Report by Kane Sutton

Balcatta have bounced back in emphatic fashion this weekend defeating Cockburn City 4-2 with a dominant first half performance at Grindleford Reserve.

The home team went into the game with a lot to prove after falling to ladder leaders Bayswater City last week in an extremely narrow 1-0 loss.

Assistant coach Cathal Lennon was extremely pleased with his team's resilience to keep pushing after conceding the first goal, and staying strong after pulling ahead.

“We did go a goal down but I think we were the better team,” he said.

“After scoring four [goals] in the first half, it was just whether we could keep our pressure up. We knew they would come at us, which they did with a couple of chances.

“We've been unlucky the last couple of games … our goal is to just keep on climbing the table.”

It was Cockburn who looked to be on top of things early in the match, taking the lead after five minutes when a spectacular corner kick from Cameron Edwards managed to strike the far goalpost and deflect into the back of the net.

Balcatta levelled the scores less than 15 minutes later after a calculated cross into the box by John Corness found Conor Kavanagh, who was able to header the ball into the goal.

The cheering had barely died down before Balcatta had the ball down their end again – a corner kick and subsequent goalmouth scramble allowed Alan Carroll to hit the ball into the net from point-blank range.

With momentum well and truly in play, Balcatta were in their attacking third within minutes once more, and a desperate tackle attempt by Edwards resulted in a yellow card and a penalty kick to Balcatta, which was converted by Cameron Teece.

The home team added another goal right before half time, when pacey winger Hanafi Ghazali was able to break free from his man and cross the ball in to Alexsander Seleski, who put Balcatta up 4-1 at the break.

It was a frustrating game to watch for Cockburn coach Scott Miller, who conceded his team looked off colour in the first half.

“The whole first half we looked like a team who was very tired,” he said.

“They [Balcatta] were a team who was up and at it. They wanted the win a lot more than us today.

“Whether it was fatigue from playing a few games, you can't use that as an excuse because you want to be playing those games. But it definitely looked like it to us.”

Cockburn's second half was a lot stronger. The team had a number of opportunities on goal but were left feeling frustrated.

Two shots in five minutes by substitutes Julian Teles and Jesse Lazzaro both went wide of the post by mere centimetres.

Matters only worsened when Angel Andres pulled up late in the game with what looked like a hamstring injury.

With the loss set in stone, Cockburn ended the game on a positive note with a goal from a free-kick taken by Julian Teles.

Miller emphasised the importance of regrouping and not losing sight of what the team wants to achieve for the rest of the season.

“In the second half we showed some good character and didn't concede. We're going to get a good training session in this week … but we just have to cop this one on the chin and keep moving forward.”

Balcatta 4 (Conor Kavanagh 19min, Alan Carroll 21, Cameron Teece 24 pen, Alexsander Suleski 45+1)
Cockburn City 2 (Cameron Edwards 6min, Julian Teles 90+3)
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Grindleford Reserve
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Referee: David Bruce
Assistant Referees: Tom Dowle, Joshua Nixon

Balcatta: 1. Clint DAVIES, 2. Hanafi GHAZALI,  4. Alexsander SULESKI (45+1), 5. Conor KAVANAGH (19'), 6. John CORNESS, (9. Carlo COELHO), 10. Zelfy NAZARY, 11. Feisal ZAW, 12. Eamon MCNELIS, 13. Cameron TEECE (24'), (15. Kyle MURRAY), 17. Kieran COLWELL, 19. Alan CARROLL (21'), (23. Gomo DUKULY)
Substitutes not used: 16. Carmelo  GUIFFRE, 44. Josiah GODFREY
Yellow Cards: 13. Cameron TEECE 76'
Red Cards: Nil

Cockburn City: 1. Luke RADONICH, 2. Nathan DE ABREU, (3. Josh KUSAR), 6. Ruben TRISTAO, 7. Ali GHOLAMI, 8. Cameron EDWARDS (6'), 9. Angel ANDRES, 10. David ARAYA 11. Harry O'BRIEN, 12. Aiden DE LUZ, 13. Blake ADAMS, (14. Julian TELES (93')), 15. Daniel DOLS (17. Jesse LAZZARO),
Substitutes not used: 18. Kenel MOUITHYS,  23. Ryan BARKER
Yellow Cards:  8. Cameron EDWARDS 24',  13. Blake ADAMS 50'
Red Cards: Nil