Report by Tommy Doleman

Bayley Brown-Montgomery celebrates his goal for Floreat against Stirling. Photo by FotoEnzo

Round 10 of the NPLWA - Men's competition delivered another dramatic day as Perth RedStar beat Sorrento 4-2 in the northern derby to return to the top of the league.

That win, paired with a 1-0 home defeat for previous leaders Stirling to old rivals Floreat Athena, means the top three sides are split by a solitary point as the season edges toward the halfway mark.

Sorrento landed the first blow in Joondalup as Dean Cummings converted a penalty on eight minutes, but six minutes after it was all square when Liam Murray made a yard for himself and rifled high into the net.

Barely 60 seconds later, the Gulls regained the lead as Ollie Annis received Alex Morgan's lay-off and speared the ball into the bottom corner against his former side.

It might have been three before half-time, but Joe Pollard flew in the air to tip over Tim Hill's drive. Instead RedStar came from behind to score three second-half goals and return to the summit.

Andy Higgins scored right-footed via a slight deflection 10 minutes after the restart, before Daryl Nicol's customary goal made it 12 for the season and extended his run of scoring in each of the first nine league matches in 2022.

Bryce Bafford then headed home with time ticking down to rubber-stamp the win and complete another title race twist as RedStar hit first place and Sorrento slipped out of the top four.

Stirling would have gone back top if they had avoided defeat in the later game, but instead Floreat won 1-0 at Macedonia Park in the league for the first time since 2015.

Alex Tanevski rattled the post as the hosts made a strong start, only for Athena to score somewhat against the run of play through in-form Bayley Brown-Montgomery. The striker added to last week's hat-trick with a turn and strike inside the area to make it six goals for the season.

Sam Wynne brought a good save from Jason Saldaris before the interval as the hosts continued to press. Brown-Montgomery nearly made it 2-0 early in the second period though when he cut inside, only to be denied by a smart reaction from Stirling keeper James Bosdet.

Tanevski tested Saldaris again but even though Stirling were on top, Floreat posed a threat on the break and Bosdet was called upon again to thwart Alex Christodoulakis.

Asher Nelson then thumped the crossbar for Stirling, but Saldaris was also playing a big role in goal with saves from Calvin Whitney and Tanevski, and then late on from a Nik Talimdzioski header. Stirling's frustrating evening was completed when Hristijan Jankuloski received a late red card, as the home side's winning run ended at five games.

Sorrento's back-to-back defeats mean that Bayswater's 3-1 win over Perth SC at Dorrien Gardens moved them up to fourth place in the standings.

There were chances at both ends inside the first 10 minutes, as Jon Stynes had an effort cleared off the line for Bayswater while Julian Teles had a goalbound shot blocked by an Azzurri teammate.

Gareth Naven's visitors would open the scoring midway through the first half as Gordon Smith beat Luke Radonich to Ndumba Makeche's pass before rounding the goalkeeper and slotting in.

Perth answered sharply, though, as Shubham Mokala stood up a cross and Hasani Sinclair headed home to build on last week's treble at Gwelup.

The visitors would restore their lead just before the break, however, when Makeche showed strength to roll past Federico Achilli before bursting into the area and finishing with aplomb.

Mokala and Ethan Banks both shot at Nic Speca as the Azzurri chased a leveller, but instead Bayswater wrapped up the win in stunning fashion as Makeche's brilliant back-heel made it nine goals for him this season.

Elsewhere, Perth Glory needed a late own goal to keep themselves in the top four mix as they edged past Cockburn 1-0.

Jesse Lazzaro and Justin Tang both had long-range chances and Jeff Bright had an effort blocked as the visitors had the better of the first half openings.

Luka Caceres forced Cameron Cook into another save with five minutes remaining, but Cockburn would be unfortunate to concede an own goal a minute into second half stoppage time which decided matters.

Joe Hobson broke into the area and his poke towards goal took a double deflection, with the final touch off Lazzaro into a vacant net, ending Glory's three-game winless run and putting them three points off fourth. Cockburn remain clear of the drop zone despite being without a win in five now.

Finally, Inglewood United recorded a 1-0 win over Armadale in a battle between two mid-table sides at Alfred Skeet Reserve.

Defence was the winner in the first half with Egide Ngendakumana having two quick efforts blocked by retreating Armadale defence, while Adriano Jelenovic and Angel Andres also had shots charged down.

Andres tested Alex Dunn in the second period, but Inglewood hit the front on the hour in fine fashion as Manase Abandelwa wriggled away from a couple of challenges and rifled home against his former side.

Armadale's best chance of an equaliser came with eight minutes to play as Pieter Jacobsz rounded the goalkeeper, but Ryan Hogan was there to block on the line and preserve the points for Inglewood.

Balcatta will have to wait for their first game under new head coach Glen Grostate after their fixture with Gwelup Croatia was postponed due to Covid.

Results: Armadale 0-1 Inglewood United, Perth Glory 1-0 Cockburn City, Perth RedStar 4-2 Sorrento, Perth SC 1-3 Bayswater City, Stirling Macedonia 0-1 Floreat Athena. Postponed: Balcatta v Gwelup Croatia.