Report by Coen Vass

Ten-man Armadale have held on for a 1-0 win at Sorrento to secure their spot in the NPL WA.

Joshua Cortes scored the winning goal in the 50^th minute after receiving a great ball over the top from Abdul Osman before firing off a low strike past James Morgan.

And despite going down to 10 men when Josh Kuser was shown a red card for dissent with 19 minutes left, the Army did enough. With one round to play, John O'Reilly's team are three points above Stirling and 14 goals better off. 

The first half was fairly cagey with the Gulls having the best opportunity when Jordan Roberts crossed well for Jack Salter, who twice tried to flick the ball in before Armadale keeper Sam Hutchings jumped on the ball. 

After the break, both sides came out strong as play began to open up and Armadale had back to back corners before Cortes got the break in the 50^th minute. 

Moments later, the away side nearly doubled their advantage when striker Uriel Macias hit the bar from long range.

With their hopes of a top-four finish on the line, Sorrento went in search of the equaliser. Top scorer Cameron Teece headed over the bar and put one just wide but they were unable to crack the visitors' rearguard.

Armadale manager John O’Reilly put the result down to effort. “At half time we asked them to go to another couple of levels and they did that," he said.

Armadale finish their season next Saturday against ECU Joondalup, who also celebrated safety on Saturday. For Sorrento, this result means they cannot make the Top Four Cup and will sign off at champions Perth SC. 

Star player: Chad Nilson

Sorrento 0
Armadale 1 (Cortes 50min)

Percy Doyle Reserve
Saturday, August 24
Kick-off: 3pm
Referee: Josh Mannella
Assistant referees: Simon Hicks, Troy Malatesta