MATCH OF THE WEEK
Floreat Athena (1) vs. Perth Soccer Club (0)
E&D Litis Stadium
Floreat Athena’s title hopes received a major boost as they recorded a thrilling 1-0 victory over rivals Perth Soccer Club at Litis Stadium this evening. In front of a crowd of approximately 1,800 people it was Liberian born striker Jerry Karpeh who secured the points for Floreat late in the tightly contested game.
Both ends were water-tight in the opening period, with chances rare. Perth’s best opportunity in the half came through Perth Glory striker Nikita Rukavytsya who beat the offside trap but shot narrowly wide with the outside of his boot in the 14th minute.
Floreat had slightly more possession and more chances than Perth in the first half. The best of those chances came through a Miki Vujacic free-kick, which cannoned off the upright from 25 yards, with Perth goalkeeper Gareth Deeg left motionless.
Slightly against the run of play Athena took the lead ten minutes from time through Karpeh’s goal. Young Perth defender Trent Kay was caught holding the ball for too long close to his goals and had it taken away from him by Karpeh, who beat the helpless Deeg from 15 yards.
Official man-of-the-match Adam Bachiller should have secured the points for the home side in the 43rd minute. Bachiller made a brilliant run from just inside halfway, beating two defenders in the process but his shot from inside the penalty area sailed narrowly wide.
The visitors had an opportunity to level two minutes into stoppage time as they were awarded a free kick 2 yards in from the corner flag. The inviting ball wasn’t met convincingly by any Perth player, meaning the score finished at 1-0 to Floreat.
Floreat coach Michael Roki was delighted to pick up the win against quality opposition. “I thought it was a really good team effort by us. We must give them a lot of respect; they have a lot of quality players all over the park but we did better with our chances and tucked one away and that’s all that matters,” said Roki.
“This is obviously a big boost for us as Perth are such a great team and we expect another tough game next week against Stirling,” continued Roki.
Although disappointed with the result, Perth coach Graham Normanton was not concerned with the performance. “We’re disappointed to loose. We didn’t come here to loose, we came here to win the game. But at the end of the day we created enough opportunities to sneak a draw out of it or maybe even a win,” he said.
“I’m happy with it tonight. I think this is something that we can move on from and learn from.”
Squads:
Floreat Athena: V Vujacic, J Isaiah, J Madaschi, B Savic, M Vujacic, A Bachiller, J Karpeh, J Magdic, B Mikulic, P Vatistas, A Kovacevic, A Dunn, P Coci, S Smiljanic, J Pavlovic, J Smith.
Perth Soccer Club: G Deeg, T Kay, M Icanovski, M Ord, R Puca, B Wood, S Bulloch, T Howarth, G Cricati, A Naglieri, C Socratous, N Rukavystya, T Velaphi, C Socratous, A Oliveira, G Faria.
Match Report by Jacob Kagi
Swan IC (6) v Wanneroo City (4)
Swan Italian Club
Swan IC recorded their first victory of the season, coming from three goals down to beat Wanneroo City 6-4 at the Swan Italian club this afternoon.
The game was important for both sides and the Swans opened brightly with David Perich firing wide. But on nine minutes disaster struck, Rowdy Yates sent Derek Cooke clear and Swans keeper Cory Hugo raced out of his area and brought down the lively striker, and referee Tom Klaver had no option but to send the keeper off. Robert Monterosso was sacrificed and U18s keeper Tony Davies came on to make his League debut between the sticks. The Roos made their extra man advantage count almost immediately, Yates again was the provider his cross was only parried by Davies and Ahmed Hafez scored from close-range.
It was 2-0 four minutes later; the impressive Yates again was heavily involved his through ball sent Cooke clear and he finished clinically past Davies. It got worse for the home side five minutes later a long ball from defence caught the Swans napping and Hafez scored for Wanneroo, much to the delight of the traveling supporters. The Swans were thrown a lifeline just before the half time break, David Perich found John Monterosso who finished low past Kevin Miller.
The Roos could have made it four early in the second half; Cooke was clear on goal but Davies narrowed the angle well and his shot flew inches wide. The Swans began to get on top and they reduced the margin in the 55th minute, Perich found Thomas Shepheard who beat the last defender before rolling the ball past Miller.
Wanneroo were struggling and the ten man Swans pressed for the equaliser, Aaron Cole volleying wide. But the game was turned on its head in a two minute spell on the hour when Wanneroo were reduced to nine men; first Hafez was given a second yellow card, and Danny Brown was given a straight red card by referee Klaver for a foul on Shepheard.
