ECU Joondalup v Wanneroo City

ECU Joondalup will host Northern rivals Wanneroo City in round three of the Football West State League Match of The Week.

Derby matches are always special occasions and this is sure to be no different as both sides will be looking for the three points that will kick start their seasons.

ECU Joondalup, coached by Willie McNally, were impressive in the McInerney Ford Night Series and recorded an opening day 2-1 success over newly promoted Fremantle however went down 3-2 to Cockburn City the following round.

Wanneroo meanwhile have been in turmoil in the early stages of the season after coach Jamie Goodman was sacked after their 3-1 loss to Stirling on the opening day of the season. Mike Brazil has stepped into the hot seat and with Wanneroo still to pick up their first points for the 2007 season, it is a must win game for his side if they are to avoid the relegation dogfight.

The match is a 3.00pm kick off at ECU University in Joondalup.

By Ben Fitzpatrick




Floreat Athena v Cockburn City

The clash of the unbeaten Floreat Athena and Cockburn City is the highlight of the third round of the Football West Premier League this weekend.

Athena has taken all before them this season and Michael Roki has his young side firing on all cylinders. Former Perth Glory defender Ante Kovacevic fitted in well at the back for Athena in their 3-1 victory at Sorrento and will no doubt feel better for the run. The midfield of Athena is no doubt one of the strongest in the League with Josip Magdic, Baju Savic and Miki Vujacic supplying ammunition for Jerry Karpeh and Branimir Mikulic up front. They look the goods this season but will be tested on Saturday with Scott Miller’s Cockburn City visiting the Litis Stadium

Miller has taken over the reins at the Dalmatinac Park this season and has kept the majority of the squad from last season. He has started with two victories and their come from behind win against ECU Joondalup last week showed the spirit in the side. The defence is held together by keeper Dino Pacella and at the heart of the defence Jason Godfrey, Paul Natale and Shane Nunes will all be in for a busy afternoon. The strike force of Dean Wallace and Michael Mirco will give Athena defence problems. Mirco is vital for the Cockerels; his leadership to the younger players in the squad like Jason and Aaron Dos Santos is what Miller is looking for this season. His brother Johnny Mirco has also been outstanding this season and his performances have been a stand out for the side this season.

By Peter Simcox



Fremantle Spirit v Armadale Soccer Club

Fremantle Spirit host Armadale Soccer Club in a crucial relegation battle in the State Premier League at the Spanish Club of WA on Saturday, 28 April 2007.

The southern suburbs derby between the two sides has historically been an enthralling encounter and Saturday’s match-up should be no different due to the importance of the game with both sides tipped to be in the relegation battle come end of the season.

Armadale will enter the match high on confidence after holding out a 0-0 draw against last years cup winners Stirling Lions. However, everybody at the club understands results like that can prove meaningless unless they can pick up results against other relegation battlers.

Armadale Coach Billy Russell can see the importance of the meeting but realises it will take more than just one performance to save his side from relegation.

“It’s not a crucial game because you get 22 games in a season but you’d need to be a bit foolish to not realise that it is an early relegation battle,” said Russell.

Fremantle will also be confident after a 1-0 away victory over Wanneroo City; another side expected to battle for relegation this season. Spirit were clear winners of Division One last year but it is not yet clear if they have added enough to their squad to maintain their position in the Premier League, but having picked up three points just two games into the season Fremantle will believe they can take a big step towards safety with a win over their southern suburbs rivals.

The first team game commences at 3.00pm on Saturday, 28 April with the game taking place at Fremantle’s new home ground, the Spanish Club of WA in North Lake.

By Jacob Kagi



Perth Soccer Club v Swan IC

Sunday, 29 April 2007

The unbeaten Perth Soccer Club entertains Swan IC on Sunday, 29 April in round three of the Football West Premier League at Dorrien Gardens, live on radio 90.5FM at 3.30pm.

Graham Normanton’s side are coming off two 3-0 victories to start their season and will hope to continue against traditional rivals Swan IC. The Black and whites produced a double over their illustrious rivals last season, winning 2-1 on both occasions.

Perth have a strong squad this season and Perth Glory striker Nikita Rukavytsya has began to find his goal scoring touch and his partnership with Andreas Oliveira will have to closely marked by the Swans defence. Their midfield is one of the best in the league with the quality of Robbie Puca, Antonio Naglieri, Gary Faria and Todd Howarth, which has the blue brigade running at full power. They may be good going forward but they are yet to concede a goal this season with Gareth Deeg in goal, Gianfranco Circati and Michael Icanovski solid at the back and youngster Trent Kay showing great maturity.

Carlo Scali’s side started their League campaign slowly but a point on Saturday in a 0-0 draw against Bobby Despotovski’s Inglewood United will give them heart. The return of Captain Cory Hugo in goal will hold the defence together and with former Perth Soccer Club defender Aaron Cole in great form along with Paul Baczynski, they will all need to be on their toes against the Perth strike force.

The midfield drive will come from youngsters David Perich and Brendan Knox who have both come up through the ranks of the club and another former Perth player Damien Catalano. They will have their job cut out against their strong Perth counterparts but Scali has put faith in the youngsters this season. Up front the lively Thomas Shepheard who will be a handful for the Perth defence and David Foster will have to be watched closely.

The game will be aired live on 90.5FM ‘Let’s Talk football’ and Eamon Duffy and the team will give a comprehensive view of the game, join them at 3pm.

By Peter Simcox



LOANS CAFÉ AMATEUR LEAGUE PREVIEW

Sunday, 29 April

Kingsway Olympic v Shamrock Rovers

Kingsway Olympic meet Shamrock Rovers in The Loans Café Amateur Premier League at Kingsway Reserve on Sunday, 29 April in what is sure to be a hard fought and entertaining battle.

The two Group B sides believe that they can be in the race to win the league this season but will both need to pick up crucial points early in the season if they hope to achieve those goals.

Kingsway will be delighted with the news that new signing Sota Iwasaki is likely to make his first team debut after playing in the reserves competition last weekend. Olympic defender Jason Stern says that his side is confident entering the game.

“The key to the game for Kingsway is being able to get the ball wide and get the ball into our lively front two,” he said.

“If we control the midfield we are confident of running over teams. The key to beating Shamrock is to match them physically and give them no time to drive forward from midfield.”

The Rovers side is considered by many to be one of the favourites to win Group B this season. They will be desperate to regain some stability, starting with a win against Kingsway. Flavio L'Abbate surprisingly resigned as coach just a week before the season begun, with assistant Nik Silsby forced to take over on an interim basis for the opening two weeks of this campaign. Silsby has since returned to his role as assistant coach following the return of club legend Mick Murray as coach. Shamrock has started the season in good form, winning their opening game of the league season 3-1 against South Perth.

Silsby sees this weekend’s game as pivotal in the Rovers season.

“It will be a very tough game. I know Kingsway are hell-bent on returning to Saturday football and will be pulling out all the stops to get back there. They have several quality players all over the park and we know we will be in for a very difficult and physical game,” said Silsby.

Other games see Spearwood Dallies host Maccabi, Fremantle United travel to UWA, Perth Azzurri meet Lynwood Colts, South Perth United make the journey north to play Stirling Panthers, Hamersley Rovers host CN Canning, Murdoch Uni play the red hot Southern Sprit and Subiaco United host Suburbs United, with all games being played on Sunday, 29 April with the league games commencing at 3.00pm.

By Jacob Kagi