Inglewood pinch second place finish

Tweet

Report by Ryan Borrett

Inglewood's Brian Woodall, left, looks to hold up the ball. Photo by Brett Klucznik

 

Inglewood United have sealed a second place finish in the NPL WA after a solid 2-0 win over Perth Glory at Perth Plasterboard Centre Stadium on Saturday.

 

Goals from Harry Evans and the in-form Steve Sokol in the first half were enough to see Inglewood over the line as they controlled the final league match of the season against a Glory side who weren’t at their very best.

 

Inglewood came into the match third in the table but Floreat’s shock 6-3 home loss to Rockingham City saw United overtake them and finish in second, 11 points behind league winners Perth SC. 

 

 

Inglewood started the match brightly and almost went ahead in the 11th minute after a great run and cross by Chok Dau but Brian Woodall’s first time shot whistled over the bar.

 

But it wasn’t long before the home side created another chance and this time they found the back of the net.

 

Right back Alexander Ishida-Livings pushed forward and sent in a great cross that found Dau at the far post. Dau headed back across goal into the path of Evans who finished from close range to make it 1-0.

 

Six minutes later Inglewood doubled their advantage with Dau again at the centre of the action.

 

The prolific winger cut in from the left and cut back a pass intended for Woodall but the striker stumbled and instead the ball rolled through to Sokol who smashed his shot home to make it 2-0.

 

Glory didn’t seem fully sharp in the early stages and there was a sense Inglewood would certainly grab a few more goals if things didn’t change for the away side.

 

But despite going two behind they did slowly grow into the game and strung together a few decent chances as the half wore on.

 

The best of which came in the 40th minute after Jayden Leader played Ciaran Bramwell through in the box, but Inglewood keeper Alex Dunn was quick off his line to make a good reflex save.

 

  

The second half lacked the intensity Inglewood had brought to the first, and the Glory full backs had more freedom to push forward but their probing came to no avail.

 

Dau almost added a goal to his two assists in the 65th minute but his low shot from the edge of the box was kept out by a great diving save from Jackson Lee.

 

In the end the three points deservedly went to Inglewood who will hope they can take the form which saw them finish the league season with three straight wins into the Top Four Cup.

 

The result sees Perth Glory finish in seventh place in the league this season, perhaps disappointing on paper after they competed for the league title last year. But this is a new cycle of young players. They will be all the better for the experience.

Star player: Chok Dau (Inglewood United)

Inglewood United 2 (Evans 19min, Sokol 25)

Perth Glory 0

Saturday, August 31, 2019
Perth Plasterboard Centre Stadium
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Referee: Josh Mannella
Assistant referees: Alexander Best, Adam Hicks

Inglewood United: 1. Alexander DUNN, 2. Alexander ISHIDA-LIVINGS, 8. Jason BARRERA (6. Milorad VUJACIC 72), 9. Chok DAU, 10. Anthony BAFOBUSHA, 11. Harry EVANS (5. Samuel RIAK 62), 14. Steve SOKOL (3. David CYRUS 85), 15. Brian FARRELL, 16. Jamie MURPHY, 17. Mark BARNETT, 23. Brian WOODALL
Substitutes not used: 7. Hamza HINA, 21. Josiah GODFREY
Yellow cards: Murphy 55
Red cards: Nil

Perth Glory: 1. Jackson LEE, 2. Alessandro CIRCATI, 3. Albert FULLARD, 4. Daniel WALSH, 5. Nicholas WALSH (18. Trent OSTLER 46), 6. Jayden LEADER, 7. Joshua RAWLINS (14. Zayd FARAH 46), 8. Jordan ABRAHAMS, 9. Gomo DUKULY, 10. Sasa NJEGIC (23. Luke SALMON 61), 11. Ciaran BRAMWELL
Substitutes not used: 15. Josh SAMSON, ,26. Jacob RANGE
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Nil

 

Last Modified on 01/09/2019 00:29

Comments

Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.