Cockburn top, Gwelup hit five
Report by Alex Vlahos
Perth Glory striker Bryce Bafford tries his luck in his side's 5-1 win over Rockingham. Photo by Tom McCarthy
Gwelup Croatia rocketed back into NPLWA Men’s title contention with a 5-0 walloping of Sorrento.
Eager to rebound after Saturday’s loss to Cockburn City in Round One of the top six mini league, Gwelup secured victory at Percy Doyle Reserve on Wednesday via a hat-trick from marksman Ndumba Makeche and a goal each from Jonathon Stynes and his brother Daniel.
For Sorrento, who upset Floreat Athena on the weekend, it was a story of calamitous defending at one end of the pitch and missed chances at the other.
The home side should have taken the lead after seven minutes when Golden Boot leader Cameron Teece put a gilt-edge opportunity over the bar from just inside the 18-yard box.
The Gulls were made to pay moments later when Makeche intercepted an errant Clark Keltie back-pass before rounding goalkeeper Joel Driscoll and striking into an empty net.
Sorrento increased the tempo after conceding and came close on a number of occasions as attacking twin towers Alex Morgan and Teece caused plenty of concern in the Gwelup box.
Sorrento were peeved when they were denied a penalty after Teece appeared to be clipped from behind after he pulled a shot across goal.
Despite dominating possession, Sorrento fell further behind just prior the half-time when a mix-up defensively saw a Blair Govan ball drop to Jonathon Stynes, who volleyed home from close range.
Fruitless forward forays after half-time saw frustration mount within the Sorrento camp before another errant Keltie back-pass gifted Makeche a second on 72 minutes. Daniel Stynes then struck home a Sean McManus cross moments later to compound the Gulls misery.
A Makeche penalty completed the route on 88 minutes after Jaxon Temata had brought Daniel Stynes down in the box.
Gwelup Croatia, who have netted 20 goals in their past five matches, continue their title quest on Saturday when they host Kenny Lowe’s ECU Joondalup.
Meanwhile Sorrento will look to bounce back against Cockburn City, the only side with two wins from two since the split.
Cockburn sit top of the upper tier after they followed up their opening round win over Gwelup with a 4-1 defeat of Armadale at Dalmatinac Park.
The Cockerels won here against the same opposition on the final day of the first phase a fortnight ago and they were up and running after 20 minutes when Sebastian Da Silva latched on to Riley Woodcock's pass and fired in to the roof of the net.
Joshua Cortes could not find the required power to equalise from Roberto De Freitas Soares' pass and they were made to pay moments later as Robert Irving felled a twisting Woodcock in the area.
Top scorer Jesse Lazzaro dispatched the spot-kick for his seventh of the season and sixth in as many games as the hosts took a commanding lead.
It was nearly three, but Sam Hutchings made an excellent double save from Liam Murray and then Da Silva as Armadale went into the break only two down.
Soares' shot was blocked early in the second half as the visitors tried to halve the deficit, but they did eventually concede a third as Julian Teles passed out of defence, continued his run forward and lashed home superbly on his left foot to complete a fine solo charge.
Daniel Santich rattled the bar in search of a fourth for City before Ali Nazary pulled one back for Armadale as he squeezed home from a tight angle less than a minute after coming off the bench.
Daniel Dos Santos eventually smashed home for 4-1 on a great night for Cockburn, who are three points clear at the top of the upper table and are seven points away from a first league title since 1986.
In contrast, Armadale are the only side in the top six without a point. And after two heavy losses it is hard at the moment to see John O'Reilly's under-strength side getting in the frame.
Floreat got off the mark in the second phase of the competition thanks to substitute Robert Harding's last-minute header in a 2-1 win over ECU Joondalup.
The visitors came into this one in tremendous form after five straight wins and they nearly went ahead when Riley Warland's swerving shot from range cannoned back off the bar.
Jason Saldaris clawed away Danny Hodgson's dink as ECU began confidently off the back of a 6-0 win over Armadale.
Floreat's best chance of the first half came when Warland blocked as Chris Saldaris tried to force home, but the sides went to the interval goalless in an entertaining game.
The deadlock was broken by the home side a minute into the second period as Saldaris got forward down the right and crossed for Nick Ambrogio to finish from close range.
Luka Ninkovic headed straight at Johnny Perkins before ECU grabbed an equaliser with five minutes remaining which seemed set to earn them a point.
Bayley Brown-Montgomery was fouled in the area and Callum Timmins scored his third goal in two games as he popped his penalty straight down the middle.
