O'Reilly: Give us the credit we deserve
Football West News
Armadale's Charlie Kenna closes down Perth Glory's Charlie Leech in Armadale's 5-2 win at the end of August. Photo by Tom McCarthy
Armadale head coach John O’Reilly insists the drama of last week’s NPLWA Men’s split should not detract from his players’ achievement in reaching the top six.
Despite going down 2-0 to Cockburn City and nearest rivals Bayswater City beating Floreat 4-2, Armadale squeezed into the top half ahead of Bayswater on having scored more goals.
Armadale now compete with Floreat, Gwelup Croatia, Cockburn, ECU Joondalup and Sorrento in a five-round sprint to see who will be crowned 2020 champions.
Much was made of Bayswater’s valiant effort in almost claiming the final spot, particularly as their game finished a few minutes after Armadale’s and they knew one more goal would reverse the placings.
O’Reilly says people should consider the bigger picture.
“Sometimes we all look at that last game and we think how the results went and how it could have been different,” he said.
“I like to look at it that we did our job early doors and it was other teams chasing us. It was up to them to catch us and they didn’t.
“Reaching the top six was over 11 rounds, not just one. Regardless of that last result, I’m pretty proud of what we achieved.”
With the competition now reset and no points carried over, this shortened format could offer Armadale their best opportunity of winning the NPL title.
O’Reilly said: “I don’t know. We have got two teams, Floreat and Gwelup, who are showing their form. Obviously we would like to say we are in with a chance but we have an injury list longer than our starting XI. We could have a little bit of a patch-up team but one thing I do know is that whoever plays will give it their all. There’s no lack of hunger in the playing group.”
Armadale begin the second phase at ECU Joondalup, where they won 3-1 earlier this season. Key to that result was Angel Andres Rivera, who scored twice on his way to bagging nine goals in the opening seven rounds. Unfortunately, the veteran striker limped out of the Round Eight loss to Inglewood after only five minutes and has not figured since.
“He is the source of our goals but he also holds up the ball and makes two defenders think about him,” O’Reilly said.
Looking forward to Saturday’s match, O’Reilly added: “They play a very possession-dominant game and like to keep the ball, whereas we are about being patient, staying calm and not losing our heads. It’ll be very much like a chess game.”
Rivera’s injury is also impacting the race for the Golden Boot. ECU’s Danny Hodgson has joined him on nine goals, but both are three behind Sorrento forward Cameron Teece, who has 12.
Teece was on target again last week in Sorrento’s 1-1 draw with Perth SC and the Gulls will hope he can continue his sparkling form when they face Floreat at E&D Litis Stadium this weekend.
Floreat were flying before their loss to Bayswater and it will be interesting to see how much of that was them relaxing having already qualified for the top six.
The other game in the top half is between the league’s top scorers, Gwelup, against the side with meanest defence, Cockburn.
While Gwelup might not have a player currently challenging for the Golden Boot, they do share their goals around. Jon Stynes has seven, while Hasani Sinclair, Daniel Stynes and Ndumba Makeche have six each.
Cockburn conceded only nine goals in 11 matches and defeated Gwelup 1-0 in Round Seven.
The bottom six of the NPLWA Men’s league features the two sides who have dominated the top division in the NPL era.
Perth SC and Bayswater, who have shared the six titles equally, must dust themselves down and focus on finishing top of the mini-league to secure their place in the Top Four Cup.
Bayswater start at Rockingham City, intent on settling a recent score – Rockingham’s only win this season was a 3-1 upset at Bayswater at the end of last month. Perth host Balcatta in one of the NPL’s traditional showpiece matches.
The other game is at Inglewood United, where Perth Glory are the visitors. The two teams met last Saturday, Glory’s 2-1 win denying Inglewood a top-six finish.
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.