Report by Tommy Doleman

Robert Petkov celebrates his match-winning goal for Floreat against Inglewood. Photo by FotoEnzo

The title race in the NPLWA – Men’s competition remains on a knife edge after the top three sides all won on Saturday.

Floreat Athena stay one point clear of Perth RedStar and Stirling Macedonia going into the final three matches of the league season.

Athena won 1-0 away to Inglewood United, RedStar thrashed Balcatta Etna 5-1, while Stirling were 3-1 victors at Bayswater City, whose own title ambitions now look to be over.

At Inglewood Stadium, Anthony Bafobusha fired an early warning shot from distance for the hosts, while at the other end Jesse Fuller’s effort was scrambled away by the home defence.

The match-winning moment came on 34 minutes when Laat Mathiang picked out former Inglewood striker Robert Petkov in the area, and he continued his fine run of form with an emphatic finish for his 10^th goal of the season.

Inglewood’s best chance to level came soon after when Chad Nilson was unable to divert Callum Mellowship’s shot past Jason Saldaris, as the leaders stretched their unbeaten run to eight games.

RedStar trail Athena by one point but have a far superior goal difference over their fellow title rivals. That was boosted again with their big win over Balcatta.

Daryl Nicol led the way once again with a hat-trick. Two of his goals came inside the first three minutes as he capitalised on a short back-pass to lob over Dom Savoldelli, before lashing in from Andy Higgins’ pass.

Chok Dau added to the tally on 27 minutes with a bobbling left-footed volley, and that momentum carried into the second half with Nicol competing his hat-trick via a composed finish to bring up 24 goals for the campaign.

Ben Hinshelwood pulled a goal back midway through the second period against his former side, but Ellis Healing’s late free-kick capped another stellar day for RedStar who have won four in a row.

Stirling Macedonia are third and level on points with RedStar after they saw off 10-man Bayswater City at Frank Drago Reserve.

Bayswater suffered a first-half setback when forward Ndumba Makeche was shown a red card after a challenge with Hristijan Jankuloski.

Five minutes later the visitors led when Calvin Whitney clipped in a free-kick for defender Luke Palmateer to head in.

Their position was further strengthened before the break when goalkeeper Ben Ratajczak did not claim a long free-kick and former Golden Boot winner Michael Domfeh hooked home.

James Bosdet saved from Kosta Sparta soon after, while in the second half Ratajczak prevented Sam Wynne and Gyles Davies from adding a third.

Bayswater did pull one back 11 minutes after the restart when Gordon Smith teed up Jon Stynes to drive high into the net.

But Stirling quickly restored their two-goal lead as they won for a fifth time in six outings, Calvin Whitney adding to his two last week against Gwelup with the killer blow from outside the area.

At the bottom of the league, Gwelup Croatia let slip a two-goal lead in the final four minutes to draw 2-2 with Armadale.

The point, paired with Balcatta’s defeat, moves Gwelup out of the relegation spot on goal difference having only entered the drop zone last week. But it could have been much better for the hosts who led 2-0 at the break.

Noah Kanzi made the most of an error from Armadale goalkeeper Blake Henshall to give Lee Taylor’s side the lead and Daniel Walsh doubled their advantage with a back post header.

But two late goals saw the home side leave two points on the table. Ex-Armadale man Friday Zico turned into his own net on 86 minutes, before Nathan Costello headed in Abdul Osman’s corner moments later.

The day’s other fixture saw Hasani Sinclair and Harry O’Brien both score hat-tricks in a 3-3 draw between Perth SC and Cockburn.

O’Brien’s first after nine minutes was a bottom corner strike having been picked out by Igor Cvijanovic, but Sinclair made it 1-1 when staying onside to finish from Ethan Banks’ pass.

The Cockerels led 2-1 at the break when O’Brien scooted away to poke past the goalkeeper, but again Sinclair replied with a header from Ali Gholami’s free kick.

Mirko Jelicic’s side led for a third time when Cockburn’s skipper latched onto Anthony Skorich’s flick-on to complete his treble. Sinclair tied it up again though from the penalty spot, as he moved joint-second in the scoring charts alongside Makeche with 15 goals for the season. The result changes little for both teams who remain ninth and tenth respectively.

On Friday, Sorrento closed the gap on Bayswater to two points with a game in hand after a 5-1 win over Perth Glory.

They had to come from behind after Ciaran Bramwell’s 15th minute header, but it was cancelled out Chris Jackson’s stunning equaliser from long range.

Dean Cummings made it 2-1 at the interval from 12 yards and the Gulls were well on their way to a win midway through the second half when Tim Hill’s deflected effort found its way in.

Two late goals added gloss to the score line with Jackson firing in his second of the game before Jordan Brown’s header from a Cummings cross.

Round 19 results: Bayswater City 1-3 Stirling Macedonia, Gwelup Croatia 2-2 Armadale, Inglewood United 0-1 Floreat Athena, Perth Glory 1-5 Sorrento, Perth RedStar 5-1 Balcatta Etna, Perth SC 3-3 Cockburn City.