Perth Redstar head to Bayswater City this Friday looking to extend their lead in the New Balance NPL WA Men’s competition.
Callum Salmon’s side currently sit a point above their opponents with a game in hand after reclaiming first place last Saturday.
An added ingredient ahead of the top-of-the-table clash is that it was former Bayswater skipper Gordon Smith whose goal gave RedStar their victory over Perth Glory.
Smith played for Baysie for seven years and was club captain when the side completed a league and Top Four Cup double last season. However, a reduced playing role persuaded the Scot it was time to look elsewhere.
“The manager [Matty Sparrow] came in and he brought his own signings, which was understandable,” he said. “We then went on a great run, and I just couldn’t get in the team. Instead, I was a squad player, getting on for 10, 15 minutes here and there, so at the end of the season I thought I’d try something different after seven great years at Bayswater. It’s a great club; it was just time to move on.
“I was always going to look for a new club. I turn 35 this year, I’m obviously coming to the latter stages. But when Cal [Salmon] phoned me about joining RedStar, we had a good conversation and I was excited to sign. He told me his plans and what role I’d play in the team, and it’s going pretty well so far.”
Smith was previously with RedStar when they were known as ECU Joondalup. His return is arguably the signing of the season in the NPL. His experience has been invaluable, while his late header against Glory at the Sam Kerr Football Centre was his seventh league goal of the campaign. It was also a reminder of his last game in the black-and-blue of Bayswater when he scored the winner against Olympic Kingsway in last September’s Top Four Cup final at the same venue.
“Going out winning the league and Top Four Cup was great. Even though you’re not starting games, you’re still playing a role. I was still the captain, coming on every game. In the final, I was thrown on with 20 minutes to go and managed to get my head on the end of Jonny’s (Jon Corness’) cross, so it was a great last game and one I’ll remember, scoring the winner in a final and my last game for Bayswater.”
Those memories will be put to one side on Friday as Smith looks to put a spanner in his former team’s ambitions of defending their league title. He will be hoping things work out better than on his two previous visits back to Frank Drago Reserve, a 1-0 loss in the Night Series in January and last week’s Hahn Australia Cup defeat when RedStar let slip a 2-0 lead.
“We’ve just got to learn from our mistakes from last Tuesday in the cup,” he said. “We went in at half-time at 2-0, and we were the better team. But we spoke about how they have been pretty good at comebacks recently and to keep it tight. We did for the first 10 minutes of the second half, but when they scored, we just kind of lost our way for 20 minutes and the game got away from us. But even after that, we missed a few good chances. Now we’re really focused about getting the three points on Friday.”
The title race currently looks like a battle between RedStar, Bayswater and third-place Olympic, although Smith isn’t discounting Perth Azzurri.
“It looks like a three-horse race, but Perth are keeping up there. They are going under the radar,” he said.
“With seven, eight games to go, it’s exciting to see a few good teams fighting it out for the top position. There’s going to be a lot of twists and turns, so we just have to keep going, keep believing and keep our composure.
“Bayswater kind of ran away with it last year, Kingsway the year before, so it’s great for the league to have three really good teams going for it.”
Friday’s game kicks off at 7pm and will be streamed live on Streamer.com.au/
The remaining Round 16 matches take place on Saturday.
