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Perth S.C. made it back-to-back Night Series titles when they came from behind to defeat favourites Western Knights 3-2 in a thrilling Final at Litis Stadium on Sunday evening. Graham Normanton went into the match without injured trio Vince Tana, Tony Cumace and Todd Howarth, while Robbie Puca, Mark Pottier and Peter Vukmirovic were included in the squad despite having missed training in the days leading up to the game. Their opponents on the other hand were at near full-capacity, their only absentee being the suspended Ray Marinovic after club captain Scott Devine passed a late test on a twisted ankle.
The Knights started strongly and came very close to taking the lead after just 6 minutes, a well-planned free-kick being rolled to Leon Russell whose thundering drive crashed into the underside of the bar, bounced on the goal line and came back into play. With the respective midfield’s fighting hard to steer control of the game their way in an action-packed game, very few scoring opportunities presented themselves over a tight opening 20 minutes. Perth goalkeeper Robert Scarparolo produced a brilliant diving save in the 13th minute to keep out a powerful shot from 9-metres by Carl Medica, and six minutes later Andreas Oliveira’s header flashed wide after some good lead-up work on the right by Rob Giorgi.
Goalkeeper Tommi Tomich caused more than a few nervous moments for the Knights coaching staff when he nonchalantly took on and beat Oliveira, then hit his clearance just beyond the reach of Pottier. Growing in confidence, the Knights took the lead after 27 minutes when Dino Djulbic mis-timed a clearance and Stuart Montgomery made the most of his opportunity by threading the ball between Scarparolo and his near post from an acute angle. Six minutes later it was very nearly 2-0 but Russell lifted the ball over the bar from the top corner of the 18-yard box. And shortly after Perth were lucky not to have Pottier sent off for a savage foul on Devine than had the Knights supporters baying for vengeance. Perth kept on plugging away and four minutes from the break Tomich spectacularly tipped Jamie Coyne’s blistering drive over the bar to earn the admiration of both sets of fans. The resulting Robbie Gaspar corner was played short to Oliveira, he turned his defender and centred low for Coyne who bundled the ball over the line from close range for the equaliser.
The second half started slowly with Perth enjoying the better of play but unable to convert their possession on the scoreboard. But 14 minutes in the period the Knights re-gained their lead with a superb piece of individual skill by Medica. Taking control of the ball close to the halfway line, Medica skilfully made his way past three opponents before slamming a low shot beyond the reach of Scarparolo from just inside the area. Knowing they had nothing to lose, Perth threw men forward in the search for their second goal. A quick counter-attacking move put teenager Rhys Graham through with only Tomich to beat, but the ‘keeper raced off his line and made a superb smothering save at the wingbacks’ feet. Minutes later Tomich pulled off another fine save, this one to keep out a superb shot from Coyne after he and Oliveira created space with a neat one-two movement.
The Knights defence did well to repel their opponents time and time again, but two fine Perth moves in the space of four minutes would be their undoing. Robbie Puca slipped away down the left in the 64th minute to clip ball into the area, Pottier beat his man to the low cross and steered it past Tomich and inside the far post to level the scores. Minutes later Gaspar relayed the ball to Coyne on the right, he swung it into the dangerzone and Pottier was on hand again to nod it past Tomich’s out-stretched hands to give Perth the lead for the first time tonight. With confidence now sky-high, Perth went in search of a fourth goal. Gaspar’s stunning long-range free-kick crashed into the underside of the bar and bounced on the line, and with Tomich out of position Giorgi was unable to tuck away the loose ball. And in the 79th minute Gaspar threw off an opponent only to see his low shot saved by Tomich.
With time very much against them the Knights never gave up hope and had their opponents’ defence under the hammer over the five minutes of stoppage time played by referee Jeremy Oliphant, whose final whistle signalled the start of some wild scenes in the Perth camp. Man-of-the-match Coyne played a key part in the victory with his constant drive from midfield, Gaspar chimed in with another sparkling performance and Pottier’s two goals in the end proved the all-important difference. Tomich was superb between the posts, making numerous crucial saves while wide on the right Nielsen impressed with a non-stop contribution for the Knights.
Perth S.C. : Robert Scarparolo, Dino Djulbic, Stephen Willey, Aaron
Cole, Rhys Graham (Peter Vukmirovic 73), Robbie Puca, Jamie Coyne, Rob
Giorgi, Robbie Gaspar, Mark Pottier, Andreas Oliveira
Western Knights : Tommi Tomich, Ivan Zuvela, David Annall, Evan
Wallace, Claus Nielsen, Leon Russell, Alex Christie, Scott Devine
(Joseph Reale 73), Paul McVittie, Carl Medica (Eugene Singeorzan 59),
Stuart Montgomery
Referee : Jeremy Oliphant
Cautions : McVittie (8), Montgomery (22), Gaspar (54), Medica (59),
Wallace (72), Christie (75)
Dismissals : None
Attendance : 1,400 (approx.)
