By Peter Simcox

Balcatta kept touch with the NPL WA leaders after a 3-0 win against Cockburn City at Grindleford Reserve yesterday.

A first-half goal from Benny Kouakou split the sides at the break before Gustavo Catarcione and another goal from Kouakou earned the home side the points and moved them into third place on the table.
 
Balcatta Coach Ramon Falzon was disappointed with his side’s slow start and is looking for even more from his strikers.

“I’m still looking for more from the combination,” he said. “I still think the skill they have and the quality players around them they should be better in the attacking third. We will have to work on it.
 
“Cockburn should have scored a couple in the first twenty minutes but they didn’t take them. But we did really well after that. We kept our shape and got the important goal.
 
“I’m European, so football is about not conceding and today our defence was very solid. Damien (Stanoevski) took his chance today and played well, and made two crucial saves to keep us in the game early.”
 
Outstanding Skipper Adam Tong was delighted with a fourth clean sheet.

“Any game at home the opposition is going to come out and attack and we were under the pump early,” he said. “But we put our bodies on the line and didn’t concede.”
 
“The strikers were a different class today; they were like ‘Jekyll and Hyde’. In games you look to players to win the game for you and today they showed their class in front of goal. The work rate’s not there at the moment but once it does get there they will take some stopping.” 
 
Cockburn were out of the blocks early and should have hit the front on four minutes. Feisal Zaw made space down the left, his cross picked out the unmarked Ryan Hassett but he blazed over.
 
Stanoevski, who was making his return after injury, made a smart save to deny Zaw’s long-range shot moments later. 
 
The home side went close themselves on 20 minutes. Kouakou sent Catarcione in on goal, he stepped inside Alan Carroll but his shot was superbly saved by Dejan Aleksic.
 
But four minutes later Balcatta hit the front. There looked little danger when Kouakou picked the ball up in the middle of the park but his long-range shot deflected off Carroll and dropped into the net with Aleksic stranded.
 
It was now Balcatta on top and Aleksic had to be alert to deny Carlo Coelho before James Sammut’s shot on the half hour flashed inches wide.
 
Cockburn pressed late in the half and Liam Murray’s header from was well saved by Stanoevski before Zaw fired over after good work from Eamon McNelis 
 
Balcatta keeper Stanoevski again denied Cockburn early in the second half, saving well from Zaw’s shot on seven minutes but 11 minutes later the home side doubled their lead.
 
Catarcione sent Coelho racing down the left, he returned the favour to pick out Catarcione and the Brazilian striker fired low past Aleksic.
 
Cockburn were pushing men forward looking to get into the game but they were caught out again on 79 minutes. Alex Caniglia, who had come off the bench to make his first start for the club since moving from Inglewood United, raced clear down the left. He played the ball across to Kouakou who finished clinically past Aleksic to wrap up the points.
 
Cockburn skipper Paul Natale thought they had started well but suffered the consequences of not taking their chances.
“We came here with a game plan and I thought we opened really well but the deflected goal took the wind out of our sails,” he said.
 
“We had a young side out today. They really worked hard but to lose the players such as Conor Kavanagh, Blake Adams and Ross Diamond has hurt us today.”
 
Balcatta 3 (Kouakou 24’, 79’, Catarcione 61’)
Cockburn City 0
Saturday 17th May 2014
Venue: Grindleford Reserve
Attendance: 200
Referee: Tim Mihevc
Assistants: Arvin Shan and Brendan Skinner

Balcatta: GK Damien STANOEVSKI, 3 Kieron STALLARD, 5 Adam TONG, 7 James SAMMUT (12 Matt BROOK 88’), 8 David CYRUS, 9 Carlo COELHO (16 Alex CANIGLIA 72’), 10 Matt IZZO (6 Luke RANDAZZO 80’), 14 Benny KOUAKOU, 17 Kieran COLWELL, 18 Marc De FRANCESCH, 19 Gustavo CATARCIONE
Subs not used: RGK Daniel PASSARELLI, 13 Patrick SARA
Yellow cards: De Francesch 71’

Cockburn City: GK Dejan ALEKSIC, 4 Euan GRANT, 5 Alan CARROLL, 7 Ryan HASLETT (19 Jonty TURNER 77’), 8 David ARAYA, 9 Eamon MCNELIS, 10 Liam MURRAY, 11 Devon GIBSON, 12 Feisal ZAW, 16 Julian TELES (6 Rory MCGRATH 82’), 17 Paul NATALE
Subs not used: RGK Struan HERD, 2 Oscar THOMPSON, 3 Shazalee RAMLEE
Yellow cards: Murray 27’, Natale 30’, McNelis 91’, Carroll 93’