Report by Alasdair Beer

Perth SC coach Taki Nicolaidis said his side will not be motivated by revenge when they travel to Frank Drago Reserve for their PS4 National Premier Leagues WA Rivalry Round clash with Bayswater City.

Bayswater overturned a 5-0 National Premier Leagues WA semi-final drubbing from Perth to be crowned champions after beating them 1-0 in last year’s grand final.

When the sides met earlier this year, Bayswater defeated Perth 3-2.

However, Nicolaidis believes history will have little bearing on the coming match.

“From my point of view, I was bitterly disappointed we didn’t take our opportunities in the grand final,” he said.

“(But) it’s all about the next 90 minutes from my end, and it’s pretty much the way our players think as well.”

The Perth boss said he was looking forward to giving some of his younger players the chance to take on a side of Bayswater’s pedigree.

“Someone like Nick Ambrogio has stepped in of late and been very good,” he said.

“A lot of the youngsters coming into the game come in with a lot of confidence and actually want to impress against the big teams.”

Nicolaidis said the rivalry drove both sides to raise their performances.

“It’s always good to be able to measure yourself against Bayswater in terms of performance and results,” he said.

“I think both sets of players respect each other immensely for the amount of quality and talent that we have.”

Both sides have significant support amongst Perth’s Italian community, and Nicolaidis said the fixture was a special day for Italian-Australians.

“A lot of the opposing supporters are family friends,” he said.

“It’s like being in England, where one set of the family supports Liverpool and the other side supports Everton.

“Both sets of supporters are very proud of where they’re at, and obviously look for bragging rights at the end of the 90 minutes.”

Match details
Bayswater City v Perth SC
Sunday, July 19
Kickoff: 3pm
Frank Drago Reserve