Group A Bassendean Caledonian Floreat Athena Fremantle City Sorrento Swan I.C. Western Knights Group B Ashfield Cockburn City ECU Joondalup Inglewood United Perth Future Glory Friday 15th February Sorrento 2 vs Fremantle City 0 Cockburn City 1 vs ECU Joondalup 0 Sunday 17th February Floreat Athena 1 vs Western Knights 2 Perth 0 vs Future Glory 0 Friday 22nd February Bassendean Caledonian 1 vs Swan I.C. 3 Ashfield 1 vs Inglewood United 2 Sunday 24th February Perth 5 vs ECU Joondalup 0 Future Glory 4 vs Cockburn City 0Group A P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Sorrento 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3 Western Knights 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3 Bassendean Caledonian 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 0 Swan I.C. 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 0 Floreat Athena 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 Fremantle City 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0 Group B P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Cockburn City 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3 Future Glory 1 0 1 0 0 0 +0 1 Perth 1 0 1 0 0 0 +0 1 Ashfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 0 Inglewood United 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 0 ECU Joondalup 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0 Friday 1st March Inglewood United 1 vs ECU Joondalup 3 Fremantle City 4 vs Bassendean Caledonian 1 Sunday 3rd March Sorrento 0 vs Western Knights 0 Floreat Athena 2 vs Swan I.C. 2Group A P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Swan I.C. 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3 Sorrento 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3 Western Knights 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3 Floreat Athena 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 Bassendean Caledonian 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 0 Fremantle City 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0 Group B P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Perth 2 1 1 0 5 0 +5 4 Future Glory 2 1 1 0 4 0 +4 4 Inglewood United 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3 Cockburn City 2 1 0 1 1 4 -3 3 Ashfield 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 ECU Joondalup 2 0 0 2 0 6 -6 0 Friday 8th March Western Knights 1 vs Bassendean Caledonian 0 Perth 3 vs Ashfield 1 Sunday 10th March Inglewood United 2 vs Future Glory 0 Floreat Athena 3 vs Fremantle City 1Group A P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Swan I.C. 2 1 1 0 5 3 +2 4 Sorrento 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4 Western Knights 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4 Fremantle City 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3 Floreat Athena 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 1 Bassendean Caledonian 2 0 0 2 2 7 -5 0 Group B P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Perth 2 1 1 0 5 0 +5 4 Future Glory 2 1 1 0 4 0 +4 4 Inglewood United 2 1 0 1 3 4 -1 3 Cockburn City 2 1 0 1 1 4 -3 3 ECU Joondalup 3 1 0 2 3 7 -4 3 Ashfield 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 Wednesday 13th March Sorrento 0 vs Bassendean Caledonian 1 Future Glory 2 vs Ashfield 1 Friday 15th March Ashfield 2 vs ECU Joondalup 3 Cockburn City 2 vs Inglewood United 2 Sunday 17th March Western Knights 5 vs Swan I.C. 0 Sorrento 3 vs Floreat Athena 1Group A P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Western Knights 3 2 1 0 3 1 +2 7 Swan I.C. 2 1 1 0 5 3 +2 4 Sorrento 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4 Floreat Athena 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 4 Fremantle City 3 1 0 2 5 6 -1 3 Bassendean Caledonian 3 0 0 3 2 8 -6 0 Group B P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Perth 3 2 1 0 8 1 +7 7 Inglewood United 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6 Future Glory 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2 4 Cockburn City 2 1 0 1 1 4 -3 3 ECU Joondalup 3 1 0 2 3 7 -4 3 Ashfield 2 0 0 2 2 5 -3 0 Friday 22nd March Swan I.C. 2 vs Fremantle City 1 Floreat Athena 2 vs Bassendean Caledonian 2 Sunday 24th March Perth 3 vs Cockburn City 2 ECU Joondalup 1 vs Future Glory 2Group A P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Western Knights 4 3 1 0 8 1 +7 10 Sorrento 4 2 1 1 5 2 +3 7 Floreat Athena 4 1 1 2 7 8 -1 4 Swan I.C. 3 1 1 1 5 8 -3 4 Fremantle City 3 1 0 2 5 6 -1 3 Bassendean Caledonian 4 1 0 3 3 8 -5 3 Group B P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Perth 3 2 1 0 8 1 +7 7 Future Glory 4 2 1 1 6 3 +3 7 Inglewood United 4 2 1 1 7 6 +1 7 ECU Joondalup 4 2 0 2 6 9 -3 6 Cockburn City 3 1 1 1 3 6 -3 4 Ashfield 4 0 0 4 5 10 -5 0 Wednesday 27th March Sorrento 2 vs Swan I.C. 2 Inglewood United 2 vs Perth 2 Monday 1st April Cockburn City 3 vs Ashfield 0 Western Knights 2 vs Fremantle City 0Group A P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Western Knights 4 3 1 0 8 1 +7 10 Sorrento 4 2 1 1 5 2 +3 7 Swan I.C. 4 2 1 1 7 9 -2 7 Floreat Athena 5 1 2 2 9 10 -1 5 Bassendean Caledonian 5 1 1 3 5 10 -5 4 Fremantle City 4 1 0 3 6 8 -2 3 Group B P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Perth 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 10 Future Glory 5 3 1 1 8 4 +4 10 Inglewood United 4 2 1 1 7 6 +1 7 ECU Joondalup 5 2 0 3 7 11 -4 6 Cockburn City 4 1 1 2 5 9 -4 4 Ashfield 4 0 0 4 5 10 -5 0 Sunday 7th April Semi-Final 1 - Western Knights 2 vs Future Glory 0 Semi-Final 2 - Perth 2 vs Sorrento 1 Sunday 14th April Final - Western Knights 2 vs Perth 3Group A P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Western Knights 5 4 1 0 10 1 +9 13 Sorrento 5 2 2 1 7 4 +3 8 Swan I.C. 5 2 2 1 9 11 -2 8 Floreat Athena 5 1 2 2 9 10 -1 5 Bassendean Caledonian 5 1 1 3 5 10 -5 4 Fremantle City 5 1 0 4 6 10 -4 3 Group B P W D L FOR AGST GD PTS Perth 5 3 2 0 13 5 +8 11 Future Glory 5 3 1 1 8 4 +4 10 Inglewood United 5 2 2 1 9 8 +1 8 Cockburn City 5 2 1 2 8 9 -1 7 ECU Joondalup 5 2 0 3 7 11 -4 6 Ashfield 5 0 0 5 5 13 -8 0
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