PERTH SC 5-0 SUBIACO
By Ben Gilby
Perth remain top of the NPLW WA after what was in the end, a comfortable win over Subiaco at Dorrien Gardens today.
Whilst the home side had to work hard to against a well-organised Subi outfit to find the initial breakthrough, once it came the goals flowed, with five different scorers on the mark.
Head coach Tom Glavovic’s selection for this game underlined the immense strength in depth that the Azzurri have this season. Three changes from last week’s win at UWA-Nedlands saw Violet Longmore make her return to the starting line-up from injury, and she was joined by Ella Lincoln and Louise Tana coming in for Epril Nossent, Daisy McAllister and Matilda Boehm. The former pair were part of a powerful looking Perth substitutes list.
The opening 45 minutes were akin to a bit of a chess match. Subiaco were well-disciplined and set up to push high and deny the home side space. It made it very challenging for the Azzurri to play through with their usual passing game, and in the earlier stages it led to longer balls over the top and shots from outside the box.
Perth’s first chance came with eight minutes played when Lincoln burst through and sent a shot narrowly over the top. Shortly afterwards, Jess Flannery’s effort from outside the box bounced off of the top of the bar.
The flurry of opportunities for the hosts continued, and with 13 minutes on the clock, Lincoln hit another long ranger which Monique Todd pushed brilliantly onto the bar. Georgia Cassidy then broke through and Todd was called into action again to save.
Crucially, the Azzurri continued to adapt their game in the face of the Subi block, and as the game passed the half hour mark, began to unlock the trap and break down both wings to get crosses into the box.
A ball from the middle found Lincoln on the edge of the box, and she superbly turned the three defenders that were tight to her to off load a shot which was held by Todd. Just five minutes later, Todd denied Lincoln again, this time with her legs from a close range effort.
A goal was coming, it was just a matter of when. Finally, with a minute of regulation time remaining in the half, it came as a result of a sweeping move.
Tijan McKenna gained possession in the middle of the park and played a pass out to the left flank. After a series of short passes inside and back out to the flank, a cross came in from the left that was just out of the reach of Hannah Collins. However, Sam Mathers was on hand on the right to turn the ball back in for Lincoln to turn the ball home.
The Azzurri were dominant in the second half and managed to keep the goals flowing. Just nine minutes into the second 45, a superb cross field move saw Maja Archibald feed Cassidy inside her. The Young Matilda played a crisp ball through to McKenna who let fly from 25 yards to send a scorcher into the net.
On the hour mark, it was 3-0 as Lincoln gathered possession in the midfield to play in Flannery on the left who advanced and rolled a low shot into the right-hand corner of the net. The outstanding chemistry between the pair in evidence once more.
Two further goals in a four minute burst towards the end put the icing on the cake. Lincoln and Flannery combined once more in a similar vein, and this time, Flannery squared a ball for Mathers to turn home.
Finally, an excellent three pass move ended with Lincoln finding Flannery yet again with the resulting ball into the box finding Epril Nossent at the near post who sent a shot trickling into the far corner.
This was one of those games where patience was rewarded. Perth solved the puzzle and reaped the rewards with five excellent goals.
The Azzurri now go on to face all the other sides in the top four in successive weeks, beginning with Balcatta Etna away before hosting Perth RedStar and travelling to the Football West Academy. It’s going to be quite a ride.
Teams: PERTH SC: Schroeder, McCartney, Longmore, McKenna, Cassidy, Collins, Archibald, Lincoln, Flannery, Tana, Mathers. Substitutes: Ottobrino (for Tana 82’), McAllister, Nossent (for Archibald 62’), Insch, Marshall (for Longmore 75’), Cavill.
Scorers: Lincoln 44’, McKenna 54’, Flannery 60’, Mathers 81’, Nossent 88’.
SUBIACO: Todd, Burdett, Suckling, Bailey, Papalia, Kim, Harvey, Tabain, Zampogna, Campos, Hope. Substitutes: Rudd, Hughes, Steele, Silver, Edwards, Robinson, Jahn.