DIVISION ONE
Dianella White Eagles and UWA Nedlands remain locked together at the top of State League Division One with five games remaining as the title race seems set to go to the wire.
Dianella sit at the summit on goal difference after a 2-1 win at Inglewood United, who remain stuck in the bottom two.
State Team representative Franc Gamiz Quer opened the scoring for Eagles on 18 minutes when heading home George Ballah’s teasing cross from the left.
Inglewood equalised in the second half when Mathew Keith’s drive flew through a crowded penalty area with the final touch coming off teammate Cammron Morris.
The visitors won it in the final 10 minutes when Inglewood stopper Conor Hogan palmed Gavin Byars’ cross straight to Albert Luwi who struck his seventh goal of the season.
DIVISION ONE RESULTS, FIXTURES & STANDINGS
Ian Ferguson’s side are unbeaten in six, while UWA Nedlands bounced back from last week’s defeat at Joondalup City by beating in-form Kingsley Westside 3-2.
Kingsley have put themselves in the promotion picture over the past few weeks and led when Max Adamson slid through for Paul Stewart to bend into the bottom corner.
Uni were swiftly on terms thanks to Nicolas Falco’s low drive, but Kingsley were up again early in the second period when Adamson headed in Luke Doyle’s free-kick.
The hosts hit back once more when Golden Boot leader Iljas Ahmedov got the final touch on Sebastian Hooshangian’s corner, before Roberto Soares’ precise finish from just inside the box won it on 69 minutes.
Joondalup City are third and sit six points off the top two after a 3-2 win over Mandurah City.
John Baird latched onto a long ball and kept his cool to lift over the goalkeeper, but the home side equalised seven minutes before half-time courtesy of Thomas Hunt’s superb strike.
Edward Wilcock’s free-kick had the northern suburbs club in front, and they extended their advantage further when Harry Edwards fired in as City set up a big clash with leaders Dianella next Saturday.
Mandurah pulled one back late when Baird neatly found Jordan Callaghan to rifle into the roof of the net. The Dolphins are six points clear of the drop zone but are now seven points off fourth place.
Elsewhere, Gwelup Croatia are back in the top four after prevailing 3-2 over Kalamunda City.
An error at the back led to Christos Vaenas slipping through for Omar Diarra to finish with aplomb. Kalamunda were level soon after when Gwelup got in a tangle playing out from the back and Sean Palethorpe stole in to score.
Diarra was then left unmarked to nod in his second from Jeremie Mba’s cross just before the interval, only for the home side found themselves down to 10 men when Miklos Imre was dismissed for last man challenge on 55 minutes.
Andrea Erbetta equalised from the penalty spot but the 10 men of Gwelup would win with six minutes to spare when Robert Ferrante came off the bench to fire in from outside the area. That saw Gwelup go fourth and two points clear of Kingsley, while Kalamunda keep their head above the relegation zone despite the loss.
With the two teams above them losing, bottom side Gosnells pulled a point back on their relegation rivals in a 1-1 draw with Subiaco.
Ivan Skorich was sent off for Subi after only 12 minutes, but Marc Wingell’s were still up at half-time through Dean Evans’ penalty. However, Aaron Coslani earned a point with a spot-kick of his own as Gosnells moved to within five points of safety.
Finally, Curtin University edged away from the bottom two despite twice letting a lead slip in a 2-2 draw with mid-table Murdoch University Melville.
Lachlan Hannah got the better of Takayuki Sone to stroke in the opener, but Ed Wynne-Willson levelled from the penalty spot in first half injury time.
Nathan Smith responded with a penalty of his own, only for Wynne-Wilson to tie it up again in the final five minutes when linking up nicely with Declan Tanna.
DIVISION TWO
Quinns took control of the second division title race with a 2-1 at Grandis Park against Carramar Shamrock Rovers.
James Oldroyd’s goal for Quinns was cancelled out quickly by Rovers’ Griffin Sture. But Ben Johns cashed in on a defensive mix-up to put Quinns back ahead with 20 minutes remaining. Nick Jennings’ team sit two points clear with a game in hand on their title rivals.
That buffer opened up due to second-placed Cockburn City and third-placed East Perth playing out a 1-1 draw. Isaac McVittie had the Cockerels on course for victory until Ryan McCready struck an 87th-minute equaliser to keep East Perth engaged in the title race.
Elsewhere, three of the bottom four sides picked up big wins.
Ashfield’s 4-1 result over bottom side Swan United extended their unbeaten run to four games. Nathan Scully’s double and Luca Macri’s goal had the hosts cruising before RaviRaj Singh added a late fourth. Swan’s goal came via a Conor McCann own goal.
Ashfield are five points clear of their opponents, while Rockingham City are now three points clear of the automatic relegation spot after winning 2-1 at fourth-placed Forrestfield United.
Noah Appleby had Forrestfield up at the break but two goals in 12 second half minutes from Shaun Mukwevho and Regan Davidson ensured Rockingham picked up three points in their bid to avoid the drop.
DIVISION TWO RESULTS, FIXTURES & STANDINGS
Meanwhile, Wembley Downs are six points clear of Swan after a 2-0 win over Balga who missed the chance to move into the play-offs with the loss.
Rory Hannon got the first on 68 minutes before Josh Chalmers’ late sealer saw him move level with Ryan McCready and Austin Reynolds in the race for the Golden Boot.
Canning City and Wanneroo City also shared the points in a 1-1 draw which keeps both sides clear of danger for now. Daniel O’Donovan put Wanneroo ahead only for William Higginson to level for Canning with a penalty three minutes from time.
