Perth SC stayed within touching distance of the Top Four with a solid 2-0 win at Litis Stadium yesterday against City of Vincent rivals Floreat Athena.
An early goal from skipper David Ninkovich and a late strike from Ethan Banks secured the three points.
The Azzurri were dominant in the first half and should have taken a greater lead than the 1-0 advantage they took into the sheds at half-time.
Midfielder Abdul Osman tested Athena’s keeper Josh Hunter with a couple of early free kicks before Ninkovich’s opener in the eighth minute.
Osman won the ball in midfield before playing to Jackson Morgan, who found Gordon Perkins, playing his first game in more than two months after a lengthy injury. Perkins then laid off to Ninkovich on the left, who cut inside and shot a low curling strike into the bottom left corner of Hunter’s net.
Azzurri midfielder Josh Cala forced a good save from Hunter in the 22nd minute with his shot from long range before Banks could have had a hat-trick within a six minute spell of fantastic opportunities for the young attacker.
Banks headed wide from close range after a cross from Morgan in the 27th minute and then extracted a great save from Hunter two minutes later after once again being set up by Morgan. He then blasted over the bar shortly after when Perkins set him up for the strike following some good work by Cala to win the ball in midfield.
A header from Perkins in the 35th minute was well saved by Hunter, Cala shot over the bar five minutes later and Perth defender Federico Achilli shot wide on the volley from close range just before half-time.
Just like last week, the Azzurri were caught napping at the start of the second half and were lucky Athena did not equalise in the 46th minute when Athena substitute Noah Shamaki could not get onto a ball that was placed across the goal line.
The home side, winless for the season and battling relegation, threw everything at the Azzurri early in the second half. Shamaki pulled a shot wide of Azzurri keeper Mateusz Zaniewski’s goal in the 57th minute and Athena defender Ali Mohamed played straight in the hands of Zaniewski from inside the six-yard box seven minutes later after getting on the end of a free kick. Zaniewski then pulled off a fantastic double save from close range to deny Athena in the 68th minute.
The Azzurri had a couple of opportunities to seal the victory late in the game. Substitutes Michael Scafetta and Jamie McNelis both had good strikes blocked and Osman shot straight at Hunter with 10 minutes to go.
Banks then finally got his deserved goal in the 82nd minute, shooting low and across Hunter after being played through by Sean O’Connor.
A late winner from Perth RedStar against Perth Glory means the Azzurri still remain four points off fourth spot on the NPLM ladder. Perth SC hosts RedStar next Saturday at Dorrien Gardens in an important match for the Azzurri’s Top Four prospects this season. Kick-off is at 3pm.