Olympic Kingsway continued their promotion push on Saturday as they moved seven points clear of the rest in the Men's State League Division One following a 4-1 win over Rockingham City.
Two goals in as many first-half minutes set them on their way at Kingsway Reserve. David Perich glanced in Calum O’Connell’s in-swinging corner, before lovely build-up play involving Daniel Harrison resulted in Ciaran Byrne bundling in from close range.
Byrne made it 3-0 before half-time with his seventh of the season after being picked out by Perich and it was four soon after the restart thanks to Ewen Fawcett, who ensured Byrne’s strike off the post went over the line.
Jordan Rhodes poked home after David Keenan’s fumble to pull one back for Rockingham who remain 10th, while Kingsway’s dominance to start the season in Division One continues.
Their closest rivals are now Mandurah City, who leapfrogged Western Knights into second spot after a 2-1 win at Nash Field.
City had to come from behind with Knights hitting the front when Dylan White raced clear to finish on nine minutes.
The Dolphins responded through two quickfire goals midway through the first half. Craig Barker continued his fine scoring run from midfield to score for the seventh time in 2022, before Hamish Van Dieken made sure Barker’s strike crossed the line as Mandurah won for the sixth time in seven games.
Fremantle City also went above Knights into third as Bill Orr’s double helped them win 2-1 against Murdoch University Melville at Hilton Park.
Orr’s first came on 31 minutes from close range before making it 2-0 in the second half with a determined run and finish.
Declan Tanna slammed in to set up a grandstand finish with four minutes left, but it wouldn’t be enough for MUM FC whose three-game winless run has seen them drop to ninth.
Forrestfield United have moved into the top half as they bounced back from conceding nine at Mandurah last week to win 3-0 against Subiaco at Crazy Domains Stadium.
An own goal set the hosts on their way and it was 2-0 soon after when Ollie La Galia superbly beat a stranded Teo Brown from long distance.
Jake Melia got the third when in the right spot to slide into a vacant net as Forrestfield moved to four wins and five losses on the season.
Elsewhere, Quinns twice came from behind to win 3-2 at Joondalup United as they registered a first win in three games.
Joel Sollitt’s opener from six yards was cancelled out by Hayden Doyle, who stole in to hammer a strike past Todd Hoyle.
James Harmer struck soon after the break to restore United’s lead, but Quinns would hit back with two goals in four minutes from Robbie Sallis and Leon Anderson to take the win.
Finally, bottom club UWA Nedlands won for the first time since Round Two as they defeated Dianella White Eagles 1-0.
Simon Burt got the game's only goal on four minutes as UWA closed the gap on 11th placed Dianella to one point to boost their survival prospects.
In Division Two, a Jack Bardsley hat-trick helped leaders Carramar Shamrock Rovers win 4-1 at third-placed Kingsley Westside and restore a four-point lead at the top of the league.
Second-place Gosnells City could have gone top, albeit temporarily, on Friday night but they had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Curtin University. It could have been worse for Gosnells if not for Aden Hoddy’s 94th-minute leveller which extended their unbeaten run to four games. Curtin twice led through Simone Sichel and Kieran Witt, with Conor Kavanagh scoring City's first equaliser.
Swan United and Joondalup City both won to stay in touch with the top in a wide-open promotion race. Swan remain fifth after a 3-1 victory over bottom side Wanneroo City made it four wins in a row, John Monterosso netting twice in the first half, while Liam Peacock was the hat-trick hero for Joondalup in their 4-2 win over South West Phoenix.
Ashfield came from two down to record a potentially important point away from home in a 2-2 draw with Balga. Ben Wantee and Bleron Mamudi had Balga two up after 19 minutes but Conor McCann and Sebastian Munoz pulled it level before half-time.
The clash between Canning City and Morley Windmills was postponed due to Covid.