UPDATED: Report by Alasdair Beer

Five second-half goals helped Floreat Athena romp to a 7-2 win at ECU Joondalup in their PS4 National Premier Leagues clash on Saturday.

The score could have been more lopsided if not for ECU keeper Jamie Serra, who pulled off a string of remarkable saves in the first half to deny a prolific Floreat attack.

Athena boss Glenn Grostate was impressed by what could have been an even greater win for his side.

“It was really weird; we had probably six or seven shots on goal and he made about five outstanding saves,” Grostate said of Serra’s early heroics.

Floreat had five different goal-scorers, despite their season’s leader Ludovic Boi failing to improve his tally.

“Jack Allen and Steve Burton weren’t playing today, so that’s more firepower that was missing,” Grostate said.

“Now we’re starting to turn teams over…Bayswater had to score a late winner to beat these guys (ECU).”

Athena began the game well, locking the hosts in their defensive half with sharp passing and movement.

However, it was ECU who scored first, breaking through in the 22nd minute as Ollie Annis ran onto a long ball over the Floreat defence and beat goalkeeper Fraser Greenwood away to his left with a powerful strike.

Floreat nearly had an immediate response, as Aryn Williams’ shot hit a post, before Serra dived away to his left to keep out a Bobby Wilson free kick.

Serra could do nothing to prevent Jon Stynes’ equaliser in the 28th minute, however, as he found himself unmarked in the middle of the box to volley in after ECU failed to clear the ball.

ECU’s keeper did well to deny Stynes a second five minutes later, holding a stinging volley before diving to his left to keep Boi off the scoresheet in the 35th.

Once again, however, he could do little to stop Athena going ahead on the stroke of half time, as Lews McMahon showed great touch to control the ball on his chest before beating Serra with a deft chip.

Conceding late seemed to deflate the hosts, and Boi set up two goals in the first three minutes of the second half, intercepting a sloppy clearance to square for McMahon to tap in, then picking out Wilson’s head at the far post from a corner in the 49th.

Floreat’s early salvo was complete three minutes later as Kris Gate finished into an empty net to make it 5-1.

ECU’s frustration boiled over when their captain Jon Higgins was shown successive yellows and sent from the pitch in the 57th minute.

Stynes exacerbated the damage four minutes after Higgins’ dismissal, side-footing past Serra from Boi’s low cross.

Tommy Amphlett restored some pride for the hosts in the 73rd minute, as he ran onto an incisive long ball from Paul Miller to hit a sweet finish past Greenwood.

Miller was at the centre of the action for the wrong reasons six minutes later, as he saw a second yellow for a foul on Boi and joined his captain on the sidelines.

Williams scored Floreat’s seventh a minute from time, as he pounced on Serra’s swipe away from goal to drive a low volley back past him from the edge of the box.

Grostate was realistic about the likelihood of his side closing Bayswater City’s eight-point lead at the top of the table, but said he still viewed Floreat’s season as a successful one.

“I said to the boys, if you finish second to Bayswater and you win the Night Series, you’ve had a pretty successful year,” he said.

“It’s been a great year for Floreat Athena, considering where we were last year.”

Floreat host Inglewood United next week, while ECU travel to Alfred Skeet Reserve to play Armadale.

ECU Joondalup 2 (Annis 22 mins, Amphlett 73)
Floreat Athena 7 (Stynes 28 mins, 61, McMahon 45+2, 46, Wilson 51, Gate 52, Williams 89)
Saturday, 1 August, 2015
ECU Joondalup Football Stadium
Kick off: 3:00pm
Referee: Josh Mannella

ECU Joondalup: GK Jamie SERRA, 2 Ryan LOWRY, 3 Jon HIGGINS (C), 4 Cian HIRRELL (12 Jack MCMASTER 66), 5 Kye DOUGLAS, 6 Ollie ANNIS (11 Bayley MONTGOMERY 54), 7 Paul MILLER, 8 Joe SMITH, 9 Josh TUCKER (14 Paddy DOYLE 74), 13 Tommy AMPHLETT, 15 Coire MCGUIGAN
Substitutes not used: 10 Stuart MONTGOMERY, 20 Andy BANKS
Yellow cards: Miller 8, Smith 56, Higgins 56
Red cards: Higgins 57, Miller 79

Floreat Athena: GK Fraser GREENWOOD, 2 Blair GOVAN (17 Callum FRANSZ 46), 4 Aryn WILLIAMS, 5 Bobby WILSON, 6 Clayton ARNEZ, 8 Jonathan STYNES, 11 Dennis GALAN, 12 Kris GATE, 14 Ludovic BOI, 18 Phillip ARNOLD, 20 Lewis MCMAHON
Substitutes not used: 15 Andrew SCALDAFERRO, 16 Raz GALOO, 23 Dejan ALEKSIC, 33 Matt FRANKEN