But in the final minute of normal time, ECU defender Samuel Riak was caught in possession and a quick switch from Ludovic Boi found the unmarked Harding, who did well to loop a header over Perkins and in off the underside of the bar.
Both sides now have one win and one loss heading to Round Three.
Perth Glory seem to be finding form at the right time after they went top of the lower bracket with a convincing 5-1 win against Rockingham City at Hartfield Park.
A first-half blitz did the job for the youngsters as they scored four goals, with the opener coming after eight minutes. Bryce Bafford's initial shot was saved by Bradley Stout and Giordano Colli followed in to net for a third consecutive game.
Richard Garcia's side were well on top as Aiki Tsukamoto smashed one off the bar from distance and they did not have to wait long to make it 2-0 as Nick Walsh sneaked forward from defence to find the far corner.
Two became three in the 26th minute when Chris Donnell made his way into the area, and while his cross was well blocked by Rockingham's defence, his follow-up was curled perfectly into the top corner for his first goal of the season.
Rockingham were reeling by this point and after Stout saved well from Bafford's free-kick, they scored a fourth when Donnell turned in midfield, beat two players and looped an effort over the keeper from outside the box.
Glory top scorer Bafford somehow missed from six yards early in the second half before the visitors pulled a goal back when Dylan Rogers stole off the toes of Tsukamoto, drove towards goal and fired in for his second goal of the campaign.
It proved to be just a consolation for Rockingham despite an improved defensive showing after the restart, although Glory did add a fifth when Joshua Rawlins broke forward and found the bottom corner.
Glory's exhilarating first half was decisive in the end as they won a third straight game and the 2018 finalists occupy the final Top Four Cup place which is awarded to winner of the bottom six league.
Inglewood United halted their recent slump with a 2-1 win over Perth SC at Perth Plasterboard Centre Stadium.
The hosts had lost three of their previous four matches, missing out on the top six and losing their first game of the second phase.
They had also been beaten in their last two home games against the Azzurri - the 2019 Top Four Cup Final and their Round Five encounter this season at the start of August.
Inglewood had the best chance of going ahead in the first quarter of an hour of Wednesday night's game when Brodie Langan headed Abdul Sesay's cross wide.
Perth hit back though and nearly opened the scoring when Alex Dunn made an excellent reaction save to block Andreas Theodosiades' shot before a combination of Michael Domfeh and Jawad Rezai fluffed the follow-up.
Opportunities were exchanged leading into half-time as Steve Sokol fired wide before Paul Zimarino was off target with a header from six yards.
Chad Samuels was introduced for Inglewood at half-time and the change paid off just 40 seconds after the restart when Sokol crossed into the six yards box for the former Stirling Lions player to score.
Inglewood managed to limit Perth's attacking threat for most of the second period and nearly doubled their lead when a confident Samuels tried his luck from 18 yards.
They went on to make the game safe when Bojan Radinovic fouled Sokol in the area and the winger converted the penalty he won as he sent Ryan Montgomery the wrong way.
Zimarino's second goal from the spot in as many games was mere consolation as Inglewood breathed life into the second phase of their campaign with a first home win since Round Seven, while Perth have work to do to defend their Top Four Cup crown.
On Tuesday night, Balcatta broke an eight-game winless run in sesational style as they twice came from behind to defeat Bayswater City 5-2 at Frank Drago Reserve.
The visitors got off to a shaky start when skipper John Kearney conceded a penalty against his former club, with Gustavo Marulanda dispatching the spot-kick for his fifth goal of the season.
They levelled when Zayd Farah put into his own net from Calum O'Connell's cross, but they were only on terms for five minutes as Declan Hughes coolly finished Luke Salmon's centre to restore Bayswater's advantage.
But Balcatta were unbeaten in three matches against their opponents beforehand and they hit back with a quickfire double before the interval.
Adam Zimarino's nicely weighted pass was put into far corner by O'Connell, before the former Perth SC junior turned scorer after good work down the left from brother Michael.
Things had been looking up for Bayswater after back-to-back wins over Floreat and Rockingham, but a reply did not eventuate in this game and Balcatta went on to score twice and record a win which may reignite their 2020 season.
Anthony Topini's corner took a final touch off David Stokoe as the hosts conceded a second own goal of the evening with 20 minutes remaining.
Salmon's driven free-kick nearly gave Bayswater a lifeline soon after, but Michael Zimarino's solo goal with six minutes to play cemented Balcatta's second league win of 2020 and their first since Round Four.
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