Sorrento FC celebrated the presentation of their State League Division One title in style as a Connor Simpson hat-trick helped them to a 6-0 win over Subiaco at Percy Doyle Reserve.
The Gulls were playing their last home match of the season and are now two games away from an undefeated season with trips to MUM FC and Gosnells City to finish their campaign.
Subiaco’s loss means their play-off hopes are now out of their hands. They must win in their last game against UWA Nedlands while hoping Mandurah City don’t win either of their two remaining matches.
Mandurah's game with Kingsley Westside on Saturday was postponed.
Sorrento took four minutes to hit the front at Percy Doyle Reserve when Dario Ramella’s cross from the left was finished first time by Simpson with a cushioned volley. The same pair combined just before the half-hour mark as Simpson headed on for Ramella who crossed for the Englishman to head firmly past the goalkeeper.
The Gulls extended their lead 40 seconds after the restart when Clay Gibbs was allowed to run unchallenged to the edge of the penalty area before firing home.
The champions were in cruise control and had a fourth when Simpson ghosted in behind the Subi defence before coolly slotting into the back of the net for his treble.
Keegan Chambers made it five with a crisp finish after fleet-footed play from Hamza Hina in the build-up, and another big Sorrento win was capped off by a customary goal from the league’s leading scorer Dean Cummings who made it 29 goals for the season from close range.
Elsewhere in the promotion picture, Murdoch University Melville guaranteed their spot in the inter-divisional play-offs with a 2-0 win at UWA which officially ended their opponents' promotion ambitions.
A goal in each half got the job done for Marc Anthony’s side who capitalised on Subiaco’s defeat.
MUM went ahead on the stroke of half-time when Ishmael Dawson’s pass to the edge of the box was laid off by Declan Tanna and Joshua Macri fired home.
The second goal arrived just before the hour as Brodie Langan’s cross from the left looped up over Tadgh O’Malley and into the net.
It was a frustrating finish for Uni who have lost three in a row to end the season, and the loss was compounded by red cards to Luke Salas and Barry McEntee.
At the other end of the table, Cockburn City kept their survival hopes alive following a 3-1 win away to Gwelup Croatia.
The Cockerels are now five points clear of bottom side Rockingham City with two games remaining for the pair after Rocky’s clash with Dianella White Eagles was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
It did not look good early on for the visitors as Gwelup took the lead. Robert Ferrante’s free-kick came back off the post and fell straight to Jeremie Mba who struck in the rebound.
Cockburn were level on 16 minutes when Harry Lewis arced his run to stay onside before driving down the right wing into the box and curling home for 1-1.
The visitors put their noses in front just before half-time when Harry O’Brien’s low cross from the right was met by Andrew Rankin.
And they extended their lead to claim three points after the break when Angel Andres Rivera picked up a cross-field pass, beat a man en route to goal and struck firmly beyond Josiah Godfrey.
Rockingham will be relegated if they fail to win both their remaining games against Dianella and Mandurah. Cockburn stay in the relegation play-off spot but still have a chance of avoiding the post-season drama following Joondalup United's 2-2 draw with Gosnells City.
United led on 18 minutes when Andrew Flint’s cross from the right was headed in by Harvey Yellop.
But Gosnells hit back twice in as many minutes with Scott Pereira getting both. His first came from the penalty spot as he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, before United failed to clear a corner and Tom Kennedy’s shot was deflected for Pereira to slam in.
At that stage, Gosnells were set to leapfrog their opponents and guarantee their safety. But James Oldroyd volleyed home from Sam McKearnan’s pass a minute from time to leave both sides still with work to do should Cockburn win their final two fixtures.
In Division Two, the promotion race took another twist as East Perth came from a goal down to defeat Joondalup City 2-1.
East Perth are now second, a point behind Kalamunda City who reclaimed top spot with a 4-1 win at Ashfield. Joondalup City drop from first to third, three points off the top, with the leading trio each having two games to play.
Mason Gallagher’s opener for Joondalup City early in the second half was cancelled out by the league’s leading scorer Ryan McCready with 17 minutes to spare.
City then went down to 10 men as Jayden Rowles saw a straight red card five minutes after coming off the bench. East Perth cashed in as Dylan Whelan-Dempsey netted six minutes from time to help his side return to winning ways after their surprise lost to Balga in midweek.
The result at Hudson Park allowed Kalamunda to capitalise and they did so convincingly.
Luca Macri had put mid-table Ashfield in front, but Samir Ramos’ hat-trick and another for Gaston Bazet ensured Kalamunda made it back-to-back victories with the title back in their hands.
Elsewhere, the fixture between the league’s bottom two sides Swan United and Wanneroo City was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, which means the relegation picture remains unchanged.
Carramar Shamrock Rovers were unable to move clear of danger after losing 3-1 at Curtin University on Friday evening. Rovers stay 10th and three points clear of the bottom two who both have games in hand on Gerry McEwan’s side.
Carramar had equalised in the first half through Alan Reidy after Nathan Smith’s spot-kick had opened the scoring. But Smith struck again after the restart and Jai Coker ensured Curtin moved five points clear of fifth and strong favourites to make the inter-divisional play-offs for a second straight year.
Balga kept their outside hopes of the play-offs alive by beating Forrestfield United 1-0 to leapfrog their opponents in the standings. Christian Vest got the only goal just before the hour mark. It is still a long shot for Balga to make the play-offs - they need to win their remaining two games and for Curtin to lose their last three matches.
Finally, Quinns FC are all but safe after a 1-0 win on the road at Canning City.
Alex Mayer’s 88th-minute goal won it for Quinns who are now 11 points clear of the bottom two. Canning are not quite secure but they do have a five-point buffer on second-bottom Swan having played a game more.