Inglewood United’s Night Series campaign got off to a spluttering start, going down 1-2 to Floreat Athena on a warm evening at Inglewood Stadium. A looping Brian Woodall header put the hosts in the driving seat only for long-range strikes by Declan Hargreaves and substitute Andrew Scaldaferro to decide the outcom.
The ball had been in motion only minutes when Woodall stung Jason Saldaris’ gloves after stealing possession from the defence. Woodall continued to make his presence known and on 20 minutes the big striker nodded into an unguarded net after spotting the goalkeeper racing off his line in an attempt to be first to a Scott Blackmore long ball.
Inglewood custodian Alex Dunn brilliantly denied Lewis McMahon soon after as Floreat sought to level. Hargreaves showed his teammate how it’s done just after the half hour with an unstoppable drive from 25-metres. Five minutes later Blackmore came within inches of restoring the hosts lead with a rasping strike which cannoned back into play off the underside of the crossbar.
A spectacular bicycle kick by Woodall early in the second half was also met by the frame of the goal. Much of the rest of the period took place between the boxes as strong defensive work combined with the effects of the warm and humid conditions kept genuine chances on goal to a minimum.
It wasn’t until the closing stages that the game sparked back into life. Adam Tong’s powerful strike was pushed wide by the ‘keeper, play switched quickly to the opposite end where McMahon was denied at close-range by Dunn. With 96 minutes on the clock, Scaldaferro lashed into the net from distance to steal Floreat victory.
Match stats
Inglewood United 1 (Woodall 20)
Floreat Athena 2 (Hargreaves 31, Scaldaferro 96)
Inglewood United: Alex Dunn, Adam Tong, David Cyrus, Scott Blackmore, Scott Witschge (Jason Colli 73), Josh Pereira (Ryan Sardi 78), Tim Gould, Jason Barrera (Jordan D’Souza 90), John Migas, Callum O’Connell, Brian Woodall
Floreat Athena: Jason Saldaris, Jarrod McNally (Carlos Coelho 61), Bobby Wilson, Chris Saldaris, Dennis Galan, Clayton Arnez, Declan Hargreaves, Phil Arnold (Andrew Scaldaferro 71), Ludovic Boi, Kris Gate (Nathan Scully 78), Lewis McMahon
Bookings: Arnez (52)
Dismissals: Nil
