SA’s most successful soccer club is in the relegation zone, a place it has not been since 1947

Adelaide City’s 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Comets has sent a serious warning to a club that hasn’t been relegated since 1947 as it sits at the foot of the ladder. See the round’s highlights here.

ADELAIDE City midfielder Nicholas Bucco says relegation — a humiliation which the club faced just once in 1947 — is a festering reality after the club plunged to the bottom of the table on Friday night.

Bucco, 29, said the 5-0 drubbing to Comets at Jack Smith Park was the heaviest national premier league defeat he had been involved in at the club since signing from Blue Eagles in 2012.

After starting this 2019 season with minus six points when Football Federation SA sanctioned City for contract breaches Bucco said the harsh penalty had hit the players hard psychologically before the season kicked off.

“It’s there and we know about it (the penalty),’’ Bucco said.

“Relegation, it’s in our thoughts, the uphill battle we face especially for the punishment we got.

“But obviously it’s a new system, new coach (Michael Mattricciani) it’s going to take time, I thought we went past it after a slow start but now we’re back to square one.

“We have to be better the performances are terrible.

“In the past we have never been worried about playing catch up, we’ve always been a club setting the pace, we’ve got to fight through it and get out of the rut.”

Adelaide City's Nicholas Bucco in action against Comets at Jack Smith Park on Friday night. Picture: Ben Verringer

The state’s most successful club with three national soccer league championships and 17 SA championships, had its second team relegated from the now defunct SA first division during the time it had its first team in the NSL.

City has now lost three consecutive games, and has the second worst defence in the NPL.

The club was missing English centre back Elliott Green, who returned home for personal reasons, and has now conceded 22 goals in nine matches after Friday’s clash.

City has earned nine points but its FFSA points punishment sees the club sitting on three points.

“Comets had a good game plan and stuck by it,’’ Bucco said.

“They let us have the ball, we played well but then they scored two goals on the counter attack and then we’re chasing the game, we pushed forward and got caught out with more goals.”

Comets’ Andreas Weins scored twice, so too did Allan Welsh with Nathan Andijanto completing the drubbing.

Bucco hopes City can avenge the slide when it faces MetroStars at Adelaide City Park, Oakden on Friday.

MetroStars jumped into fourth spot a 4-1 win over West Adelaide at Klemzig on Saturday.

A week after Blue Eagles were bumped out of the FFA Cup by Raiders (2-1) the Azzurri exacted revenge when 2018 State League 1 player of the year Hamish McCabe jagged a sole winner at Marden Sports Complex.

The win kept Blue Eagles atop of the table as reigning Australian and local NPL champion Campbelltown City kept third spot after a 3-2 win over Croydon Kings at Polonia Reserve.

South Adelaide beat Adelaide United’s NPL side 3-1 on Thursday night for its first win and Olympic and Para Hills drew 2-2 to complete the round on Saturday.

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