Kennedy encouraged as Rockingham regain belief
Report by Tommy Doleman
Rockingham City skipper Ryan Kennedy. Photo by Tom McCarthy
Rockingham City will look to further boost their survival hopes on Saturday when they welcome ECU Joondalup to SafeRad Stadium.
Successive wins over Armadale and Gwelup Croatia have moved Rockingham within two points of NPL safety.
And it could get even better for Lee Taylor’s side this weekend if they do the business at home against the defending champions and Balcatta drop points in their clash with Armadale.
Despite one win from their first 13 games and elimination in the FFA Cup to State League Division Two side Gosnells City, skipper Ryan Kennedy insists the players remained confident they could turn things around.
That was shown last Sunday in their rearranged Round 14 fixture with Gwelup Croatia. Goals from Feisal Zaw and Luke Collins gave City a 2-0 lead before Oli La Galia pulled one back before the break. City were under the cosh throughout the second half and finished the match with nine men after Collins and Ian Ng were dismissed, yet still hung on to claim three massive points.
“There’s a sense of belief again which was maybe starting to drop, but we never gave up because there’s still half a season to play. Everyone’s raring to be a part of it and it’s been a really good last few weeks,” Kennedy said.
“I think that’s the judgement of us down here sometimes. Where people say, ‘that’s it, it’s happened again, that’s them down’. It’s made out to be a hard luck story but that’s when we always tend to excel when the chips are down. If people want to write us off, then we want to prove that we’re not finished yet.”
Former assistant coach Taylor has overseen the past two wins since replacing Goran Stajic, who stepped away from his role as head coach on 30 June.
“I think it would be unfair on Goran to say there was that much difference from our performances prior to the Armadale game (which Rockingham won 5-0),” Kennedy said.
“For once, we actually took our chances and made less individual errors. Once one went in, it became two, two became three and it kept rolling. And once those goals go in, that sense of belief and confidence grows and it felt good.
“Goran was excellent for us, but unfortunately things didn’t quite work out.
“After the Armadale game, the other catch-up game between Cockburn and Balcatta helped, because Cockburn won and Balcatta are the team we’re chasing.
“Cockburn getting the result really gave us that optimism to think this is our chance, let’s not mess it up, go out there against Gwelup and do it.”
With a home fixture still to come against Balcatta in Round 19, Rockingham have their destiny in their own hands. Yet while confidence is high that they can avoid relegation, Kennedy says there is still work to do.
“We don’t have to rely on anyone else, we can’t blame anyone else, we’ve got ourselves in a position now where we can stay up on our own,” he said, before highlighting the role the club’s supporters can play over the remainder of the season.
“It’s always great playing at home. It’s a cliche but they’re a 12th man to us. We do what we can on the pitch, but the whole season whenever we’ve been beat, they’ve been so positive.
“We’ve got a couple of suspensions this week so it will be tough, but everyone’s buying into what we’ve done lately and there’ll be boys ready to step into the team.
“Everyone knows ECU and the job Kenny Lowe has done and you know they’re a good side who are hard to beat. They could still win the league if they get on a run, so they will be looking at this game and thinking they can kickstart that.”
Balcatta go into their home match with Armadale on a horrible run of five straight defeats and the possibility of sitting bottom of the table with six matches remaining come Saturday tea-time.
Top of the table Floreat Athena must put last week’s State Cup final success to one side and concentrate on arresting a three-match losing streak in the league. They face a Bayswater City side who have slipped to 10th place after back-to-back losses against Perth Glory and Perth SC.
The Azzurri are now just a point off leaders Floreat and will no doubt be scenting a fourth Men’s NPL title in six seasons. On Saturday they host Cockburn City, who are now up to ninth after goals from David Dos Santos and Ali Gholami gave them a 2-0 win over Balcatta in their rescheduled clash last week.
Elsewhere, the fight for Top Four Cup places could take a turn this weekend. Third-place Sorrento and Inglewood United, who are fourth, meet at Percy Doyle Reserve. And Perth Glory, in fifth, host Gwelup.
Saturday (3pm unless stated)
Balcatta v Armadale (Grindleford Reserve)
Floreat Athena v Bayswater City (E&D Litis Stadium)
Perth Glory v Gwelup Croatia (Crazy Domains Stadium)
Perth SC v Cockburn City (Dorrien Gardens)
Rockingham City v ECU Joondalup (SafeRad Stadium)
Sorrento v Inglewood United (Percy Doyle Reserve)
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