Ten-man Perth Glory prevailed over Armadale SC in a seven-goal thriller at Lark Hill, which means the youngsters sit atop the NPLWA – Men’s competition with two wins from two games.
Glory looked set to race away to the three points after three first-half strikes putting them in the ascendency. Corey Sutherland made it three goals in two games with a brace in the first half, which included a superb solo run and finish to open the scoring.
James Overy tapped in Daniel Bennie’s cross to make it 2-0 before Sutherland sent Yousri Gharsallah the wrong way from the penalty spot to make it three.
Pieter Jacobsz pulled one back from close range just before the interval, but Glory restored their three-goal break early in the second half when Royie Rahamim struck past the goalkeeper at the second time of asking.
Armadale responded promptly when Daniel Robinson diverted Amir Ajan’s effort into the back of the net, and John O’Reilly’s side were further boosted by a second yellow card shown to goalscorer Overy around the hour mark.
The visitors then pulled it back to 4-3 via Jacobsz’ third in two outings from a tight angle after following in Tim Berger’s shot. But despite the extra man, Armadale were unable to conjure an equaliser, with Angel Andres Jr flagged offside late on after sticking the ball in the net.
Stirling Macedonia are the only other team to hold a 100% record after they came from behind to defeat Perth RedStar 2-1.
All the goals were scored during the first half in Joondalup, with Daryl Nicol capitalising on an error at the back to slot home on nine minutes.
Calvin Whitney got off the mark in 2023 with a trademark low drive from just inside the area to make it 1-1 seven minutes later.
The winner came on 32 minutes, and in spectacular fashion too, as off-season recruit Kingsley Eshun made it goals in back-to-back matches with a fantastic curler from 18 yards.
Perth SC also remain unbeaten thanks to a 1-0 win over Sorrento which puts them up into third place.
The game’s only goal was scored just before the hour mark when the ball broke for Julian Teles to lash beyond Patrick Hughes following an Azzurri freei-kick.
Elsewhere, defending champions Floreat Athena collected their first victory of the campaign as they won 2-0 at Olympic Kingsway.
It was a special night for the Green Machine as they unveiled their brand-new floodlights at Kingsway Reserve. But it was Vas Vujacic’s side who flicked the switch on their season with two first-half goals.
Jesse Fuller stooped low to head in the opener from Nick Ambrogio’s drilled corner after only eight minutes. That lead was doubled three minutes into first half added time when Bayley Brown-Montgomery burst into the area and squared for Noah Shamaki to net the first league goal of his second spell with Floreat.
Liam Murray shot straight at Jason Saldaris and Daniel Walsh missed from close range with the best of Olympic’s chances, while Sean McManus nearly added a late third with a lob which rolled wide of the post.
Balcatta and Cockburn City also collected their first wins of the year on Saturday as they joined the logjam of six sides all on three points.
Having conceded two late goals to lose to Glory last week, Etna were on the right side of the ledger this week after winning 2-1 at Inglewood United.
Dom Salvodelli’s right glove couldn’t keep out Shubham Mokala’s curler as the hosts went 1-0 up. But Glen Grostate’s side were able to turn the tide and record a deserved victory, despite Alex Dunn’s best efforts in the Inglewood goal.
Etna needed a bit of luck to find the equaliser after wasting several good opportunities, as Jack Leech’s lob into the area was lifted past his own goalkeeper by Chris Tilson.
The winner came three minutes from time as Japanese forward Kotaro Yamamoto stole in to slide past an advancing Dunn and give Balcatta the points.
Cockburn also hit back after conceding first with Ivan Skorich their late hero in a 2-1 win over Bayswater City.
It was Steve McDonald’s first win in the dugout at Dalmatinac Park in a meeting between two sides who suffered heavy defeats in Round One.
Jon Stynes nodded in Tom Southgate’s cross, having scored with a header last week too. But it was Cockerels who kickstarted their campaign with two goals in the final 20 minutes.
Friday Zico curled home spectacularly from long distance to make it 1-1, before Skorich beat the offside trap from Cherno Bah’s pass to slot home the winner.
Results
Cockburn City 2-1 Bayswater City
Inglewood United 1-2 Balcatta Etna
Olympic Kingsway 0-2 Floreat Athena
Perth Glory 4-3 Armadale
Perth RedStar 1-2 Stirling Macedonia
Perth SC 1-0 Sorrento