BALCATTA ETNA 1-3 PERTH SC
By Ben Gilby
The Azzurri clinched their first ever NPLW WA championship with an impressive win over fellow Top Four side Balcatta Etna in terrible conditions at Home Group Stadium on Wednesday night.
Goals from Daisy McAllister, Jess Flannery, and Maja Archibald clinched the historic success for Perth SC in a game played in torrential rain and extremely gusty winds.
This was always going to be a big challenge regardless of the weather. Balcatta were the only team to beat Perth this season and the hosts have a squad packed with former Azzurri players and coached by Pete Rakic, who led Perth during the 2023 season. However, the visitors rose to the challenge with considerable aplomb.
Tom Glavovic made one change to his starting line-up from Sunday’s 2-0 win at Perth RedStar, with Louise Tana coming in for Ruby Marshall.
The early stages were largely transitional in nature, not helped by the strength of the wind. That, plus the increasingly greasy nature of the playing surface looked to be making it tough to judge passes.
Balcatta came excruciatingly close to taking an early lead after just seven minutes. Former Azzurri star Abbey Meakins’ free-kick from 25 yards out on the right deflected up off the wall before hitting the left-hand post and rolling along the line before Kim McCartney cleared.
Whilst the majority of the play was around the middle third of the park, Perth hit the front in some style with 20 minutes gone. Dayle Schroeder’s long goal kick bounced up high in the opposite half in the zone between centre-circle and the ‘D’. The home defence misjudged the ball allowing McAllister to look up, see Balcatta keeper Rebecca Bennett off her line, and lift a sensational first time lob into the net from 30 yards.
Just before the half-hour, some dancing feet from Flannery on the left allowed the Perth attacker to beat Carys Davis and fire in a powerful shot that Bennett held.
The Azzurri were now on top and swarming the hosts, giving them no time on the ball or to pick passes.
With the half-time whistle imminent, Perth had two further opportunities. First when Violet Longmore played in Flannery along the left. Bennett came racing out of her goal towards the flank to meet the attacker. A square ball found Epril Nossent, but the shot lacked the necessary power, and it was cleared for a corner on the right.
Flannery jogged across to take the kick and viciously curled the ball in, leading Bennett to produce a diving save to prevent a second Azzurri goal.
Balcatta came out firing after the interval with Liana Cook being denied by Schroeder in a one-v-one battle just inside the penalty area. Jaime Duncanson then hit a rocket from 25 yards that came back off the cross bar.
Perth rode through these tough waters and began to assert themselves once more offensively. McAllister gained possession from Rachel Jarvis and ran through towards goal, only to be denied by a superbly timed tackle by Alyssa van Heurck.
Then, with 64 minutes played, the visitors doubled their lead. McAllister’s run along the right flank ended with a low pass that dissected two Balcatta defenders and ran perfectly into the path of Flannery who slotted the ball home.
The Azzurri were not finished yet, and with just under a quarter of an hour of regulation time remaining, Bennett came charging out of her goal as McAllister broke through. The Perth attacker beat the keeper and rolled a shot goal wards, but substitute Mia Hargreaves got back to prevent the ball from crossing the line.
With 77 on the clock, Perth did find a third. Mathers beat Ella Marwick along the left and played a pass back to Flannery which van Heurck couldn’t clear, allowing Archibald to lash the ball into the net.
As the rain continued to pour down and the size of the puddles on the pitch grew bigger and deeper, Balcatta got a goal back as Izzy Foletta arrowed the ball into the net from around 30 yards on the left. It was a stunning goal, but its influence on the match was minimal.
After five minutes of stoppage time, the whistle finally went to crown Perth SC as 2025 NPLW WA champions with two league games to spare.
It’s been a superb season for the team, and there could well be more to celebrate in the coming weeks. With Saturday seeing a double header at Dorrien Gardens, as many Azzurri fans as possible will have the chance to acclaim their champion women’s team who will take to the field to face Balcatta Etna once more in the league after the men have taken on Olympic Kingsway at 1pm.
Teams: BALCATTA ETNA: Bennett, M. D’Opera, Foletta, Murray, Davis, Cook, Meakins, Marwick, Van Heurck, Duncanson, Gale. Substitutes: Hargreaves, Britton, Gama, Jarvis, Comito.
Scorer: Foletta 90+3.
PERTH SC: Schroeder, Nossent, McCartney, Boehm, Longmore, McAllister, Collins, Archibald, Mathers, Flannery, Tana. Substitutes: Cavill, Insch, Marshall, Ottobrino, Lincoln, McCready, Warburton.
Scorers: McAllister 20’, Flannery 64’, Archibald 79’.