Second place nicked from Floreat
Report by Colin Outhwaite
Floreat Athena were denied a second place finish in the National Premier Leagues WA when they were beaten 1-0 by a resilient Sorrento at Percy Doyle Reserve.
Jack Salter scored in the 85th minute and helped Perth SC leapfrog Floreat on the ladder after their 2-1 win over Subiaco.
Floreat squandered a golden opportunity to put the game away when they missed a second half penalty and coach Glen Grostate felt deflated having been second place for the whole season.
“We’ve had a fantastic season but we gave it up in the last 15 minutes,” he said.
“The boys battled hard but if you want to be successful you have to win big games.”
Captain Ludo Boi and in-form striker Kris Gate both came off early in the first half with injuries (hamstring and shoulder respectively) and Grostate said it’s always a struggle at Percy Doyle without a full squad.
“When you lose players of that calibre it’s difficult,” he said.
“But we can’t really beat ourselves up - we won the night series and finished in the top three, so I guess I’ll get over it.”
It was an uneventful first half as both teams jostled for possession and that paved the way for an entertaining second half.
Jack Allen initiated the Athena attack when he ploughed through the middle of the field and brought on a low diving save from State goalkeeper James Morgan in the 47th minute.
Floreat continued to press but Sorrento countered sporadically and keeper Fraser Greenwood did well to halt Scott Bulloch’s run on goal in the 62nd minute.
Four minutes later, Steve Burton skilfully turned a defender and curled the ball towards the far post with the outside of his boot, but Morgan stretched a hand to it.
Sorrento captain Daryl Platten then gave away an avoidable penalty when he lashed out at Blair Govan in the 68h minute following a challenge on Morgan.
But Morgan did the skipper a favour and again kept out Burton with another one-handed save.
The save put a spring in Sorrento’s step and it was only a matter of time before Salter shattered the visitors spirits and drove home a through-ball from Ryan Pearson.
Sorrento face Perth next week in the Coolridge Cup Final after inadvertently helping them end their season on a high. Coach Jamie Harnwell doesn’t think it will be to their detriment.
“It’s not about the lead-up games to the final anymore,” he said.
“They’ll be confident going in but so will we, so it’s what happens on the day that counts.”
Sorrento 1 (Salter 85mins)
Floreat Athena 0
Percy Doyle Reserve
Saturday, September 5th
Kick-off: 3pm
Referee:Matthew Southern
Assistant Referees: Stuart Muldoon, Simon Hicks
Sorrento: 1. James MORGAN (gk), 4. Shaun KILLKELLY, 6. Daryl PLATTEN (c), 8. Ryan PEARSON, 9. Todd HARNWELL (21. Jordan DODD 68’), 13. Steven McDONALD, 15. Scott BULLOCH (12. Jack EADES 68’), 18. Sean CANHAM, 19. Jack SALTER, 20. Brad McDONALD, 22. Lewis HALL (24. Scott HOYLE 86’)
Substitutes not used: 60. Jordan BLANK (rgk), 2. Danny CAIN
Yellow cards: Pearson 36
Red Cards: Nil
Floreat Athena: 1. Fraser GREENWOOD (gk), 2. Blair GOVAN, 3. Jack ALLEN, 4. Aryn WILLIAMS, 5. Bobby WILSON, 6. Clayton ARNEZ, 10. Jonathan STYNES, 12. Kris GATE (11. Dennis GALAN 43’), 14. Ludovic BOI (15. Andrew SCALDAFERR 19’), 17. Callum FRANSZ, 19. Steven BURTON
Substitutes not used: 23. Dejan ALEKSIC (rgk), 8. Brian GWATIRINGA, 16. Nathan GROSTATE,
Yellow cards: Burton 27, Govan 89
Red Cards: Nil
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