Floreat Athena are the front-runners after seven rounds of the NPLWA - Men’s competition thanks to a 2-1 win over Balcatta Etna at E&D Litis Stadium.
A goal in each half did the job for Vas Vujacic’s side who withstood a flurry of Balcatta set-pieces and a couple of late scares before cementing win number five this season.
The victory, paired with previous leaders Western Knights dropping points, means 2022 champions Athena are now a point clear at the summit with the top four separated by a win.
SEE SQUADI FOR NPLM RESULTS, FIXTURES & TABLE
Balcatta had the better of the early stages and could have led when Hasani Sinclair sneaked behind Floreat’s back four and rounded the goalkeeper, only for Ben Steele to get back and clear the American’s tame effort off the line.
Instead, it was Floreat who went ahead on 33 minutes when Cherno Bah slipped a lovely pass through for Guy Davies to score for a fourth successive game in all competitions.
Rostyn Griffiths’ header hit the bar and Sinclair glanced just wide as Etna threatened to level prior to the interval. But Floreat went on to double their lead midway through the second half when Mohamed Al-Zaidy collected Ajang Yuot’s pass and had plenty of time to strike low past Connor Campbell for his first goal of the campaign.
Balcatta were given a quick opportunity to respond when Liam Hudson was clipped by Ali Mohamed inside the box. Ben Hinshelwood hammered home a from the penalty spot and in doing so scored for a sixth round out of seven in 2024.
The visitors thought they had found an equaliser when Sinclair headed home Shogo Osawa’s cross, but an offside in the build-up thwarted any celebrations. And despite several set-pieces including Griffiths’ late deflected free-kick, Floreat held on to go top of the tree while Balcatta dropped to second bottom.
Athena’s status as leaders comes after Western Knights’ 1-1 draw with Bayswater City, with two late goals scored at Nash Field.
Gary Williams’ visitors were on course for back-to-back wins when they broke the deadlock on 85 minutes. Alex Ishida-Livings got forward from full-back and squared for Samuel Dweh to bundle in from close range.
Knights remain unbeaten after Jack Bardsley’s stoppage time throw was met by a first-time volley from substitute Justin Tang. However, this was a third successive draw which means they drop to second place, while Bayswater slip to fifth.
Olympic Kingsway are now within two points of top spot after four second-half goals helped them win 5-0 against Perth SC.
The visitors looked comfortable until Josh Cala scored a bizarre own goal when he looped a back-pass over his goalkeeper from the edge of the box to put Kingsway ahead past the half-hour mark.
Then four goals in 16 second-half minutes ensured Olympic made it five games without defeat. Liam Boland registered a quickfire double with a terrific header from Joe Knowles’ cross and then a simple finish after Liam Murray had intercepted following a mistake in the Perth defence.
Knowles latched on to Ryan Lowry’s long pass to drill home a fourth and another Perth mistake capped the win with Mitch Oxborrow benefiting to score his first league goal for the Green Machine.
Fremantle City are now fourth and within three points of top spot following a 2-1 win over Perth Glory at Hilton Park.
Pat Loughrey’s free-kick flew low through the wall inside eight minutes to get Fremantle off to a fine start, but Glory equalised in stunning fashion thanks to Jaylan Pearman’s 25-yard piledriver.
Freo’s winner came six minutes into the second half as Jesse Fuller headed a corner back across goal to a dangerous area and Cam Edwards stooped to force over from close range.
That was three wins in four for Matty Sparrow’s side who maintain their 100% home record, while for Glory it’s a third defeat in a row as they drop to eighth.
Defending champions Perth RedStar are within touching distance of fourth after edging Stirling Macedonia 1-0 in a repeat of last season’s Top Four Cup final.
The game’s only goal was scored on 52 minutes when Nick Walsh’s pull-back was diverted into his own net by former ECU junior Danny Douglas.
The sides switch places in the table, with RedStar sixth and two points off fourth while Stirling sit two points behind the defending champions in seventh.
Finally, Armadale defeated winless Inglewood United 4-1 to record their first win of the season.
They had to come from behind as Inglewood led for a second week in a row when Ciaran Salinger headed a corner across goal for Jordan Brown to arrive and finish from a few yards out.
But the lead lasted only five minutes as Ryley Wishart-Stephen sent Nic Speca the wrong way from the penalty spot for 1-1, and Armadale had turned the game around when Luke Collins steered home Callum Dobbs’ cross for the lead on 20 minutes.
Wishart-Stephen timed his run and crossed for Pieter Jacobsz at the back post to give Armadale a two-goal buffer at the break. And they went on to get a fourth late on as Amir Ajan’s shot came back off the post and Lucas Cook was on hand to finish into an empty net.
Armadale go to ninth and two points clear of the relegation play-off spot, while Inglewood are five points adrift at the bottom after seven defeats from seven games.
