Boyers now has 10 goals in total to his name and is one of two second highest goal scorers in the FSA State League One competition.
Another FSA State League One match on Saturday saw Solomon Islander Micah Lea’alafa and his Vipers FC played out a nil-all draw against Cove FC.
Fifth Solomon Islander playing soccer in Adelaide Javin Wae did not feature for his club Campbelltown City in a 2-2 draw with Modbury Jets in a FSA NPL fixture on Saturday.
In the NSW NPL, another Solomon Islander Raphael Leai and his Wollongong Wolves club lost 3-1 to Rockdale Ilinden on Saturday in a Round 20 fixture of the competition. Wolves are 11th on the NSW NPL table which features 16 clubs.
David and Wae in the FSA NPL level, Boyers, Komasi and Lea’alafa in the FSA State League One here in Adelaide; and Leai in the NSW NPL based in Wollongong city just outside of Sydney, are six Solomon Islanders currently playing club football in Australia.
Their move to Australia since January 2025 is made possible through funding support from the Australia High Commission in Honiara in partnership with the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF).
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