Debutant Gorman seals opening-day derby win for Olympic
Reigning champions Olympic Kingsway kicked off their NPLWA Men’s campaign with a 2-1 win over Stirling Macedonia in a heavyweight opening round fixture.
Ex-Perth Glory duo Laat Mathiang and Jayden Gorman bagged their first league goals in Kingsway colours either side of Alex Tanevski’s leveller for the visitors.
The repeat of last season’s Top Four Cup Final did not disappoint with chances coming at both ends.
James Bosdet saved Aryn Williams’ downward header onto the bar, while at the other end Brent Quick was denied by Adrian Sinagra with the goalkeeper then thwarting Tanevski on the rebound.
Kingsway opened the scoring seven minutes after the restart with Mathiang’s curler from outside the box.
Stirling squared it up as Calvin Whitney pinched the ball off Mitch Oxborrow and threaded through for Tanevski to roll into the corner.
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Both sides pushed for the three points, and Kingsway won it eight minutes from time as Tyler Garner’s fleet-footed run and cross was turned home by Gorman at the back post.
The offside flag denied Quick an equaliser as Olympic held firm to claim the derby-day spoils.
Elsewhere, Glory got their 2025 season off to a flyer as they hammered Fremantle City 5-0 at the Sam Kerr Football Centre.
Glory’s Adam Bugarija struck inside the first nine minutes when poking in Khoa Ngo’s cutback from six yards. Ngo doubled the lead just before the hour mark when bending around the defender into the far corner.
The floodgates opened in the final 20 minutes as Ngo crossed for Bugarija to make it 3-0. And it was four when Alex Bolton’s cross-field pass was picked up by Ngo who drove into the box and struck across the keeper to cap a man-of-the-match performance.
Adrian Pini’s late finish made it 5-0 late on in a perfect start for Joe Heath as the academy’s new head coach.
There was also a big win in Round One for Perth SC who beat Balcatta Etna 4-1 at Dorrien Gardens.
The Azzurri scored twice inside the final six minutes of the first half to seize the initiative in this one. Jamie McNelis’ cross from the right was met by a looping header from Gordon Perkins, before Ethan Banks raced clear to slot in a stoppage time second.
Banks lifted in a stylish third which all but sealed victory on 53 minutes.
Ben Hinshelwood’s control and finish gave Balcatta a brief response, but McNelis iced the win as Perth hit the ground running.
At Nash Field, Western Knights held last season’s runners-up Perth RedStar to a 1-1 draw.
Both goals were scored in the second period as Kosta Sparta’s teasing cross on 49 minutes was headed in by Luke Sprigg, who nodded in a first senior NPL goal on his league debut for the home side.
RedStar equalised when Matty George won possession and released Sam Pollard who picked out Daryl Nicol fto finish via a deflection.
The points were also shared at Alfred Skeet Reserve as Armadale and Floreat Athena played out a goalless draw.
Armadale went closest at te start of the second half when Daniel Robinson hit the underside of the crossbar twice with the same attempt.
On Friday, Luke Palmateer’s late header saw Bayswater make a winning start under new head coach Matty Sparrow in a 2-1 win over promoted Sorrento FC.
The Gulls were full of confidence after last week’s Night Series triumph and led on eight minutes when Dario Ramella’s cross was brilliantly headed in by skipper Dean Cummings.
Bayswater levelled midway through the second half when full-back Alex Ishida-Livings firede through a sea of bodies.
Andrew Maranta’s red card gave Baysie a leg up, and the hosts went on to win it in stoppage time when Palmateer crashed in at the back post from Declan Hughes’ corner.