Report by Kane Sutton

Sorrento made an early mark on the 2017 PS4 NPLWA season by out-muscling Balcatta in the first round with a 5-1 victory.

The home team bounced back from a 1-0 deficit early in the match and hit the front before halftime.

Balcatta started the game well, taking an early lead through Nathan Scully, who found space on the edge of the box to convert.

Sorrento were quick to respond; a well-placed cross by Scott Bulloch allowed Reece Vittiglia to head home 10 minutes later.

Billy Quinncroft added to their tally before half-time.

Sorrento dominated the second half as their pacey wingers continued to provide opportunities for the taller personnel up front, scoring two more goals in similar fashion through Jack Salter and Sean Canham.

Winning coach Jamie Harnwell said delivery into the box had been a significant training focus in pre-season.

“We’ve got really effective (wide) players and obviously a few really tall players in the middle there who can score goals, and in that second half, we were superb,” he said.

“Balcatta made it difficult, they became compact, so we had to play wider, but it worked.”

It was an evening where even the sentimental things went right for Sorrento; a jet-lagged Jack Salter scored with his first touch of the ball less than two minutes after coming off the bench.

“It feels really good, it’s about 2am for me at the moment – I’ve been in New Zealand – but it feels great, I’ve never scored with my first touch before,” Salter joked.

On the other hand, Balcatta struggled up front for most of the match. Coach Salv Todaro lamented his team’s inability to convert a number of creative chances.

“We’re very disappointed in the result. At 2-1 down we had an opportunity on goal and it was skied over the top. (If) that goes in, it’s a different ball game.

“You could say that we’ve only been together for a short period of time since what’s happened pre-season, but I think we just need to work on some of our basic skills.

“We’ll sit down and look at what we did well, what we didn’t do well, may be tinker with some personnel changes. We’ll have a look at it, definitely.”

Sorrento FC 5 (Vittiglia 14min, Quinncroft 34, Kilkelly 58, Salter 76, Canham 86)
Balcatta FC 1 (Scully 5min)
Friday, February 17, 2017
Percy Doyle Reserve
Kick-off: 8:00pm
Referee: Tom Glavovic
Assistant Referees: Ammar Timour, Liviu Katona
4th official: Stephen Muldoon

Sorrento FC: 1. James MORGAN, 4. Shaun KILKELLY, 5. Billy QUINNCROFT, 8. Ryan PEARSON, (9. Sean CANHAM 76), 10. Scott BULLOCH, (11. Timothy HILL 76), 13. Steve MCDONALD, 14. Scott WITSCHEGE, 15. Brodie MARTIN, 17. Reece VITTIGLIA, 18. Jordan BROWN, (19. Jack SALTER 74)
Substitutes not used: 16. Jackson DONGRAY, 60. Anthony SALPIETRO
Yellow cards: 8. Ryan PEARSON 48, 15. Brodie MARTIN 41, 18. Jordan BROWN 51
Red cards: nil

Balcatta FC: 1. Domenico SAVOLDELLI, 3. Justin ONEK, (4. Calum O’CONNELL 58), 5. Keiron STALLARD, 6. Jonathan CORNESS, 8. Patrick SARA, (9. Luccas MELLO 65), (10. Dino TOPCAGIC 23), 11. Feisal ZAW, 12. Kurt KOUAKOU, 13. Daniel HEPWORTH, 15. Carmello GIUFFRE, 16. Nathan SCULLY, 23. Ismael BANGURA
Substitutes not used: 2. Hanafi GHAZALI
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil