Balcatta Etna brought themselves back into NPLWA – Women’s title contention after defeating Perth SC 2-1 at Home Group Stadium in the third-versus-second Round 10 clash.
Balcatta’s win was their third in a row which puts them one point behind the Azzurri with a game in hand.
However, both sides have work to do to catch Perth RedStar, who were back to winning ways on Sunday to open a five-point lead at the top.
It was an efficient performance from Balcatta who were fresh after last week’s fixture with Fremantle City was postponed.
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Perth started better, however, and Jess Flannery rolled a clever pass through to Epril Nossent who was denied by Alyssa Van Heurck’s last-ditch challenge.
Danielle Brogan’s side did go ahead on 17 minutes as Kim McCartney scored a stunning free-kick for the second week in a row.
But Balcatta bounced back with two goals in four minutes to turn the game in their favour and ultimately win the match.
Jamie-Lee Gale attempted to link up with Kat Jukic on the edge of Perth’s area, and while she was halted by the visitors’ defence, it was Rachel Jarvis who burst forward from midfield to slide home a first NPL goal against her former side.
In-form Ella Lincoln nearly restored Perth’s lead immediately, only for Liana Cook’s turn to score a maiden goal for Etna when arriving on the edge of the area to drive low into the corner against the club she spent three-and-a-half years with.
Gale chanced her luck from range after the restart but couldn’t beat Stacey Cavill, while at the other end Flannery’s curler deflected just wide of the post.
Van Heurck did enough to put Lincoln off when Perth’s leading scorer was through on goal as the Azzurri pushed for a leveller. But Etna also had designs on wrapping it up as Lucy Jerram came off the bench to fire just wide.
Perth went closest late on when another McCartney free-kick was fumbled by Rebecca Bennett but Anika Stajcic’s follow-up was turned behind by the excellent Van Heurck. Balcatta held firm to make it five victories from five at home this season, while the away side suffered a first defeat on the road.
Earlier in the day, RedStar hit back from last week’s loss to the Azzurri to make it nine wins from 10 as they brushed aside UWA Nedlands 4-1 at UWA Sports Park.
Renee Leota opened the scoring on 18 minutes as she rolled her marker on the edge of the box, before curling brilliantly into the top corner.
The former New Zealand international doubled the lead before the break when latching onto Reina Kagami’s perfect pass and rounding the goalkeeper to roll home.
UWA halved the deficit on the stroke of half-time as Emily Dinsdale made inroads down the right and picked out Andrea Preiato who whipped precisely into the bottom corner.
But RedStar restored their two-goal cushion in the second period when Bronwyn Studman’s pass up the line found Caitlin Doeglas and the forward went on a mazy run then slotted in.
Three points were rubberstamped in the final 10 minutes when Olivia Wood found Manami Arai, who in turn teed up Jayna Ridley to crash home a fifth goal of the season. The win means RedStar regain their five-point lead at the summit, but that could be cut to three if Balcatta win their game in hand.
Elsewhere, the race for the last finals spot tightened on Saturday as Fremantle City won 2-0 against Hyundai NTC at the Sam Kerr Football Centre to move within five points of fourth place.
Two second-half goals from former NTC striker Tanika Lala got the job done as City extended their unbeaten run to three games, while the youngsters were defeated after back-to-back wins.
Maya Spatafore hit the post from range in the first half, but the opener did arrive early in the second period through Lala’s opportune finish from close range after Anna Powell’s cross came off the bar.
It was 2-0 just past the hour when Freo implemented a press high up the pitch. They won the ball off NTC, and Clara Hoarau found Lala to finish with conviction.
NTC’s loss gave Subiaco a chance to move within striking distance of the youngsters in Sunday’s late kick-off. But they were left frustrated as substitute Monique Baiamonte rescued a late point for Murdoch University Melville in a 2-2 draw at Rosalie Park.
Subi struck the front when Marianna Tabain played a peach of a pass for Cass Harvey to lift the ball over Manon Gebauer and into the Murdoch net.
That was goals in back-to-back games for Harvey, but the visitors came close soon after when Tiana Botha’s cross agonisingly ran just beyond midfielder Emma Ylias.
Subi soon cranked up the pressure and Frankie Murray-Hocking hit straight at Gebauer from Harvey’s cross, while Tabain also saw a goal-bound effort blocked.
But MUM FC levelled four minutes before half-time after a tidy move which saw Ellis Glanfield’s pull back trickle across the six-yard box. Botha peeled to the back post to keep the attack alive and set up skipper Ylias to score emphatically for 1-1.
Taylor Reid fired Glanfield’s pass over the bar from 12 yards, before Stella Zampogna set up Murray-Hocking to strike straight at the goalkeeper again as the sides were level at half-time.
The home side led for a second time on 49 minutes after a Murdoch mistake at the back. Harvey rattled against the bar from 18 yards with Zampogna quickest to follow-in and head her side back in front.
Murray-Hocking was denied by the goalkeeper for a third time of the afternoon, while at the other end Glanfield stepped past an opponent before curling just wide of the upright with 20 minutes left.
Zampogna then beat Gebauer to a through ball on the edge of the area, but with the shot-stopper off her line the former Perth striker was wide of the mark.
And Subiaco would rue those missed opportunities three minutes from time when Baiamonte showed persistence against two home defenders and the goalkeeper before poking into an empty net.
MUM FC’s point see’s them jump off the bottom of the table and above UWA Nedlands on goal difference, while Subi are now four points off fourth place.