The home side began to get well on top, John Monterosso fired wide when well placed, and Shepherd’s mazy run from his own half was halted by the foot of Miller. But from the resulting corner the ball fell to Dom Ando on the edge of the box and his strike was deflected past Miller to level the scores.
The Swans were ahead two minutes late, Brendan Knox’s run into the box was stopped by the hand of a Roos defender and, rather harshly, referee Klaver pointed to the spot. Ando kept his nerve to score from the spot kick. But the Roos weren’t finished and they leveled in the 81st minute, Craig Cheesman’s free kick was headed home by Chris Hansen from five-yards.
But the Swans weren’t to be outdone and regained the lead two minutes later; Miller only parried a Perich shot and Shepheard was on hand to fire home from close-range. They wrapped up the points in stoppage-time; second half substitute Sebastian Ruiz found Shepheard who fired home to complete the comeback and his hat-trick. Final score – Swan IC 6,
Wanneroo City 4.
Squads:
Swan IC – C. Hugo, J. Hugo, Cole, Ando, R. Monterosso (Davies 9), Knox, Paone (Echeverria 85), Perich, J. Monterosso (Ruiz 85), Mouttet, Shepheard Subs not used – Mansaray, Bennett
Wanneroo City – Miller, Croxall, Donnelly, Brown, Yates (Pugh 73), Cheeseman, Dendle, Andrews, Hansen, Hafez, Cooke Subs not used – Ainslie, Wells, Houston
Referee: Tom Klaver
Match Report by Peter Simcox
Cockburn City (1) v Stirling Lions (1)
Damatinac Park
Cockburn City and Stirling Lions have fought a tight 1-1 draw in front of a boisterous home crowd at Dalmatinac Park in Spearwood. A controversial second half penalty from Kevin Henderson cancelled out Jason Dos Santos opener in the 63rd minute on an overcast afternoon in the Southern Suburbs.
Cockburn was yet to drop a point at home this season and Stirling were hoping to ruin that streak dominating the early stages of the first half with former City player David Dugdale putting the ball in the back of the net after only 8 minutes; however he was adjudged offside by the linesman. The visitors midfield led by dynamo Ludovic Boi was threatening on the counter and Cockburn could have found themselves behind on a number of occasions in the opening stanza if not for versatile goalkeeper Dino Pacella.
It took 30 minutes for Cockburn to hit their straps and in-form striker Josh Kamasz almost had the home side in front when a great ball from Michael Mirco fell to the feet of the youngster, but his shot was well blocked by Stirling custodian Phil Straker.
Fundamental errors crept into the game in the second half with neither side able to construct any opportunities. Veteran Johnny Mirco tried to breathe life into his side with his storming runs forward but it was another excitement machine that delivered the opening goal after 63 minutes; Jason Dos Santos danced his way through the Lions defence before unleashing a powerful low shot which ricocheted off a defender’s foot, ultimately rolling past a helpless Straker in the Stirling goal.
The goal lifted the spirits in the camp and a minute later Josh Kamasz could have doubled the lead for the home side but his shot from a tight angle was blocked out again by Straker.
The referee was in the thick of the action after awarding a penalty against defender Shane Nunes for a tackle on Andy Brown. Players surrounded the referee about the decision but it mattered little to Kevin Henderson who stepped up to power home the equalizer.
In a tense final twenty minutes neither side had a chance to break the deadlock and both teams shared the points.
After the match, Cockburn coach Scott Miller expressed his disappointment with the performance but commended his hardworking midfielder Jason Dos Santos. “We didn’t play well, Stirling dominated the game and we were nowhere near it. We lacked good tackles and when we received the ball we just didn’t break quick enough,” he said.
“Jason is learning how to defend now, he’s really worked hard to improve that aspect of his game and he’s getting better and better each week.”
Stirling Lions coach Mick Lyons felt his team were very unlucky to not go away with all three points. “We thought we started off really bright, had a flat twenty minutes at the end of the first half but I felt we deserved to win the game,” said Lyons.
Stirling will face their toughest task next weekend when they meet Floreat Athena at Macedonia Park on Sunday with the match being broadcast live by 90.5 FM. Cockburn will meet Freo Spirit at the Spanish Club in the eagerly anticipated Southern Derby.
Match Reporter: Beau Crompton
Sorrento (0) v Fremantle Spirit (1)
Percy Doyle Reserve
Fremantle Spirit intensified the pressure on reigning premiers Sorrento Football Club with a deserved 1-0 victory in blustery conditions at Percy Doyle Reserve this afternoon. Spirit took all three points thanks to a Sebastian Booyen header that looped into the net after the keeper failed to reach the ball only two minutes after half time. It was a game of few genuine opportunities, but the best fell to the Fremantle side as Sorrento looked devoid of ideas to break down the resolute Spirit defence. The Gulls are bottom of the table after failing to pick up a point after six rounds and a relegation battle must now be a major concern for the club who only lifted the championship trophy eight months ago.
