Armadale put four past Floreat
Report by Tristan Wheeler
Armadale produced their biggest win of the season as they thumped Floreat Athena 4-0 at E&D Litis Stadium on Saturday.
Armadale didn't look back after opening the scoring in the 14th minute when striker Chris Jackson found Nathan Costello with a cross and the visitors' captain volleyed home.
Jackson then doubled the score in the 35th minute by using good strength to hold off his defender before smashing the ball past Athena keeper Jason Saldaris.
Armadale were on the front foot and were unlucky not to have two more goals before half-time, with Saldaris in inspired form. First he kept out a Joshua Kuser header with a one-handed diving save to his left, and a minute later pulled off a point-blank save from a Michael Lawson volley.
Armadale were content to soak up the pressure early in the second half, an approach coach John O'Reilly described as "inviting them into areas and then congesting them".
The strategy paid dividends as Armadale extended their lead further after Kuser was pulled down in the box following a corner and Lawson fired the penalty down the middle and past the diving Saldaris.
Kuser didn't have to wait long to get a much-deserved goal, exploiting some poor Floreat defending to flick the ball over the onrushing Saldaris and calmly passing the ball into the unguarded net.
The fourth goal killed the game and things went from bad to worse for Floreat in the 69th minute when Dennis Galan was red-carded for petulantly kicking Charlie Kenna.
Floreat went into the match on the back of successive league and cup wins away at Bayswater City. But they were never in this and coach Howard Tweats said: "They are a big physical side … we tried to match them but we did it the wrong way. We got cheap yellow cards but they got them for being aggressive."
The result continued Armadale’s recent run of good form and saw them leapfrog Floreat on the table to occupy 10th spot. Next up they host Perth Glory at Alfred Skeet Reserve on Wednesday night.
Floreat slumped to 12th and face a tough clash with second-placed Cockburn City at E&D Litis in midweek.
Floreat Athena 0
Armadale 4 (Costello 14min, Jackson 35, Lawson 61, Kuser 63)
Saturday, April 28
E&D Litis Stadium
Kick-off: 3pm
Referee: Josh Mannella
Assistant referees: Ammar Timour, Mitchell Barrington
Floreat Athena: 1. Jason SALDARIS (c ) (gk), 2. Marco SANTA LUCIA, 4. Andrew SCALDAFERRO, 6. Jesse FULLER, 9. Carlo COELHO (12. Declan HUDSON 75), 10. Calvin WHITNEY, 11. Dennis GALAN, 13. Hamza HINA, 15. Chris SALDARIS (5. Tyler HOLDEN 33), 16. Ryan MALTON (3. James OWEN 75)
Substitutes not used: 21. Keylan POLLARD, 23. Jordan BARBAS
Yellow cards: Coelho 11, Malton 16, Saldaris 33.
Red cards: Galan 69
Armadale: 1. Sam HUTCHINGS (gk), 2. Joshua KUSER, 3. Delan DE SILVA, 4. Nathan COSTELLO (c ), 7. Charlie KENNA, 8. Michael LAWSON, 9. Billy QUINNCROFT (22. Sam LOVELESS 85), 10. Chris JACKSON, 12. Dannie RICHMAN, 15. Ali GHOLAM (17. James ATKINS 77), 21. Beau RAHIM.
Substitutes not used: 34. Duncan LENNON-BLACK, 14.Jonathon BOGONI, 16. Charlie SIMPSON
Yellow cards: Lawson 40, Jackson 57, Quinncroft 71
Red cards: Nil
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