Sebastian Despotovski scored a stoppage-time equaliser as Perth Glory earned a 1-1 draw with Bayswater City in Saturday’s Round Eight top-of-the-table fixture in the NPLWA – Men’s competition.
The result keeps both sides undefeated, with Bayswater staying two points clear at the top of the league as none of the top four sides won for the second week in a row.
Glory started well at the Sam Kerr Football Centre with Adrian Pini cutting inside and firing just over the bar inside the opening 10 minutes.
Bayswater got better as the half wore as Sean McManus’ volley on the turn was tipped onto the bar with Cameron Teece heading the resulting corner over from six yards.
They then took the lead on 33 minutes when Ollie La Galia held of his marker and volleyed crisply past Jhett Warner from just outside the box.
Pat Loughrey’s free-kick crashed off the post before half-time, while in the second half substitute Charlie Garnham’s long-ranger was tipped around the post by Warner.
NPLM RESULTS, FIXTURES & STANDINGS
There were fewer clear-cut chances after the restart, but the hosts salvaged a point when a loose ball broke to Despotovski 20 yards out, and Glory’s leading scorer drilled a low drive past Lewis Italiano for his eighth goal of the season.
In the northern suburbs, Olympic Kingsway missed a chance to close the gap on the leaders after being held to a 3-3 draw by Balcatta Etna.
Kingsway led on six minutes when Joe Hobson found Tyler Garner who fired in low and hard to beat Stefan Sotirovski.
David Tough’s side were seemingly in control on 36 minutes as Jayden Gorman went solo down the left and scored into the roof of the net from a narrow angle.
But Balcatta had other ideas as Ben Hinshelwood’s penalty late in the first half reduced the arrears, before two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period turned the contest on its head.
Declan Hargreaves’ corner was headed back across goal by Kurt Harris with Jon Stynes on hand to nod in for 2-2. Then, Harris won another header from a set piece with Rostyn Griffiths the eventual beneficiary to put Balcatta ahead for the first time.
Kingsway levelled on 64 minutes from the penalty spot through Laat Mathiang, but neither side was able to find a winner as both sides squandered an opportunity to enhance their league position.
At Alfred Skeet Reserve, fifth-placed Armadale defeated Perth SC 2-1 to move three points behind their opponents who occupy the remaining top-four place.
Armadale took the lead six minutes before the interval when Azzurri keeper Mark Birighitti slipped when controlling a back-pass and Pieter Jacobz cashed in with an easy finish.
Perth equalised on 55 minutes after a quickly taken free-kick led to David Ninkovich’s shot from distance saved by Sebastian Medica, with Gordon Perkins following up to put in the rebound.
Armadale rescued a late equaliser against Glory last weekend and they struck again in the final 10 minutes to beat Perth when Jacobsz raced down the left and coolly finished one-on-one past Birighitti.
The defeat ended Perth’s unbeaten start to the season with fixtures against the top three to come in the next three rounds, while for Armadale it was their first win in four games.
Elsewhere, there were three important wins in the league’s bottom half, leaving sixth to 11th separated by just one point.
Perth RedStar ended a run of three successive losses as they defeated 10-man Stirling Macedonia 2-0.
Luke Bodnar spotted Daryl Nicol to his left with the three-time Gold Medal winner crossing for Matty George to open his account for the season nine minutes before half-time.
Aston Montgomery’s straight red card just before the break made the visitors’ task tougher, and late on George returned the favour to Nicol who lifted cleverly over James Bosdet to seal the win in stoppage time.
At Nash Field, Western Knights picked up their first league win since Round Two after beating Fremantle City 3-2.
Free struck first when Sam Cook raced on to Ben Steele’s through pass and rolled the ball across goalkeeper Sam Reilly and into the far corner.
Knights levelled three minutes before the break when Kosta Sparta’s cross from the right was turned into his own net by Steele under pressure from Daniel Santich.
Kosta Sparta’s terrific left-footed finish across the goalkeeper put Knights ahead past the hour mark, before Kristian Santich’s sweet long-range strike arrowed into the bottom corner and put the home side on course for three points.
Nick Ambrogio’s shot deflected off Max Blackshaw and in to give Freo a lifeline in the final quarter of an hour, but Scott Miller’s side fell short as Knights prevailed.
Finally, Sorrento won 1-0 at Floreat Athena to move two games clear of the automatic relegation spot.
The game’s decisive goal came on 40 minutes when Neil Kilkenny’s low drive from range went through keeper Josh Hunter and in. The defeat means winless Floreat are now five points adrift at the bottom of the division.