Report by Tommy Doleman

Perth came from behind to beat Balcatta 4-1 after a dominant second-half performance at Dorrien Gardens on Saturday.

A scrappy first half was lit up by a screamer from Jonathan Corness but it was one-way traffic after the break as the hosts took control.

Tom King scored sensationally from a free kick before Gustavo Catarcione and Dino Topcagic added quick goals to effectively kill off the game.

Aleksander Jovic added a late fourth for Perth, who move to within two points of Inglewood at the top of the PS4 National Premier Leagues WA. Perth coach Ramon Falzon was very impressed with his side’s second half efforts.

“It was a great reaction from our players. It was good to get an early goal because it gave us that morale boost to keep pushing,” he said.

“Our mindset wasn’t right in the first half. We were second to the ball and made too many mistakes, which we can’t have in the remaining games this season.”

Falzon, who coached Balcatta in 2015, has been in charge of Perth since early June and has been pleased with the way things have gone so far.

“It’s been an easy transition coming into Perth for myself, the players and the club as a whole,” he said.

“It’s really exciting (to work with a young squad). The players want to be here, they want to work hard and they have the right intentions and character.

“But it’s too soon to speak about the season as a whole. It’s too tight. We still need to focus game by game because the standings that count are at the end of the season, not now.”

The heavy downpour of rain meant the football was difficult for both teams with scrappy set pieces seeming the most likely option early on.

Perth had more possession but was restricted to long-range shots before the visitors opened the scoring with a real moment of quality from distance.

Corness found himself in space 25m out from goal before firing a beautiful shot with the outside of his right foot into the top corner.

The hosts pressed after the set back and came close on the stroke of half time when Jovic hit the side netting after Clint Davies fumbled.

All frustration from the first half subsided five minutes after the break, though, as Perth scored three goals in 14 minutes to take control.

First, Tom King stepped up from almost 30m to curl home a superb set piece, which gave Davies no chance in the Balcatta goal.

Then, the league’s top scorer Catarcione broke down the left, cut inside his man and found enough space to poke the ball past the goalkeeper.

A third came soon after as Jovic broke down the right and squared for Topcagic to side foot through a crowd of players and into the back of the net.

Balcatta tried desperately to find a route back into the game but couldn’t test Francis Soale despite finding themselves in several good positions.

Instead it was Perth who added some gloss to proceedings when Catarcione held up the ball nicely and fed Jovic to slot past Davies in stoppage time.

Perth SC 4 (King 50’, Catarcione 56’, Topcagic 64’, Jovic 90+1)
Balcatta 1 (Corness 28’)
Saturday July 16, 2016
Dorrien Garden
Local kick-off: 3:00pm
Referee: David Bruce

Perth SC: GK: Francis SOALE, 2. David FILLIPOU, 4. Adrian MADASCHI, 5. Nathan DIAZ, 7. Aleksander JOVIC, 8. Tom KING, 9. Gustavo CATARCIONE (15. Harley ORR 90+1), 10. Nicholas AMBROGIO (16. Thomas JEBB 89’), 12. Jordan DE LEO (17. Frank FURFARO 90+1), 13. Rocco PIZZATA, 14. Dino TOPCAGIC
Substitutes not used: RGK: Daniel PASSARELLI, 15. Harley ORR, 17. Frank FURFARO, 20. Matt MILENKOVIC.
Yellow Cards: Fillipou 54’, Madaschi 70’
Red Cards: Nil

Balcatta: GK: Clint DAVIES, 2. Hanafi GHAZALI, 4. Alexsander SULESKI, 6. Jonathan CORNESS, 7. James SAMMUT (22. James GORDON 60’), 9. Gomo DUKULY (15. Scott NEWLAND 63’), 10. Zelfy NAZARY, 12. Eamon MCNELIS, 14. Mark ELDRIDGE (5. Conor KAVANAGH 75’), 17. Kieran COLWELL, 19. Alan CARROLL.
Substitutes not used: RGK: Josiah GODFREY
Yellow Cards: Ghazali 28’, Eldridge 48’, Carroll 85’
Red Cards: Nil