Club stalwart Scott Blackmore scored deep in stoppage time to earn Inglewood United their first win of the 2019 National Premier Leagues. In a rollercoaster match that had Inglewood twice come from behind, Blackmore’s late chip from outside the 18-yard secured a deserved 4-3 win over Floreat Athena at Litis Stadium.
Floreat appeared set to extend their 12-game unbeaten run when visiting defender Jamie Murphy had the misfortune of turning Nicholas Ambrogio’s cross in after just 7 minutes. However, that lead lasted was short-lived with Hamza Hina drilling in from the edge of the 18-yard box to level proceedings.
Robert Petkov re-established the hosts advantage in the 27th minute by curling past goalkeeper Alex Dunn. Inglewood’s response to that came shortly before the interval, Chok Dau swinging a corner to the top of the 6-yard box for an unmarked Sammie Riak to volley in at close-range.
The second half had barely begun when an insightful Jason Barrera pass provided all the invitation Steve Sokol needed to slot past an exposed Jason Saldaris and put Inglewood into the box seat for the first time.
Calvin Whitney brought the teams level for a fourth time with a tidy 83rd minute strike. And it looked as though that was the end of the scoring before Blackmore’s clipped shot from 25-metres dropped over Saldaris following neat interplay between Dau and Riak.
Match stats
Floreat Athena 3 (own goal 7, Robert Petkov 27, Calvin Whitney 83)
Inglewood United 4 (Hamza Hina 8, Sammie Riak 41, Steve Sokol 47, Scott Blackmore 93)
Floreat Athena: Jason Saldaris, Thomas Jebb (Ludovic Boi 58), Dennis Galan, Marco Santa Lucia, Ryan Malton, Jesse Fuller, Calvin Whitney, Phil Arnold (Jamal Reiners 75), Nicholas Ambrogio (Dean Evans 46), Jonathan Stynes, Robert Petkov
Inglewood United: Alex Dunn, Brian Farrell, Scott Blackmore, Mark Barnett, Jamie Murphy (Alex Ishida-Livings 62), Sammie Riak, Jason Barrera (Miki Vujacic 75), Antony Bafobusha, Hamza Hina (David Cyrus 62), Chok Dau, Steve Sokol
Bookings: Filler (11), Galan (16), Bafobusha (33)
Dismissals: Nil
Photograph by Vince Caratozzolo / www.fotoenzo.com
