Crunch week can determine Balcatta season

Report by Tommy Doleman

Balcatta's performances have improved of late, Jon Corness says now they need points. Photo by Tom McCarthy

Round Nine of the NPL WA – Men’s competition kickstarts an important week for bottom-of-the-table Balcatta Etna as they aim to ignite their season.

A catch-up game with Stirling Macedonia next Wednesday is sandwiched between tomorrow’s trip to Cockburn City and a home match against Gwelup Croatia next week. It is a spell which will potentially shape the club’s season as they aim to start looking upwards.

Daryl Nicol’s late winner for Perth RedStar at Grindleford Reserve condemned Etna to a sixth loss from six last Saturday. Yet they still sit just one point behind 11th-placed Gwelup and six points off ninth-placed Cockburn.

Things certainly have not gone to plan in 2022 following a five-game unbeaten run to end last season, but midfielder Jon Corness hopes the tide is starting to turn in their favour.

“It’s been a bit of a shock that we haven’t done as well as we’d hope to, but the signs have been better,” he said.

“I think especially in the past two weeks we’ve been a lot better and a lot sharper, particularly in defence which has been our main focus, because at this point we’re trying not to concede as many goals as we have been.

“Looking at the Night Series, we played quite well and nearly made the semi-finals. It’s strange we haven’t been able to take that into the season, but it’s something we’re trying to work on and hopefully we can get a result this weekend.”

Corness joined Balcatta in 2016 after his maiden NPL season with Cockburn. The Gosnells City and Sutherlands Park junior has since gone on to become Etna’s longest-serving player in his seventh season at Grindleford Reserve, having missed only a handful of games in amassing more than 150 appearances in all competitions.

As one of the senior players in a young Balcatta side, Corness maintains that morale remains high in the playing group despite the tricky start.

“I’m not the most vocal of leaders out there, I suppose, but I try to lead more so by actions,” Corness said.

“I’ve been around long enough to know that when the times do get tough you have to show your character as a footballer and a person, and you have to dig in and work even harder. Personally though, I just try to lead by example in terms of the intensity I try to bring the games and give my all in my own way.

“We have had a few meetings with the players to talk about the standard and intensity we have to set in games for the 90 minutes, which has improved quite a lot, and we just need to keep going and now get a result to help us move up the table. We’ve been working towards the same goal, the intensity at training has been good and now we have to keep taking that into the game.”

Corness is hopeful that once the winless run does come to an end, that it will be a release for all concerned and that Balcatta can springboard their season from then on.

“Once we get that first result, it will be the monkey off the back to get that confidence back into our squad and we can kick on from there,” he said.

“But we have to go into Saturday with the right mentality. It’s a big week coming up and we have to get a few results because Cockburn and Gwelup are down there as well, so that’s games we look and have to win.”

Elsewhere at the bottom, there’s a clash between second-bottom Gwelup Croatia and third-bottom Perth SC.

Both teams are still chasing their first wins of the season and will be desperate to put breathing space between themselves and Balcatta who currently occupy the relegation spot with four points separating the trio.

Sorrento will look to maintain top spot when they host fifth-placed Floreat Athena at Percy Doyle Reserve. The Gulls continued their strong form as they defeated giant-killers Emerald FC 4-2 in the Australia Cup midweek, while Athena will be keen to return back to the top four after a three-game winless run saw them drop to fifth.

Glory are another team hoping to push back into the top four when they travel to Joondalup to play Perth RedStar. Kenny Lowe’s side are in second place going into the weekend, but sixth-placed Glory are just three points behind them in a tightly-packed top half of the league.

Inglewood United and Armadale are both on eight points in seventh and eighth-place and are currently two wins off a finals position. They face Stirling and Bayswater respectively on Saturday with this an opportunity to pull back points on them should they get the win.




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