Report by Tommy Doleman

Floreat Athena bounced back from their first defeat of the season by coming from behind to beat Balcatta 3-2 in a thrilling PS4 National Premier Leagues WA contest.

The hosts hit the woodwork twice in the first half, either side of Adrian Caceres’ opener, as it looked as if Floreat was going to have one of those days.

But they came out of the blocks after the break, as Steve Burton and Ludovic Boi combined twice to complete the turnaround, before Bobby Wilson added a third.

Caceres would ensure a nervy final seven minutes with his second, but Floreat held firm for the points to the delight of coach Glen Grostate, who was pleased with his team’s response and has not ruled out catching Bayswater.

“One of the hardest things in football is winning after you’ve been beaten,” he said.

“We’ve had a good run of wins, but it was all about character today, because we need these wins to stay with Bayswater.

“We conceded at the end, but at 3-1 we were comfortable, and I’m proud of that fighting spirit which shows we can give this a real good crack.”

Grostate is also pleased to have a near full-strength squad and wants more of the same from his players after a great first half of the season. 

“We’re not going to change our style of football,” he said.

“But what’s really good for me is having players come back, having got to this point without a full strength squad.

“We’ve been two or three short, week in, week out, but on my bench I can turn around and make a sub that will make an impact.”

The home side nearly made the perfect start when Lewis McMahon got across his man but could only divert his effort onto a post.

Balcatta then went up the other end and scored, as Caceres raced onto the loose ball, and fired superbly into the roof of the net.

Floreat’s luck was not in as Boi was the next to hit the post, and if the frame was not in the way, it was Clint Davies, who denied Gate on two occasions.

Their luck was to change in the second half and two minutes in they equalised as Boi got to the byline and pulled it back for Burton to score his first since joining Athena.

The roles were reversed five minutes later as Floreat turned the game on its head. This time, Burton did well to fire the ball across the box, and Boi was there to tap in.

Floreat’s confidence rose as they managed to control large portions of the second half, and they added a third on 72 minutes.

Substitute Robbie Gasper swung in a corner from the left and Wilson was on hand to power a header past a helpless Davies.

Balcatta would not lie down though, as Caceres capitalised on a mistake at the back to sidefoot past the goalkeeper, with plenty of time left.

But the equaliser did not arrive for the visitors and coach Ramon Falzon was left to rue a lapse of concentration from his team after the break.

“The first 10 minutes of the second half cost us today,” he said.

“Those early goals definitely hurt us. We had heaps of young players out there today, and it was a good experience for them, but we need to learn to cope when we’re in the lead and under pressure.”

Falzon, though, was optimistic that with a bit more consistency the results will come for his side.

“We need to be smarter. There are patches in games where we play really well and we need to capitalise on those moments,” he said.

“But if we can do that, I can see us pushing hard and doing well in the second half of the season.”

Floreat Athena 3 (Burton 47’, Boi 52’, Wilson 72’)
Balcatta SC 2 (Caceres 5’, 83’)
Saturday June 6, 2015
E&d Litis Stadium
Local kick-off: 5:00pm

Floreat Athena: GK: Dejan ALEKSIC, 3. Jack ALLEN, 4. Aryn WILLIAMS, 5. Bobby WILSON, 6. Clayton ARNEZ, 11. Dennis GALAN, 12. Kris GATE (8. Robbie GASPAR 69’), 14. Ludovic BOI, 19. Steve BURTON, 20. Lewis MCMAHON, 33. David STOKOE (10. Andrew SCALDAFERRO 66’).
Substitutes not used: 1. Matt FRANKEN, 15. Jason POTTIER
Yellow Cards: McMahon 56’
Red Cards: Nil

Balcatta SC: 1. Clint DAVIES, 2. Hanafi GHEZALI, 4. Alexsander SULESKI, 10. Adrian CACERES, 11. Gustavo CATARCIONE, 15. Marc De FRANCESCH, 17. Kieran COLWELL, 20. Patrick QUINN (16. Simon LEDUN 79’), 22. Jordan COLOSANTE, 23. Marc ZAGAMI, 50. Blamo QUAQUA (14. Steve SOKOL 73’)
Substitutes not used: 5. Alen PATAROV, 8. Jackson AMOSA, 21. Daniel PASSARELLI
Yellow Cards: Ghezali 78’
Red Cards: Nil