Report by Tommy Doleman

Sorrento head coach Jamie Harnwell, left, with his assistant Stuart Banks. Photo by Football West

It is crunch time for Perth SC and Sorrento in the NPLWA – Men’s competition on Saturday as first meet third at Dorrien Gardens.

Both teams have won four of their past five and are split by five points in the standings with three games of the season remaining.

Victory for Sorrento will set up a thrilling three-way shoot-out over the last fortnight of the season. However, if Perth win and second-place Floreat Athena drop points at home against ECU Joondalup, then the Azzurri will be all but celebrating title No.24 and a fourth in six seasons.

Sorrento were last champions in 2012 when Paul Price was at the helm, a wait current head coach Jamie Harwell would love to end.

“It’s been a tough road since then. We’ve been thereabouts, slipped out of 'Top Fours' and have been knocked out in cup semi-finals,” Harnwell said.

“There’s been a big change from what was a really successful group and one I was fortunate to be a part of late in my playing career.

“Managing the transition from that group into another one who challenges and fights in a way Sorrento does has taken time, maybe a bit longer than I would have hoped, but at the moment we’re getting back to what the club expects.

“We’ve added players who are winners and want to be at the club. No prima-donnas or egos. They have embraced what we’re trying to do, how we want to play and how difficult we want to make it for the opposition. The coaching staff have provided a platform, but the players deserve all the credit for how they’ve gone about it.”

Sorrento are seven points clear of fifth-placed Inglewood and can all but secure their post-season Top Four Cup spot with a win this weekend.

For many, the Gulls have already exceeded expectations in 2021, given the turnaround of squad which included losing top-scorer Cameron Teece. But having worked their way into title contention, Harnwell is keen for the team to embrace it.

“Having gotten into this position, you’re always trying to look up and set your sights as high as possible,” he said.

One point of frustration for Harnwell is that Sorrento could have been in a position to go joint top tomorrow, if they had not thrown away a two-goal lead late on at struggling Balcatta a fortnight ago.

“We were all disappointed after the Balcatta game. The change rooms were pretty silent and it didn’t need much input from us,” he said.

“But then you see the character of the players to move on quickly and the performance against Glory last week was vindication of that reaction.

“Now we go away to Perth, who are flying. It’s been good rivalry over the years and you want to be part of these big games and challenging at this stage of the season. We know we need to win this week and if we don’t, our hopes of winning the league are virtually gone. We just have to make sure we get ourselves in the game early.”

Perth have won three titles in the NPL era, but this season has provided a different challenge for Azzurri coach Ramon Falzon, who has had to integrate several young players into the squad due to injuries.

Falzon won the first of those championships in his first season with Perth in 2016 after joining from Balcatta and sees parallels from then to now.

“It would be a big achievement but it’s not so different to 2016 when we didn’t have a lot of experience and a lot of youngsters. That has helped us this year in terms of knowing what we needed to do and has helped us adapt a bit quicker,” Falzon said.

“At this stage of the season, if the motivation isn’t there it would be a serious problem. But the leadership required from us as coaches is to get the players focused, in the right mentality and ready to approach the game the right way.

“Sorrento and ourselves are probably the two in-form teams of the second half of the season, but this year they’re a bit different to the past. Apart from the usual resilience and never-say-die attitude, they’re playing good football too, so it’ll be highly contested and entertaining for the supporters.

“I’m really happy and the players are confident. But we can’t afford to get over-confident with another big game coming up. It’s always comforting to know destiny is in our hands, but it’s not who’s leading after 22 which matters, not 19. We will need another good performance on Saturday to get a positive result and hopefully one step closer.”

Saturday’s game will be directly followed by the NPLWA – Women’s clash between Perth SC and Hyundai NTC (5pm kick-off).

Elsewhere on Saturday there is a repeat of this season’s State Cup Final as Floreat take on ECU, whose Top Four Cup hopes were dealt a blow by Perth last week.

ECU are two points behind Perth Glory with a game in hand, with Ruben Zakovich’s side facing bottom-of-the-table Rockingham City in Saturday’s late kick-off at 5pm. Rockingham are three points adrift following their loss to Balcatta last week. and their fate could be sealed if they lose to Glory and Balcatta beat Top Four Cup hopefuls Inglewood United at Grindleford Reserve.

Cockburn City face Gwelup Croatia at Dalmatinac Park with the winners set to confirm their NPL status for 2022. Finally, Bayswater City, fresh from a 7-0 romp at Gwelup, host Armadale in the club’s first home fixture since the passing of President Gerry Maio.

Fixtures

Saturday (3pm unless stated)

Balcatta v Inglewood United
Bayswater City v Armadale
Cockburn City v Gwelup Croatia
Floreat Athena v ECU Joondalup
Perth Glory v Rockingham City (5pm)
Perth SC v Sorrento