Australian Championship
Bayswater have continued their superb run in the Australian Championship with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Sydney Olympic in Perth on Saturday.
The win extended Bayswater’s unbeaten home run in the tournament and kept the New Balance NPL WA champions top of their group with one game remaining.
Sydney Olympic fielded a starting line-up with plenty of A-Leagues experience, but Bayswater started brighter. An early throw-in from the left was headed on and fell to Bayswater. Last week’s goalscorer, Chok Dau, reacted quickly to play the ball across goal, where the oncoming Oli La Galia headed home the opener.
The 24-year-old justified his selection in the starting line-up with a goal after five minutes, his first in the Australian Championship and his seventh in all competitions this season. Just six minutes later, Olympic again struggled to defend an attacking throw-in. Brent Quick sent Bayswater forward with a long throw that the Olympic defence failed to clear. The bouncing ball found Cameron Teece inside Olympic’s penalty area, and the striker calmly slotted home Bayswater’s second in the 11th minute.
Olympic tried to wrestle back momentum through Dimi Petratos, who tested Bayswater goalkeeper Lewis Italiano in his 100th game for the WA side. Italiano tipped both of Petratos’ long-range shots away for Olympic corners.
Italiano was called into action again in the 30th minute when a strong spell of build-up play from the Sydney side ended with Najjar playing in Michael Ruhs. The Bayswater custodian saved Ruhs’ close-range shot.
Olympic settled into the game and enjoyed their best period of the match. Repeat efforts in their attacking third tested the Bayswater defence, with Italiano also saving a long-range effort from Ruhs. After a dominant period of possession, Olympic found their goal in the 34th minute. Italiano failed to deal with a long ball forward from Mostofi, and former Brisbane Roar attacker Ruhs headed home from close range.
Bayswater pushed for a third goal when Quick regained possession in Bayswater’s forward half. His ball found La Galia in space, but Filip Kurto comfortably saved his first-time shot. Olympic’s Seth Clark was inches away from an equaliser. His long-range shot beat Italiano before ricocheting off the post. Ruhs was close by but couldn’t turn in the rebound.
The second half started as the first ended, with Olympic pushing hard for an equaliser. Mostofi again threatened on the left, but the ever-present Ruhs couldn’t convert his ball across goal.
Substitute Joel Anasmo found space in the 62nd minute. The attacker advanced the ball before Chris Jackson had his shot saved by Kurto.
Bayswater attempted to reclaim control of the game, with Declan Hughes’ long-range effort also testing Olympic’s goalkeeper. Ruhs, Najjar and Petratos continued to threaten. Petratos was caught offside before seeing his shot saved by Italiano. Italiano was called into action again in the 77th minute, tipping Petratos’ close-range effort over the bar as Olympic continued to search for an equaliser.
Anasmo had the chance to seal the victory for Bayswater. After a quick counterattack, he found himself one-on-one with Kurto. The former A-Leagues shot-stopper saved his effort, turning it behind for a Bayswater corner. Despite controlling large portions of the match, Olympic were unable to find their second goal. Bayswater held on for victory at home.
Bayswater now head east to take on Oakleigh Cannons on Saturday 21 November in their final group game. Kick-off is at 12 noon AWST. The match will be streamed live on SBS On Demand and Football Australia’s YouTube channel.
Match Details: Australian Championship
Bayswater City 2 (La Galia 5’, Teece 11’)
Sydney Olympic 1 (Ruhs 34’)
Bayswater City: 1. Lewis ITALIANO (GK), 2. Brent QUICK, 4. Luke PALMATEER (C), 5. Patrick LOUGHREY, 6. Declan HUGHES, 9. Cameron TEECE (23. Jahce NOVELLO 79’), 10. Chris JACKSON (16. Jonathan CORNESS 69’), 11. Chok DAU (20. Sam MITCHINSON 69’), 14. Oli LA GALIA (21. Joel ANASMO 56’), 17. Sean O’CONNOR (8. Daniel STYNES 79’), 18. Aidan COYNE
Subs: 8. Daniel STYNES, 16. Jonathan CORNESS, 20. Sam MITCHINSON, 21. Joel ANASMO, 23. Jahce NOVELLO, 25. Tomislav Petkovic (GK), 29. Ethan O’SULLIVAN
Photos: Bayswater City Soccer Club
