Report by Kane Sutton

Sorrento overcame a two-goal deficit to secure a 3-3 draw against title contenders Bayswater City at Finance 365 Stadium on Saturday.

The visiting team went into halftime 3-1 down having allowed Bayswater striker Alex Salmon score a hat trick in the opening 45 minutes.

Sorrento claimed momentum late in the match, scoring two goals in 10 minutes, and looked ready to win the game as the final whistle was blown.

Sorrento coach Jamie Harnwell was pleased with his team's second half performance but lamented crucial periods where the defence allowed themselves to become vulnerable.

“When you go in 3-1 down at half time, you're under the pump against second-top of the table, to get any result is a good one,” he said.

“We've got to keep that [second half] level of intensity whatever the conditions are. We can't afford to give teams a two-goal headstart. We can't keep pulling back time and time again.

“We gave away a sloppy goal last week and a couple today so we'll keep working on that.”

Bayswater applied the attacking pressure early, culminating in two goals by striker Alex Salmon in the 11th and 13th minutes.

Sorrento were able to claim one back in the 24th minute when Tim Hill's ground-cross into the box found Brad McDonald who was able to fire the ball into the net from close range.

The rain fell heavily throughout the latter end of the first half and the water-logged pitch affected the ball momentum significantly, which continued to catch players out.

Salmon was able to make the most of such a misjudgement from the Sorrento defenders and found enough space to shoot the ball into the top right corner to bag his hat-trick.

Rain and hail would continue to drown the pitch throughout the break and tactics turned towards lobbed through-balls forward, each team trying to catch the opposition defenders on the back foot.

Sorrento gradually built their attacking pressure throughout the second half and an unfortunate handball by Samuel Mitchinson saw Bayswater concede a penalty, which Sean Canham converted with ease.

As the clock ticked over into the last 10 minutes, Sorrento once again pressed the Bayswater defence allowing substitute Ryan Pearson to set up Alex Morgan for the equaliser.

It was a hard pill to swallow for Bayswater coach Chris Coyne who felt his team were unlucky to concede a penalty that inspired the comeback.

“Never a penalty in a million years,” he said. “Sam Mitchinson had no opportunity to get his body out the way. For me, at 3-1 we were very comfortable, at 3-2, all of a sudden, the dynamic of the game's changed.”

Coyne was, however, quick to praise Sorrento for their resilience.

“Full credit to them, they showed heart and that passion they've always showed since I've been a kid and they got a result out of it so kudos to them.”

Despite the undesirable result, Coyne insisted the message to his players in the lead up to next week's game is unchanged.

“We just get on with it. It's a cliché but it's only a game of football and they just need to enjoy it, and be the best they can be.”

The result sees Sorrento climb to seventh on the ladder, while Bayswater remain in second, three points behind leaders Inglewood.

Bayswater City 3 (Salmon 11min, 13, 36)
Sorrento 3 (B. Mcdonald 24min, Canham 71 (pen), A. Morgan 81)
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Finance 365 Stadium
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Referee: Tom Glavovic
Assistant Referees: Frank Laval, Callum Haddow

Bayswater City: 1. Devon SPENCE, (2. Jack JONES), 5. Andrew REALE, 6. Todd HOWARTH, (8. Paul MCCARTHY), 10. Jason MICRO, 13. Trent KAY, 14. Lawrence SHURAMA, (15. Brian FARRELL), 16. Jamie COYNE, 19. Alex SALMON (11', 13', 36'), 20. Samuel MITCHINSON, 21. David HEAGNEY, 24. David STOKOE
Substitutes not used: 22. Nathan COSTELLO, 25. Fraser GREENWOOD
Yellow cards: 16. Jamie COYNE 83'
Red cards: Nil

Sorrento: 1. James MORGAN, (5. Billy QUINNCROFT), 6. Daryl PLATTEN, 7. Alex MORGAN (81'), (8. Ryan PEARSON), 9. Sean CANHAM (71'), 10. Scott BULLOCH, 11. Tim HILL, 13. Steven MCDONALD, 14. Matthew SPARROW, 16. Niccolo SABATINI, 20. Brad MCDONALD (24')
Substitutes not used: 18. Jordan BROWN, 21. Jordan DODD, 60. Sam HERBISON
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Nil