Report by Louis Granich                                   

Inglewood United bolstered their NPL WA top four hopes - and kept Floreat scoreless in the process - as they ran out 3-0 winners at Perth Plasterboard Centre Stadium.

Andreas Oliviera’s men arrested their three-match losing streak as both Chok Dau and Anthony Bafobusha found the back of the net against a Floreat side who lacked cutting edge without a host of first team regulars.

Despite missing Marco Santalucia, Phillip Arnold, Ryan Malton and regular right back Chris Saldaris, Athena started the match on the front foot and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when captain Dean Evans collided with Scott Blackmore inside the 18-yard box.

Floreat tried to pin Inglewood back with plenty of possession while the home side were content to stay compact and hit them on the counter.

And it was Inglewood who were awarded a penalty after 24 minutes when Harry Evans was fouled inside 18-yard box by a clumsy Adam Falcone. Dau stepped up and calmly slotted the resulting spot kick past Jason Saldaris.

The match hung in the balance at the break as Oliviera urged his side to keep their defensive discipline, often urging striker Brian Woodall to drop rather than press.

And it paid off when Anthony Bafobusha doubled the hosts' advantage. The winger lashed home a powerful strike inside the box after Floreat struggled clear a Dau cross only seven minutes after half time.

For the second week running Athena changed to a back three after falling behind, but Gavin Mcdulling’s side struggled to create any clear-cut chances unlike Inglewood who struck the post on more than one occasion.

Dau continued to threaten right until the final whistle and he managed to score a second after Brian Farell squared for the winger to finish with aplomb in the bottom right corner.

This win leaves Inglewood just a point behind fourth-placed Perth Glory, while Floreat drop to third after Balcatta’s win at Bayswater.

Star player: Chok Dau (Inglewood United)

Inglewood United 3 (Dau 24min 90+1, Bafobusha 52)
Floreat Athena 0

Inglewood United:  1. Alex DUNN, 2. Alex ISHIDA-LIVINGS, 3. David CYRUS, 4. Scott BLACKMORE, 5. Samuel RIAK, (7. Hamza HINA 85) 11. Harry EVANS, (15. Brian FARRELL 75) 8. Jason BARRERA, 9. Chok DAU, 10. Anthony BAFOBUSHA, 6. Milorad VUJACIC, 23. Brian WOODALL
Unused substitutes:  12. Shale MOOTHEN, 13. Jack MURPHY, 21. Josiah GODFREY
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Nil

Floreat Athena: 1. Jason SALDARIS, (4. Adrian MADASCHI 65), 5. Thomas JEBB   6. Jesse FULLER, Jonathan STYNES, 9. Robert PETKOV, 10. Nicholas AMBROGIO, 11. Dennis GALAN, 14. Ludovic BOI 17. Dean EVANS (c), 25 Adam FALCONE, 29 Jack PAINTER-ADREWS (32 Robert Harding 85)
Substitutes not used: (RGK) 23 Jordan BARBAS, 31 Jacob STUBBERFIELD
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Nil