A shower before kick off made conditions difficult for the first 45 as Fremantle came racing out of the blocks in determined fashion to take the game to the hosts. Gulls keeper Anthony Cochrane had to be alert to palm away a second minute curling free kick after an early foul outside the box. Fremantle’s Booyen then had a great chance to open the scoring on six minutes after neat work from Raveshlan Kuppusamy but his effort was over the bar.
At the other end, Todd Harnwell headed wide under pressure from an excellent cross by Daniel Taylor as the Gulls began to get a foothold on the game and put the Spirit goal under some sustained pressure. Hartwell’s wicked cross was just too high for Glen Thomas on 19 minutes before a failed corner clearance fell to the Gulls James Morgan but his attempt flew over the bar from the penalty spot.
The supporters had barely enough time to resume their vantage point in the second half before Fremantle stunned the home side with an opportunistic goal two minutes after restart; a long cross field ball caught the defence high and Cochrane failed to reach the ball before Booyen looped a header over the keeper and into the net. The goal deflated the Sorrento players as Fremantle lifted their work rate in a determined effort to secure the three points.
On 72 minutes the pace of Fremantle striker Kuppusamy could have sealed the win after he beat the defender, cut inside the box but saw his low effort tipped into the side netting by Cochrane. From the resulting corner Booyen directed his header goal wards but a fantastic clearing header off the line by the Gulls Jason Trpevski saved their blushes. With the big Steven McDonald thrown up front, Todd Harnwell almost benefited after a great touch allowed him sight on goal but under pressure he could only lob the keeper and the cross bar from an angle.
Fremantle coach Marc Wingell was understandably delighted to see his side take the full points. “It’s always hard coming to Percy Doyle Reserve against Sorrento, they are always a very strong side at home and we are happy with a good result today. When the games pretty close and there aren’t many goals in it you expect your defence to hold strong and they did that today,” said Wingell.
“We need to build on what we’ve done, ten points from the first six games, we’re pleased, we’re happy, that was our goal and we look forward to the next five or six games and pick up a few points along the way,” said Wingell.
Match Reporter: Ben Fitzpatrick
Floreat Athena (1) vs. Perth Soccer Club (0)
E&D Litis Stadium
Floreat Athena’s title hopes received a major boost as they recorded a thrilling 1-0 victory over rivals Perth Soccer Club at Litis Stadium this evening. In front of a crowd of approximately 1,800 people it was Liberian born striker Jerry Karpeh who secured the points for Floreat late in the tightly contested game.
Both ends were water-tight in the opening period, with chances rare. Perth’s best opportunity in the half came through Perth Glory striker Nikita Rukavytsya who beat the offside trap but shot narrowly wide with the outside of his boot in the 14th minute.
Floreat had slightly more possession and more chances than Perth in the first half. The best of those chances came through a Miki Vujacic free-kick, which cannoned off the upright from 25 yards, with Perth goalkeeper Gareth Deeg left motionless.
Slightly against the run of play Athena took the lead ten minutes from time through Karpeh’s goal. Young Perth defender Trent Kay was caught holding the ball for too long close to his goals and had it taken away from him by Karpeh, who beat the helpless Deeg from 15 yards.
Official man-of-the-match Adam Bachiller should have secured the points for the home side in the 43rd minute. Bachiller made a brilliant run from just inside halfway, beating two defenders in the process but his shot from inside the penalty area sailed narrowly wide.
The visitors had an opportunity to level two minutes into stoppage time as they were awarded a free kick 2 yards in from the corner flag. The inviting ball wasn’t met convincingly by any Perth player, meaning the score finished at 1-0 to Floreat.
Floreat coach Michael Roki was delighted to pick up the win against quality opposition. “I thought it was a really good team effort by us. We must give them a lot of respect; they have a lot of quality players all over the park but we did better with our chances and tucked one away and that’s all that matters,” said Roki.
“This is obviously a big boost for us as Perth are such a great team and we expect another tough game next week against Stirling,” continued Roki.
Although disappointed with the result, Perth coach Graham Normanton was not concerned with the performance. “We’re disappointed to loose. We didn’t come here to loose, we came here to win the game. But at the end of the day we created enough opportunities to sneak a draw out of it or maybe even a win,” he said.
“I’m happy with it tonight. I think this is something that we can move on from and learn from.”
