Mandurah, Subi boost play-off hopes on rain-hit day

Mandurah City and Subiaco maintained their pushes towards the inter-divisional play-offs as both sides collected important wins against mid-table opponents in Round 20 of the State League Division One season.

Only two fixtures were played in the second tier on Saturday afternoon as heavy rain in the Perth metro area saw most fixtures around the grounds cancelled before a ball was kicked.

Mandurah City made the trip north to face Gwelup Croatia and came away with a 3-1 victory which made it four wins in the past five for John Baird’s side.

The Dolphins led on 25 minutes when Chadley Edwards poked through for Shaun Mukwevho to get goalside, burst clear and finish with aplomb.

The visitors’ position was strengthened four minutes before the interval when Jack Coslett-Greene arrived to finish Harry Collins’ cross from the left flank.

And Mandurah made it three a minute into the second half following a sweeping counterattack from a Gwelup corner. Leigh Griffiths, Mukwevho and Jordan Callaghan combined with the latter lifting exquisitely over the goalkeeper from outside the box.

Gwelup got one back soon after courtesy of Pierre Barilly’s drive before second yellow cards were shown to Gwelup’s Reece Kral and Graham Tough of Mandurah, while Jai Rawling’s straight red card saw the hosts end the game with nine men.

The result means Gwelup’s outside hopes of reaching the post-season were officially ended, while Mandurah’s victory sees them stay a point clear of fifth-placed Subiaco who won 4-1 against Joondalup United in the day’s other game.

Moustafa Mohamed starred with a treble in the win which made it back-to-back hat tricks for the in-form striker, as Marc Wingell’s team made it six games without defeat.

Subi struck early on when Alex Coelho’s free-kick caused problem for Joondalup’s defence with the ball eventually breaking for Mohamed to poke home.

It was 2-0 on 36 minutes with Lorran De Almeida doing all the hard work as he beat two challenges and brought a save from the goalkeeper before Jonty Pearson was there to tap in the follow-up.

Three points looked certain early in the second half after Mohamed’s crisp finish into the bottom corner from 21 yards, and the striker scored his 13th of the season when rifling across Todd Hoyle with 20 minutes to play.

Jay Lang’s late penalty proved to be scant consolation for Joondalup United, who should be safe barring a dramatic swing of results in the final two weeks of the campaign.

Subi, meanwhile, continue their excellent late season form with only two points now separating them in fifth and Murdoch in third in the race for a promotion play-off spots.

Murdoch University Melville-Sorrento FC, Gosnells City-Dianella White Eagles, UWA Nedlands- Cockburn City and Kingsley Westside-Rockingham City were all postponed with dates and kick-off times of the rearranged matches to be determined.

In Division Two, it was a similar story with only two games being played across the league, but Kalamunda City took advantage of their rivals not being in action as they returned to the top of the league with a 4-1 win over Wanneroo City.

The victory ended a run of five successive draws for Kalamunda and means they are one point clear of East Perth who have a game in hand.

The new leaders were 4-0 up at the break with Farruh Mavlonov completing a first half hat-trick and Jose Zuniga getting the other goal.

Danyel Dos Santos De Souza scored for Roos in the second period, but they are now four points from safety with their nearest rivals above all having a game in hand. They face Swan United next week in massive fixture between the league’s bottom two sides.

Finally, Ashfield won 2-1 at Quinns to leapfrog their opponents on goal difference into sixth place.

Matthew Rollin got the opener in the first half before Luca Macri doubled the lead on the hour mark as Ashfield responded after back-to-back defeats.

Patrick Hughes pulled one back on 73 minutes for Quinns but no equaliser would arrive as the hosts sit seventh and seven points clear of the bottom two.

Curtin University-Swan United, Joondalup City-Carramar Shamrock Rovers, Forrestfield United-Canning City and Balga-East Perth were all postponed and will be rescheduled for later in the season.