Report by Jayden Lihou

Two goals and an assist from Gustavo Catarcione were enough send Perth SC to the top of the ladder after a 3-2 win over Cockburn City at Dalmatinac Park on Saturday.

The win sees Perth move one point clear of second-placed Inglewood and a trio of teams are four points further back.

Catarcione said that he was pleased with his personal performance and is looking forward to the possibility of winning the league next week.

“I am very happy with my two goals today but I also missed two chances that I could have easily scored, but with these three points we go top,” he said.

“Next week we play at home and if we win that we win the league, so we have got to work hard for that game.”

Perth coach Ramon Falzon said he was delighted with the result but admitted disappointment in the wake of conceding two goals before the break.

“For the last 20 minutes of the first half our midfield wasn’t functioning well and we conceded two goals,” he said.

“We are usually a difficult team to score against; in fact, we have the best defensive record in the league.

“So conceding two goals in a matter of 15 minutes means our defence will definitely be a talking point for us this week.”

Perth opened the scoring when Aleksander Jovic lobbed the ball to Catarcione who volleyed past goalkeeper Luke Radonich on 14 minutes.

Catarcione was at it again just five minutes later when Matthew Milenkovic found him with a through-ball but the shot was denied by the outstretched leg Radonich.

Perth had yet another chance to score in the 39th minute after a long distance effort from Clark Keltie was parried by Radonich to an open Catarcione, but his shot was wide.

Two minutes later Cockburn were back in the game. Reuben Tristao was in the right position when the ball rebounded off a post, and he made no mistake from close range.

Cockburn took the lead in the 45th minute when Riley Woodcock found an unmarked Aden De Luz at the edge of the box whose curled effort made it 2-1.

Perth came out of the blocks in the second half, a lay-off from Catarcione to Harley Orr put Radinoch in no-man land and the substitute made no mistake.

Catarcione was in the mix again, latching on to a ball from Rocco Pizzata before firing home and sending his team to the top of the ladder.

Cockburn captain Euen Grant said that he is happy with the overall performance but thought his side deserved more.

“To be honest I think we gave Perth all three of their goals,” he said. “I don’t think they caused us many problems apart from that, so I think it was our mistakes which gave them the three points today.

“I think fatigue kicked in at the end but we have showed throughout the year that we are a fit enough team and we should be able to last the 90 minutes.

“I believe we played the better football and were in control for most of the game, it was just individual errors that let us down today.”

Cockburn City 2 (Tristao 41min, De Luz 45)
Perth SC 3 (Catarcione 14min, 81, Orr 56)
Saturday August 13, 2016
Dalmatinac Park
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Referee:  Steven Gregory
Assistant Referees: Walter Ciotti, Callum Haddow    

Cockburn City: GK. Luke RADONICH, 2. Nathan DE ABREU, 3. Josh KUSAR (16. Daniel DOLS 61’), 4. Euen GRANT (C), 6. Reuben TRISTAO, 7. Ali GHOLAMI, 8. Cameron EDWARDS (13. Blake ADAMS 79’), 11. Harry O’BRIEN (10. David ARAYA 69’), 14. Riley WOODCOCK, 17. Jesse LAZZARO, 18. Aden DE LUZ
Substitutes not used: RGK. Ryan BARKER
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Nil

Perth SC: GK. Francis SOALE, 2. David FILLIPPOU (15. Harley ORR 46’), 4. Adrian MADASCHI, 5. Nathan DIAZ, 6. Clark KELTIE (C), 7. Aleksander JOVIC, 9. Gustavo CATARCIONE, 10. Nicholas AMBROGIO (20. Anthony DANZE 70’), 11. Matthew MILENKOVIC, 12. Jordan DE LEO, 13. Rocco PIZZATA (17. Francesco FURFARO 82’)
Substitutes not used: RGK. Daniel PASSARELLI, 16. Thomas JEBB
Yellow cards: De Leo 40’
Red cards: Nil