Squads:
Floreat Athena: V Vujacic, J Isaiah, J Madaschi, B Savic, M Vujacic, A Bachiller, J Karpeh, J Magdic, B Mikulic, P Vatistas, A Kovacevic, A Dunn, P Coci, S Smiljanic, J Pavlovic, J Smith.
Perth Soccer Club: G Deeg, T Kay, M Icanovski, M Ord, R Puca, B Wood, S Bulloch, T Howarth, G Cricati, A Naglieri, C Socratous, N Rukavystya, T Velaphi, C Socratous, A Oliveira, G Faria.
Match Report by Jacob Kagi
Swan IC (6) v Wanneroo City (4)
Swan Italian Club
Swan IC recorded their first victory of the season, coming from three goals down to beat Wanneroo City 6-4 at the Swan Italian club this afternoon.
The game was important for both sides and the Swans opened brightly with David Perich firing wide. But on nine minutes disaster struck, Rowdy Yates sent Derek Cooke clear and Swans keeper Cory Hugo raced out of his area and brought down the lively striker, and referee Tom Klaver had no option but to send the keeper off. Robert Monterosso was sacrificed and U18s keeper Tony Davies came on to make his League debut between the sticks. The Roos made their extra man advantage count almost immediately, Yates again was the provider his cross was only parried by Davies and Ahmed Hafez scored from close-range.
It was 2-0 four minutes later; the impressive Yates again was heavily involved his through ball sent Cooke clear and he finished clinically past Davies. It got worse for the home side five minutes later a long ball from defence caught the Swans napping and Hafez scored for Wanneroo, much to the delight of the traveling supporters. The Swans were thrown a lifeline just before the half time break, David Perich found John Monterosso who finished low past Kevin Miller.
The Roos could have made it four early in the second half; Cooke was clear on goal but Davies narrowed the angle well and his shot flew inches wide. The Swans began to get on top and they reduced the margin in the 55th minute, Perich found Thomas Shepheard who beat the last defender before rolling the ball past Miller.
Wanneroo were struggling and the ten man Swans pressed for the equaliser, Aaron Cole volleying wide. But the game was turned on its head in a two minute spell on the hour when Wanneroo were reduced to nine men; first Hafez was given a second yellow card, and Danny Brown was given a straight red card by referee Klaver for a foul on Shepheard.
The home side began to get well on top, John Monterosso fired wide when well placed, and Shepherd’s mazy run from his own half was halted by the foot of Miller. But from the resulting corner the ball fell to Dom Ando on the edge of the box and his strike was deflected past Miller to level the scores.
The Swans were ahead two minutes late, Brendan Knox’s run into the box was stopped by the hand of a Roos defender and, rather harshly, referee Klaver pointed to the spot. Ando kept his nerve to score from the spot kick. But the Roos weren’t finished and they leveled in the 81st minute, Craig Cheesman’s free kick was headed home by Chris Hansen from five-yards.
But the Swans weren’t to be outdone and regained the lead two minutes later; Miller only parried a Perich shot and Shepheard was on hand to fire home from close-range. They wrapped up the points in stoppage-time; second half substitute Sebastian Ruiz found Shepheard who fired home to complete the comeback and his hat-trick. Final score – Swan IC 6,
Wanneroo City 4.
Squads:
Swan IC – C. Hugo, J. Hugo, Cole, Ando, R. Monterosso (Davies 9), Knox, Paone (Echeverria 85), Perich, J. Monterosso (Ruiz 85), Mouttet, Shepheard Subs not used – Mansaray, Bennett
Wanneroo City – Miller, Croxall, Donnelly, Brown, Yates (Pugh 73), Cheeseman, Dendle, Andrews, Hansen, Hafez, Cooke Subs not used – Ainslie, Wells, Houston
Referee: Tom Klaver
Match Report by Peter Simcox
Cockburn City (1) v Stirling Lions (1)
Damatinac Park
Cockburn City and Stirling Lions have fought a tight 1-1 draw in front of a boisterous home crowd at Dalmatinac Park in Spearwood. A controversial second half penalty from Kevin Henderson cancelled out Jason Dos Santos opener in the 63rd minute on an overcast afternoon in the Southern Suburbs.
Cockburn was yet to drop a point at home this season and Stirling were hoping to ruin that streak dominating the early stages of the first half with former City player David Dugdale putting the ball in the back of the net after only 8 minutes; however he was adjudged offside by the linesman. The visitors midfield led by dynamo Ludovic Boi was threatening on the counter and Cockburn could have found themselves behind on a number of occasions in the opening stanza if not for versatile goalkeeper Dino Pacella.
It took 30 minutes for Cockburn to hit their straps and in-form striker Josh Kamasz almost had the home side in front when a great ball from Michael Mirco fell to the feet of the youngster, but his shot was well blocked by Stirling custodian Phil Straker.
