WA NPL Week 8 Wrap

With the season in full-swing now, the question must be asked: who can beat Bayswater and Floreat? The two undefeated teams continued their strong starts to the season, as Floreat prevailed over Perth SC in a thriller and Bayswater overcame a touch Perth Glory outfit.

Elsewhere, Stirling Lions kept themselves within striking distance of the top two and three main contenders for relegation all suffered defeats.

Floreat Athena 4 (Gate 12’, Boi 22’, 90+4’, Scaldaferro 42’)
Perth SC 3 (Williams 18’ OG, Perreira 88’, Pritchard 89’)
E&D Litis Stadium

Floreat walked away with three points in a thrilling match where Perth came back from the dead mere minutes from the end, only to be undone by a late Ludovic Boi goal. The hosts came out swinging and won a controversial penalty, but Boi’s effort was palmed away by Alex Dunn. Despite the miss, Floreat opened the scoring through Kris Gate inside a quarter of an hour, only for Perth to respond when Aryn Williams turned Mark Pritchard’s free-kick into his own net. However, Boi restored Athena’s lead soon after and Andrew Scaldaferro looked to have put the game to bed before half-time with a third. Perth kept fighting and won a penalty early in the second half, only for Clark Keltie to hit the bar. With the game winding down, the Azzuri suddenly found themselves on level terms thanks to a deflected strike from Josh Perreira and Pritchard’s composed finish a minute later. But deep into injury time, the game took another twist when Boi capitalized on a rare mistake from Dunn to rescue the victory for Floreat.


Perth Glory 0
Bayswater City 1 (Howarth 34’)
Inglewood Stadium

Bayswater overcame a spirited and youthful Perth Glory outfit to continue their unbeaten start to the season. In a close contest, both teams struggled to create clear-cut chances, with Glory’s Slobodan Vulin and City’s David Heagney both coming close to opening the scoring. Todd Howarth’s header just after the half-hour mark gave the visitors the lead, as both teams battled to take control of the match. Despite Glory’s young brigade pushing Bayswater all the way, they were unable to find an equalizer.


Armadale 1 (Bealey 70’ PEN)
Inglewood United 2 (Micevski 40’ PEN, Panaia 88’)
Alfred Skeet Reserve

Teenage debutant Davide Panaia came off the bench to net a late winner as Inglewood extended Armadale’s winless run to eight games. United started the stronger of the two teams and came close through Ryan Clarke and the returning David Micevski, whilst Jackson Bealey’s long-range shot flew wide in the host’s best chance. Micevski again worried Armadale when his free-kick hit the post, before he won and converted a penalty to hand Inglewood the lead on the stroke of half-time. The home-side overcame the loss of skipper Reece Davies to a broken ankle in the second half to draw level, Bealey converting a penalty after Faustino Maccochi was brought down in the box. Inglewood desperately searched for a winner, and found out with two minutes left, as Panaia capitalized on a mistake from goalkeeper Dylan Wilson to win the game.


Sorrento 1 (Luca 67’)
Balcatta 2 (Sammut 18’, Randazzo 21’)
Percy Doyle Reserve

Balcatta overcame a tough, second-half challenge from Sorrento to claim all three points. Following a tight opening, the visitors took the lead through James Sammut’s free-kick, before Luke Randazzo extended their advantage just three minutes later. The home side responded and fought back in the second half, reducing the deficit via a Adam Luca’s wonderful long-range strike. Despite a flurry of corners and crosses late on, Balcatta stood firm to grab the win.


Stirling Lions 4 (Woodall 27’, Petkov 32’ Kamara 51’, Purton 62’)
ECU Joondalup 2 (Miller 29’, 68’)
Macedonia Park

Stirling honoured the passing of former coach Ernie Hannigan in the best way possible, with a comfortable victory over ECU Joondalup. Brian Woodall opened the scoring for the Lions, and although Paul Miller’s deflected effort tied the scores, Robert Petkov soon restored their lead. After the break, Teeboy Kamara converted some good work from Woodall to give Stirling some breathing room, before Steve Purton made the points safe after ECU failed to clear their lines. Miller pulled a goal back with a free-kick, but the damage was already done.


Subiaco 0
Cockburn City 1 (O’Brien 59’)
Rosalie Park

A lone goal from Harry O’Brien was enough for Cockburn to claim a battling victory over Subiaco. The away side started stronger and only the interventions of City’s goalkeeper Curtis Aspden prevented them from leading at half time. Joshua Booysen came close for Subiaco after the restart, but it was O’Brien who made the breakthrough for Cockburn, racing onto a long ball and firing home to score his second goal in as many games. Cockburn grew in confidence with the goal, and although they were unable to add to their tally, they held on for the win.


Round 9 Fixtures
Cockburn City vs Sorrento
Perth SC vs Armadale
Bayswater City vs Floreat Athena
ECU Joondalup vs Subiaco
Balcatta vs Perth Glory
Inglewood United vs Stirling Lions