Report by Kalon Harrison

Armadale assistant coach Saul Contera said that if you give Sorrento a sniff they’re going to be a chance after conceding a 90th minute penalty in their 1-1 draw at Percy Doyle Reserve.

“Making a mistake and giving away a penalty is a bit heartbreaking but the performance was there from the players,” he said. “We were the better team on the park today.”

Armadale opened the scoring in the 52nd minute when Dannie Richman poked the ball in at the back post under heavy pressure.

The away side had the chance to go 2-0 three minutes later but Rav Kuppusamy missed from the penalty spot; Curtis Aspden saving the tame effort on goal.

Sorrento star Reece Vittiglia didn’t make the same mistake from the spot when it counted in the 90th minute. Sean Canham got a toe to the ball before the onrushing Matt Gould in goals, forcing referee Matt Southern to award the home side a penalty kick.

Based on chances the home side deserved the point and if it wasn’t for Gould who made some tremendous saves, the away side could have been beaten.

Gould denied Canham in the 31st minute, tipping the ball onto the crossbar from the striker’s angled effort that seemed destined for the back of the net.

Substitute Scott Bulloch had a clever volley saved at near point blank range in the 57th minute and again 10 minutes later when he followed up a Daryl Platten header with his own header; somehow both shots being saved by Gould tipping them onto the crossbar acrobatically.

Steve McDonald had a header saved in the 80th minute that looked like it had snuck past Gould, but the keeper managed to get a hand low and slightly behind him to stop the effort going in.

Sorrento coach Jamie Harnwell said he was happy to get something out of the game after describing his side’s first half as a friendly game.

“Conditions weren’t ideal, we had a few chances but couldn’t take them,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it would’ve been five-one or something because we could have conceded a few but five-four on a different day.

“Armadale are always going to be a tough game, they’ve always been competitive and that’s been proven again today.”

The draw means Sorrento lose a bit of momentum in their chase of league leaders Bayswater and are now 10 points behind with Perth on the same total of 20.

Armadale remain second from bottom with four points but will be boosted by both performance and result after their game with Sorrento.

Sorrento FC 1 (Reece VITTIGLIA pen 90’)
Armadale SC 1 (Dannie RICHMAN 52’)
Saturday 24 May, 2014
Percy Doyle Reserve
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Referee:  Matt Southern

Sorrento: 1. Curtis ASPDEN, 6. Daryl PLATTEN, 4. Shaun KILKELLY, 15. Raz GELOO (11. Scott BULLOCH 45’), 13. Steve McDONALD, 22. Ryan PEARSON (2. Danny CAIN 75’), 7. James MORGAN, 18. Sean CANHAM, 17. Reece VITTIGLIA, 14. Chris REID, 5. Adam LUCA (21. Mike McGINLEY 65’)

Substitutes not used: 49. Jesse WAGENER
Yellow cards: Reid 21’, Kilkelly 54’, McDonald 69’
Red cards: Nil

Armadale: 20. Matt GOULD, 12. Alec SOLOMONS, 4. Billy QUINNCROFT, 5. Nathan COSTELLO, 14. Mitch CASTRILLI (8. Llewellyn BAKE 69’), 6. Jason BARRERA, 2. Jackson BEALEY, 7. Faustinho MACHOCHI (17. Alex CLARKE 85’), 11. Dannie RICHMAN, 13. Same LOVELESS, 9. Rav KUPPUSAMY (16. Mwansa MUSONDA 79’)

Substitutes not used: 1. Darren HAYWOOD, 18. Dennis GAYE
Yellow cards: Gould 90’
Red cards: Nil