Fundamental errors crept into the game in the second half with neither side able to construct any opportunities. Veteran Johnny Mirco tried to breathe life into his side with his storming runs forward but it was another excitement machine that delivered the opening goal after 63 minutes; Jason Dos Santos danced his way through the Lions defence before unleashing a powerful low shot which ricocheted off a defender’s foot, ultimately rolling past a helpless Straker in the Stirling goal.
The goal lifted the spirits in the camp and a minute later Josh Kamasz could have doubled the lead for the home side but his shot from a tight angle was blocked out again by Straker.
The referee was in the thick of the action after awarding a penalty against defender Shane Nunes for a tackle on Andy Brown. Players surrounded the referee about the decision but it mattered little to Kevin Henderson who stepped up to power home the equalizer.
In a tense final twenty minutes neither side had a chance to break the deadlock and both teams shared the points.
After the match, Cockburn coach Scott Miller expressed his disappointment with the performance but commended his hardworking midfielder Jason Dos Santos. “We didn’t play well, Stirling dominated the game and we were nowhere near it. We lacked good tackles and when we received the ball we just didn’t break quick enough,” he said.
“Jason is learning how to defend now, he’s really worked hard to improve that aspect of his game and he’s getting better and better each week.”
Stirling Lions coach Mick Lyons felt his team were very unlucky to not go away with all three points. “We thought we started off really bright, had a flat twenty minutes at the end of the first half but I felt we deserved to win the game,” said Lyons.
Stirling will face their toughest task next weekend when they meet Floreat Athena at Macedonia Park on Sunday with the match being broadcast live by 90.5 FM. Cockburn will meet Freo Spirit at the Spanish Club in the eagerly anticipated Southern Derby.
Match Reporter: Beau Crompton
Sorrento (0) v Fremantle Spirit (1)
Percy Doyle Reserve
Fremantle Spirit intensified the pressure on reigning premiers Sorrento Football Club with a deserved 1-0 victory in blustery conditions at Percy Doyle Reserve this afternoon. Spirit took all three points thanks to a Sebastian Booyen header that looped into the net after the keeper failed to reach the ball only two minutes after half time. It was a game of few genuine opportunities, but the best fell to the Fremantle side as Sorrento looked devoid of ideas to break down the resolute Spirit defence. The Gulls are bottom of the table after failing to pick up a point after six rounds and a relegation battle must now be a major concern for the club who only lifted the championship trophy eight months ago.
A shower before kick off made conditions difficult for the first 45 as Fremantle came racing out of the blocks in determined fashion to take the game to the hosts. Gulls keeper Anthony Cochrane had to be alert to palm away a second minute curling free kick after an early foul outside the box. Fremantle’s Booyen then had a great chance to open the scoring on six minutes after neat work from Raveshlan Kuppusamy but his effort was over the bar.
At the other end, Todd Harnwell headed wide under pressure from an excellent cross by Daniel Taylor as the Gulls began to get a foothold on the game and put the Spirit goal under some sustained pressure. Hartwell’s wicked cross was just too high for Glen Thomas on 19 minutes before a failed corner clearance fell to the Gulls James Morgan but his attempt flew over the bar from the penalty spot.
The supporters had barely enough time to resume their vantage point in the second half before Fremantle stunned the home side with an opportunistic goal two minutes after restart; a long cross field ball caught the defence high and Cochrane failed to reach the ball before Booyen looped a header over the keeper and into the net. The goal deflated the Sorrento players as Fremantle lifted their work rate in a determined effort to secure the three points.
On 72 minutes the pace of Fremantle striker Kuppusamy could have sealed the win after he beat the defender, cut inside the box but saw his low effort tipped into the side netting by Cochrane. From the resulting corner Booyen directed his header goal wards but a fantastic clearing header off the line by the Gulls Jason Trpevski saved their blushes. With the big Steven McDonald thrown up front, Todd Harnwell almost benefited after a great touch allowed him sight on goal but under pressure he could only lob the keeper and the cross bar from an angle.
Fremantle coach Marc Wingell was understandably delighted to see his side take the full points. “It’s always hard coming to Percy Doyle Reserve against Sorrento, they are always a very strong side at home and we are happy with a good result today. When the games pretty close and there aren’t many goals in it you expect your defence to hold strong and they did that today,” said Wingell.
“We need to build on what we’ve done, ten points from the first six games, we’re pleased, we’re happy, that was our goal and we look forward to the next five or six games and pick up a few points along the way,” said Wingell.
Match Reporter: Ben Fitzpatrick
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