Report by Jayden Lihou

 

Perth Soccer Club defeated Balcatta 4-0 to claim the Ferrari Cup and a vital three points in Round 22 of the PS4 NPLWA.

Niccolo Sabbatini was the standout for the hosts, as he assisted two and scored one to ensure his side remain one point behind leaders Inglewood.

Coach Ramon Falzon said he was pleased with his side's performance and in particular, Sabbatini.

“We got the job done in the first half, and in the second half we just needed to make sure that we shut up shop at the back and come away with our third consecutive clean sheet,” he said.

“Niccolo is having an outstanding season this year and he showed that today as he created a lot of chances for us and scored a beautiful goal himself.

“We have four games to go but we will keep on taking it week-by-week, focus on getting the three points and hopefully at some stage someone will slip up and do us a favour like last year.”

The home side started the match with intent and were rewarded for their efforts when they scored the opener on 6 minutes.

Sabatini crossed the ball to Lewis Milne who scored his first goal for the club with a powerful header into the back of the net.

After dominating possession, Perth doubled their lead eight minutes before half time, when Sabbatini dribbled past several defenders and poked past Domenico Savoldelli.

Sabatini was at it again moments later when his cross found Aleks Jovic, who controlled the ball and curled into the top corner to make it 3-0.

Balcatta had a chance to pull one back on 54 minutes when the ball sat up nicely for Jonathan Corness, but Francis Soale produced a fingertip save to deny the midfielders volley from outside the box.

Perth would wrap up the points with a fourth goal on 72 minutes when Frank Furfaro got to the byline and drilled a low cross for Gustavo Catarcione to tap home.

Balcatta coach Salv Todaro said he was disappointed with how his side played in the first half but gave full credit to his opposition.

“In the first half we were woeful, but Perth were a class above us and made us pay for every mistake we made,” he said.

“I wanted a reaction from the boys at half time and I thought we played a lot better, but Perth still looked dangerous every time they went forward.

“We can’t afford throw the towel in, so we just have to keep going and hopefully we can play better in the next four weeks than we did today.”

 

Perth SC 4 (Milne 6min, Sabbatini 37, Jovic 43, Catarcione 72)
Balcatta 0 
Saturday July 29, 2017
Dorrien Gardens
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Referee: Steven Gregory
Assistant Referees: Shane Skinner, Amit Hosany

Perth SC: GK. Francis SOALE, 2. Alex SILLA, 5. Niccolo SABBATINI, 7. Aleks JOVIC (3. Andreas THEODOSIADES 65’), 8. Tom KING (22. Marco SANTALUCIA 78’), 9. Gustavo CATARCIONE, 12. Jordan DE LEO, 15. Harley ORR (10. Nicholas AMBROGIO 71’), 16. Kieran COLWELL, 17. Frank FURFARO, 18. Lewis MILNE

Substitutes not used: RGK. Daniel PASSARELLI, 20.Elliot TATTERSAL

Yellow Cards: Furfaro 60

Red Cards: Nil

 

Balcatta: GK. Domenico SAVOLDELLI, 2. Rudnei NOGUEIRA (16. Marco CHADINHA 45’), 3. Justin ONEK (13. Daniel HEPWORTH 46’), 4. Calum O’CONNELL (C), 9. Luccas MELLO, 10. Jonathan CORNESS, 12. Anton DE FRANCESCH, 14. Brody KENNEDY, 15. Camelo GIUFFRE , 18. Ben MEREDITH (8. Brennan BORZECKI 65’), 20. Tom PELLIZZARI

Substitutes not used: RGK. Luke HUTCHINSON, 22. Dejan ANDRIC

Yellow Cards: De Leo 63, Hepworth 79
Red Cards: Nil