Lions roar with four against Cockburn
Report by Colin Outhwaite
Daniel Micevski scored a double as Stirling Lions defeated Cockburn City 4-0 in their PS4 National Premier Leagues WA clash at Macedonia Park.
Micevski’s brace added to Teeboy Kamara’s early goal in a commanding first half performance, before captain Miki Juvacic sealed the points after the break.
It was Stirling’s first home win of the season and coach Rob Milevski was glad he could put on a show for the supporters.
"Our starts have been slow over the past few weeks and it was something we addressed in training," he said.
"We wanted to make sure we were first out of the blocks, and once we got the first goal, we were able to press and we took our chances from there on in."
Harry O'Brien came close for Cockburn when he cut through the defence on nine minutes, but goalkeeper Connor Campbell acted fast to clear the danger.
Immediately after, Steve Purton chipped the ball in behind Cockburn’s defence for Kamara to coolly lob over Jack Adams.
City continued to push forward to their credit, as Conor Kavanagh tested Campbell with a volley on the half hour mark.
But Micevski scored twice within three minutes to all but end the contest, first tapping in Lawrence Shuruma's through ball, before smashing in a cross from Anthony Bafobusha.
Stirling looked to keep up the pressure after the break and they duly added a fourth goal as skipper Vujacic put the game out of reach on 58 minutes.
O'Brien, Feisal Zaw and substitute Julian Teles all came close to grabbing a consolation for the visitors, while Adams did well to keep the scoreline down.
Cockburn coach Marc Anthony said his team lacked the desire to win early on in the game after a second 4-0 defeat in consecutive weeks.
"We need to get out of the rut we're in because there's no doubt that we're not playing well," he said.
"I’d like to think we've got much better performances in us this season, so it's time to roll our sleeves up instead of giving mediocre performances."
Stirling Lions 4 (Kamara 9mins, Micevski 38, 41, Vujacic 58)
Cockburn City 0
Sunday May 9, 2015
Macedonia Park
Referee: Tom Glavovic
Stirling Lions: 24. Connor CAMPBELL (gk), 3. Steve PURTON, 5. Anthony BAFOBUSHA, 6. Brodie MARTIN (4. Billy QUINNCROFT 90+1), 7. Milorad VUJACIC (c), 8. Tim HILL, 9. Teeboy KAMARA, 10. Daniel MICEVSKI, 14. Lawrence SHURUMA (2. Boas MTWALE, 87), 15. Robert PETKOV (17. Brian WOODALL 66), 18. Nathan BOWDEN-HASSE
Subs not used: 1. Luke RADONICH (rgk),12. Rob MARIANO
Yellow Cards: 5. Anthony BAFOBUSHA 83
Red Cards: Nil
Cockburn City: 23. Jack ADAMS (gk), 3. Jonathan CORNESS, 4. Euen GRANT (c), 5. Alan CARROLL, 7. Friday ZICO (16. Julian TELES 45), 11. Devon GIBSON, 12. Feisal ZAW (2. Josh KUSER 69), 13. Blake ADAMS, 14. Conor KAVANAGH, 15. Harry O'BRIEN, 19. Liam MURRAY (18. Daniel ROBINSON 81)
Subs not used: 1. Lachlan FELTRMAN (rgk)
Yellow Cards: 7. Friday ZICO 31, 5. Alan CARROLL 63
Red Cards: Nil
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