Balcatta pull three back against 10-man Glory
Report by Colin Outhwaite
Balcatta mounted a second half comeback against a 10-man Perth Glory Youth side to beat them 3-2 at Grindleford Reserve.
Nic Talimdzioski and Slobodan Vulin scored in the first half for the visitors, before Gustavo Catarcione’s brace either side of Adrian Caceres’ goal made up for them being outplayed in the first half.
It was Balcatta’s second big comeback of the season, but coach Ramon Falzon said he doesn’t want his side to make a habit of it.
“We can’t wait until we’re on the back foot to play football,” he said.
“Glory dominated the first half and I hated watching us chase shadows and letting them pass straight through us.
“We were fortunate with the sending off and we also made some technical changes at half time, but more importantly we changed our attitude and our mentality.”
Balcatta came close first despite seeing little possession in the first half with Adam Tong towering above the Glory defence to head Caceres’ cross against the upright.
But Talimdzioski’s head proved more clinical, lobbing the ball over Balcatta goalkeeper Clint Davies in the 28th minute.
Then four minutes before half time, Vulin rounded off a superb first half for the Glory with a coolly taken penalty to make it 2-0.
Balcatta returned after the break rejuvenated by a fiery Falzon team talk, but it was Glory midfielder Calvin Whitney’s dubious second yellow card in the 50th minute that proved to be a decisive moment.
Four minutes later substitute Hanafi Ghezali delivered a perfect cross to the head of Catarcione to begin an emphatic comeback in front of the brand new stand.
Glory’s spirit was not easily subdued and they continued to counter with Talimdzioski denied a second goal for a foul on Davies.
But Balcatta were inevitably too strong with the extra player and Caceres equalised in the 74th minutes with a stylish top corner finish, then Catarcione converted Tong’s cross with five minutes to play to seal the three points.
Glory Coach John Gibson thought his side were magnificent throughout the game.
“We had an exceptional first half,” he said.
“We knew we they were going to come out strong and we had to match that aggression.
“A key factor when you come against teams like this is experience and physicality and that’s what we’re going to benefit from each week.”
Balcatta FC 3 (Catarcione 54' 85', Caceres 74',)
Perth Glory Youth 2 (Talimdzioski 27', Vulin 42')
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Grindleford Reserve
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Referee: Matt Southern
Assistant Referees: Scott Cairns, Oliver Allen
Balcatta FC: 1. Clint DAVIES (gk), 3. Keiron STALLARD, 5. Adam TONG (c), 8. Simon LEDUN (2. Hanafi GHEZALI 48'), 10. Adrian CACERES, 11. Gustavo CATARCIONE, 15. Marc DE FRANCESCH, 16. Dejan ANDRIC (13. Patrick SARA 55'), 17. Keiran COLWELL (14. Steve SOKOL 52'), 20. Patrick QUINN, 50. Blamo QUAQUA
Substitutes not used: 21. Daniel PASSARELLI, 23. Marc ZAGAMI.
Yellow cards: Stallard 11', Andric 47', Qua Qua 64', Sara 55'
Red cards: Nil
Perth Glory: 1. Jordan FRANKEN (gk), 2. Gian ALBANO, 3. Jacob COLLARD (c), 4. Nathan COSTELLO, 5. Ali GHOLAMI, 6. Calvin WHITNEY, 7. Waliedin ISMAIL (12. Matthew NTOUMENOPOULOS 73') 8. Dejan SPASESKI, 9. Nic TALIMDZIOSKI, 10. Slobodan VULIN, 11. Sam MACKEARNAN (13. Michael McDOUGAL 76')
Substitutes not used: 20. Jordan YOUNG, 14. Alex TANESKI, 15. Ciaran SALINGER
Yellow cards: Whitney 20' 50', Vulin 67'
Red cards: Whitney 50'
Comments
Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.