Report by Jayden Lihou

Cockburn City secured a berth in the Top Four Cup as they defeated Armadale 4-1 at Dalmatinac Park in the final round of the NPL WA season on Saturday.

Armadale went 1-0 up within the opening 10 minutes but Cockburn responded with four goals to secure the points.

The victory meant Cockburn leapfrogged Bayswater into third place, while Inglewood United missed out on the Top Four Cup after going down 2-1 to Balcatta.

Cockburn coach Scott Miller said he was proud of his side for securing third spot.

“We’ve had a real struggle in the last six weeks with injuries but the boys have never given up and to finish third is just amazing,” he said.

“I’m just so happy for our president Heidi Lazzaro to get in the top four in our 20th year, it’s truly a great thing for the club."

Cockburn will play Bayswater in an elimination match next week and Miller added: "Bayswater are a fantastic team, they’ve won so many championships so there’s a big chance for our boys to get on the big stage and really enjoy it.”

Armadale went ahead on seven minutes when Chris Jackson volleyed home at the far post, a goal which meant Jackson shared the Golden Boot with ECU Joondalup's Daryl Nicol who also netted on Saturday.

The home side responded in the 28th minute when Ryan Pratt made his way into the box before slotting past the onrushing Sam Hutchings.

Cockburn took the lead eight minutes later when Harry O'Brien looped a pass to Daniel Robinson and the midfielder made no mistake from close range.

Jackson had a good chance to level the scores in the 42nd minute but his header from Joshua Kuser's cross thundered off the crossbar.

It was deja-vu in the second half as Jackson hit the bar again with a header.

Those two missed chances would prove decisive as Cockburn scored the next goal after O'Brien picked out Robinson in the box. Robinson fooled his defender with a smart turn before finding the bottom corner with a powerful strike.

O'Brien then turned scorer to secure the points in the 82nd minute as he calmly finished.

Despite losing their last four matches, Armadale coach John O’Rielly said he was delighted with his side’s overall effort this season in which they lifted the Belt Up Cup.

“We’ve won silverware this year, Chris Jackson is the equal top goalscorer and we’ve had a trip to Cairns in the round of 32 of the FFA Cup,” he said.

“So it’s been an incredibly successful season for Armadale and now we’ve got to kick on from here next year.

“Going forward we don’t want to be content with just surviving so now we need to leap forward and look to be in contention for those top four places.”

Cockburn City 4 (Pratt 28min, Robinson 36, 67, O’Brien 82)
Armadale 1 (Jackson 7)
Saturday, August 25
Dalmatinac Park
Kick-off: 3pm
Referee: Julian Serra
Assistant referees: Andre Ferreira, Thomas Robinson

Cockburn City: 1. Luke RADONICH (GK), 4. Euen GRANT (C), 6. Reuben TRISTAO (7. Lucas MELLO 82’), 8. Cameron EDWARDS, 9. Julian TELES (3. Daniel DOLS 35'), 10. David ARAYA, 11. Harry O'BRIEN, 12. Ryan PRATT, 15. Daniel SANTICH, 16. Daniel ROBINSON, 17. Jesse LAZZARO (13. Blake ADAMS 69')
Substitutes not used: 23. Ryan BARKER (RGK)
Yellow cards: Teles 35, Grant 57
Red cards: Nil

Armadale: 1. Sam HUTCHINGS (GK), 2. Joshua KUSER, 4. Nathan COSTELLO (C), 5. David ANNALL, 7. Charlie KENNA (8. Michael LAWSON 82’), 10. Chris JACKSON, 12. Dannie RICHMAN, 15. Ali CHOLANI, 16. Charlie SIMPSON (20. Friday ZICO 46’), 21. Beau RAHIM, 22. Ryan HASLETT (11. Michael RIZIDIS 66')
Substitutes not used: 17. James ATKINS, 34. DuncanLENNON-BLACK (RGK)
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Nil