Goalscoring hero Gustavo Catarcione scored twice to propel Balcatta to a 2-1 victory over Armadale at Grindleford Reserve today.

Danny Richman’s header had put Armadale ahead but it was not enough against a side that has lost only once in the past eight weeks and recently beat league giants Bayswater and Sorrento.

Brazilian forward Catarcione, who is now the NPL WA’s top scorer with 13 goals, believes his side is a genuine title contender, a sentiment shared by coach Ramon Falzon.

That said, Falzon was concerned with errors made in the first half and acknowledged Armadale had made it tough for the home side.

“I’ve believed in our quality from day one and now we’ve gotten more consistent, especially stepping up in the last few games,” he said.

“The weather conditions made technical ball work more difficult today but I think we played quite well.”

The play only opened up after Armadale scored in the 27th minute when Richman headed in a pass from Jason Barrera.

But Balcatta retaliated immediately with Catarcione scoring with a header from a second consecutive corner.

This lifted the intensity of the game but the heavy rain forced both sides into making errors.

Faustinho Machiochi’s long-range effort in the 52nd minute drew gasps from the crowd but it sailed past the left post.

Five minutes later, Armadale’s Matthew Gould pulled off a great diving save to keep the scores level before captain Billy Quinncroft cleared another shot off the goal line.

The visitors were gifted an opportunity when keeper Damien Stanoevski’s clearance went straight to Mwansaa Musonda but despite having plenty of time on the ball his shot was easily blocked.

Balcatta’s persistence paid off in the 74th minute after Catarcione connected with Benny Kouakou’s lob across the box to slide the ball into the goal.

Armadale had not scored since their fixture against Sorrento a month ago and assistant coach Saul Contera thought they had started the game strongly. But he acknowledged Balcatta’s quality up front had been crucial.

“It’s become a bit routine for us to concede easy goals,” he said. “We haven’t been in the lead very often so we panicked a bit and let them back into the game.

“But no-one can question our work rate or determination. I think it’s just a lack of quality in the final third that can let us down.”

Balcatta FC 2 (Gustavo CATARCIONE 29’, 74’)
Armadale SC 1 (Daniel RICHMAN 26’)
Saturday 21 June, 2014
Grindleford Reserve, Balcatta
Kick-off: 3.00pm
Referee: Steven Gregory
Assistant referees: Brendan Skinner, Shane Skinner
Crowd: 150 (approx)

Balcatta: 1. Damien STANOEVSKI, 3. Kieron STALLARD, 5. Adam TONG (c), 6. Luke RANDAZZO, (14. Benny KOUAKOU TIME 46’), 7. Lawrence SHURAMA, (10. Matt IZZO 66’), 8. David CYRUS, 9. Carlo COELHO, 16. Alex CANIGLIA, 17. Kieran COLWELL, 18. Marc DE FRANCESCH, 19. Gustavo CATARCIONE, (13. Ben MEREDITH 90’+2).
Substitutes not used: 21. Clint DAVIES, , 12. Alex SULESKI.
Yellow cards: Nil

Red cards: Nil

Armadale: 20. Mathew GOULD (gk), 4. Billy QUINNCROFT (c) , 5. Nathan COSTELLO, 6. Jason BARRERA , 7. Faustinho MACHOCHI, (18. Dennis GAYE 84’), 8. Lyon UARNVH, 9. Raveshian KUPPUSAMY, 11. Daniel RICHMAN, 12. Alec SOLOMONS, 13. Sam LOVELESS, (16. Mwansaa MUSONDA 63’), 14. Mitch CASTRILLI
Substitutes not used: 1. Jordan HOWELL, 2. Josh KUSER, 3.Luke BUGONI,
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil