Striker Liam Boland has called for more representative fixtures between states after scoring the winning goal for Western Australia against Tasmania on Saturday night.
The Olympic Kingsway forward struck late on as Ivan Zuvela’s side edged a hard-fought contest 1-0 at Inglewood Stadium in the first meeting between the two states in 62 years.
Now he wants to see the concept expanded to include other Member Federations.
“I’d love to see more of this and I guess play the other states as well. It’d be good,” he said. “I’ve played in a game in Victoria like this and it’s always good fun and a great experience for everyone involved.
“(Playing for the state) you know you’re playing with the best players from the league, so it’s a bit of a step-up. You’ve got to be sharp. And you know, you’re going to get good service like that as well. So it’s a joy as a striker.”
Boland’s goal arrived from a superb cross delivered by Dianella White Eagles midfielder Sasa Njegic, and the striker quick to praise his former Olympic teammate.
“It was some delivery, it made it pretty easy for myself,” Boland said. “I love playing with Sasa. We won the Treble that year together at Kingsway and I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I think he’s a seriously underrated player.”
While WA took the win, it was not easy against a full-strength Tasmania squad who included a host of players from their premiers South Hobart.
In contrast, WA were without any representatives of New Balance NPL WA champions Bayswater City as they prepare for the Australian Championship.
WA were then dealt a blow early in the game when Aryn Williams had to come off. The central defender was seemingly knocked out after taking the ball flush in the face from close range.
Tassie only arrived in Perth on Friday evening but showed no signs of fatigue, and the two WA keepers used on the night – Sam Reilly and Liam Driscoll – had to deliver.
Reilly, who played the first half, made a great low one-handed stop to thwart Kobe Kemp, then was equally agile to keep out an effort by Eli Wright. Driscoll proved equally effective, producing a string of excellent saves, including one acrobatic push onto the bar after Tassie’s stand-out player Josh Tollervey tried to catch out the keeper from his own half.
However, it wasn’t all one-way traffic. Jack Baker headed just wide after being set up by Ollie Annis, while Josh Risdon hit the post in the first half following good work by David Ninkovich.
Then with time running out, Ninkovich laid the ball back for Njegic, and he whipped in a perfect cross for Boland to volley in at the back post.
“Massive respect to them,” Boland said. “They’ve come over here and they’re not just going through the motions.
“Personally, I’ve had a good year. Unfortunately, as a team where my club didn’t go too well in the end. But coming in with a few of the lads from other clubs, it’s nice to get the winner.”
Western Australia: Sam Reilly [Western Knights] (Liam Driscoll 46) [Perth Azzurri], Ryan Finnie [Perth RedStar], Aryn Williams [Olympic Kingsway] (Luke Bodnar 17) [Perth RedStar] (Sean O’Connor 70) [Perth Azzurri], Jack Clisby [Olympic Kingsway], Ollie Annis [Olympic Kingsway], Josh Risdon [Fremantle City], Kade Fearnall [Stirling Macedonia] (Sasa Njegic 65) [Dianella White Eagles], Mitch Oxborrow [Olympic Kingsway], David Ninkovich, Jack Baker [Perth RedStar] (Liam Boland 65) [Olympic Kingsway], Santiago Flores [Western Knights]
