Report by Tommy Doleman

Pictured: Bayswater celebrate Bor Bor Sam's goal. Photo: Vince Caratozzolo.

David Heagney bagged a brace as Bayswater edged a five-goal thriller 3-2 against Perth in a heavyweight PS4NPLWA clash at Dorrien Gardens.

Heagney's first came on 19 minutes before Bor Bor Sam curled home as the hosts led 2-0 at the break.

Ash Rosindale halved the deficit to give Perth hope, but Heagney was in the right place to score what proved to be the winner with 17 minutes left.

Harley Orr netted late on to give Perth hope of salvaging a point, but Bayswater held firm for a result that coach Chris Coyne hopes will set the standard for his charges.

“We’ve been at the top for two years now and if somebody wants to knock us off, they’ve got to do it the hard way. We’re not going to be pushovers,” he said.

“We sat down and analysed last week’s game (against Inglewood) and we were a bit of a soft touch.

“Not one of my teams’ will ever be a soft touch, so tonight we set down a marker and if teams want to catch us, that’s what you’ve got to beat."

Coyne also praised the quality of his side's performance, particularly in the first half, where he believed the team really hit their straps for the first time this season.

“The energy, movement and some of the football we played in the first half was outrageously good,” he said.

“It was a good game. It was end-to-end and I can imagine it was fantastic for the neutral; there was a lot of quality out there.”

Perth started brightly in the headline clash of this weekend’s ‘rivalry round’ but Bayswater settled and controlled a large portion of the first period.

The best chance in the opening 20 minutes fell to Todd Howarth who rifled against the bar from 25m.

Five minutes later they did take the lead as Heagney arrived at the back-post to fire past Alex Dunn.

Carlo Coelho forced Devon Spence into a block after Aden Da Luz back-heeled into his path, but Bayswater doubled their lead soon after.

Andrew Reale provided the width down the right and Sam collected his cross to finish superbly over Dunn into the top corner.

Ash Rosindale shot wide before the break as Perth looked to pull one back, and the hosts did get a lifeline following a bright start to the second half.

Half time substitute Calum O’Connell got to the by-line and fired across for Rosindale to bundle home on the hour mark.

Howarth should have made it 3-1 as he planted a free header wide, but Bayswater did restore their two goal advantage on 73 minutes.

Dunn and his Perth defence did well to deny the visitors on two occasions before Heagney pounced on the loose ball and blasted home.

Orr poked under the goalkeeper late on as Perth pulled one back again, but it wasn’t enough as Bayswater claimed all three points.

Spence echoed Coyne’s comments about Bayswater’s performance and admitted the players acknowledged the importance of the clash to the supporters.

“The first half was perfect. We wanted to step it up from Inglewood last week and lift the tempo,” he said.

“The work rate of the boys was immense over the 90 minutes and it shows the true character of the team.

“It’s massive (the win). We put in a huge shift, which is good for us, but even more so for the fans who will be happy with the win.”
 
Perth SC 2 (Rosindale 55mins, Orr 88’)
Bayswater City 3 (Heagney 19mins, 71’, Sam 34’)
Saturday 18 April 2015
Dorrien Gardens
Local kick-off: 7:00pm

Perth SC: GK. Alex DUNN, 5. Dean EVANS, 6. Clark KELTIE, 7. Carlo COELHO (9. Harley ORR 80’), 8. Aden DA LUZ (4. Calum O’CONNELL 45’), 10. Ash ROSINDALE, 11. Joshua WILKINS, 12. Marco SANTALUCIA, 13. Rocco PIZZATA, 14. Mark PRITCHARD (18. Josh PEREIRA 80’), 17. Reece VITTIGLIA.
Substitutes not used: 21. Matt MILENKOVIC, 23. Francis SOALE.
Yellow cards: Wilkins 52’, O’Connell 86’
Red cards: Nil

Bayswater SC: GK: Devon SPENCE, 2. Declan HARGREAVES, 5. Andrew REALE, 6. Todd HOWARTH, 9. Gustavo MARULANDA (8. Paul MCCARTHY 59’), 13. Trent KAY, 16. Jamie COYNE, 17. Bor Bor SAM (18. Phil ARNOLD 83’), 20. Sam MITCHINSON, 21. David HEAGNEY (12. Steve BURTON 73’), 23. Chris SALDARIS.
Substitutes not used: RGK: Jason SALDARIS, Aaron DELANEY.
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Nil