Report by Peter Simcox

Photo by Peter Simcox

Floreat Athena continued their good form in the NPL WA with a dominant 3-0 win against ECU Joondalup at the ECU Football Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The game was over as a contest at half-time with Garrett McDuling’s side scoring three goals and cutting apart a young ECU side.

The hosts were on top from the first whistle and were ahead on seven minutes. Dean Evans sent Phil Arnold down the right and his low cross was turned home by Jon Stynes.

Floreat continued to dominate and if it wasn’t for keeper Johnny Perkins Floreat would have been out of sight early, the ECU keeper producing great saves to deny Evans and Robert Petkov.

But there was little Perkins could do when Floreat doubled their lead on 23 minutes. Petkov was sent clear on goal and he rounded the keeper and fired the ball home.

It was 3-0 seven minutes later. Evans played Stynes down the right and his cross found Arnold, whose first shot was superbly saved by Perkins, but Arnold fired home the rebound.

The home side should have pulled one back late in the half Kian McGuigan’s deep cross picked out the unmarked Bayley Brown-Montgomery, but the striker headed wide of the target.

ECU tightened up after the break and Jason Saldaris had to be alert to push Tommy Amphlett’s shot around the post early, before the Floreat keeper got down well to save Andy Higgins’ low shot.

Floreat went close to a fourth late in the game but substitute Adrian Madaschi’s goalbound shot was blocked by team-mate Petkov on the line.

The win moved Floreat level on points with second place Perth Glory on the ladder, but second bottom ECU have a real fight to avoid relegation.

Star player: Phil Arnold (Floreat Athena)

ECU Joondalup 0
Floreat Athena 3 (Stynes 7min Petkov 23’, Arnold 30’)

ECU Football Stadium
Saturday May 11, 2019
Kick-off: 3pm
Referee: Joshua Nixon
Assistant referees: Albert Muyembe, Alexander Wright

ECU Joondalup: GK Johnny PERKINS, 3 Ronald RIXER (2 Nicholas KOFLER 53’), 4 Henry DURR, 7 Lukas DE LIMA (12 Harry EDWARDS 46’), 8 Kian MCGUIGAN, 9 Bayley BROWN-MONTGOMERY, 10 Andy HIGGINS, 11 Jakub SKLENAR, 13 Tommy AMPHLETT, 15 Tom HOUGH, 16 Ewen FAWCETT
Substitutes not used: RGK George JACKSON, 6 Luke RHODES, 17 Ben HINSHELWOOD
Yellow cards: De Lima 40’, Brown-Montgomery 56’, Amphlett 83’
Red cards: Nil

Floreat Athena: GK Jason SALDARIS, 6 Jesse FULLER (4 Adrian MADASCHI 61’), 8 Jon STYNES, 9 Robert PETKOV (2 Marco SANTALUCIA 85’), 11 Dennis GALAN, 15 Chris SALDARIS, 16 Ryan MALTON (3 Tristan COLLI 69’), 17 Dean EVANS, 18 Phillip ARNOLD, 19 Luka NINKOVIC, 21 Nicholas AMBROGIO
Substitutes not used: RGK Jordan BARBAS, 26 Jack ANDREWS
Yellow cards: Fuller 55’, Ambrogio 59’
Red cards: Nil