Michael Garcia hailed his teams fighting spirit after Inglewood United came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with National Premier Leagues champions Bayswater City at Frank Drago Reserve. The hosts looked set to make it three wins in a row after taking an early lead but Ryan Clarke secured a point midway through the second period.
“On the balance of play we probably had a few more chances (so) it’s a bit frustrating not to get the win,” said Garcia. “But we have to keep things in perspective with where we’re at right now, and we showed good character. Today was a good opportunity, but if the boys keep performing to that level, the wins will come.”
Garcia also recognised the positive move forward his team have made in the past fortnight. “Last week (against Perth SC) was a good indication for us to see whether we could compete with the best, and I felt we took another step forward today against a good Bayswater team,” the coach said.
“We want to keep improving and produce a level of consistency that can challenge with the contenders in this league. We’ve shown in the last couple of weeks that if we do the right things regularly we’re just as good, and it gives us real belief we can compete with the benchmark.”
Bayswater were on the scoreboard after only 10 minutes when a mix-up between Aleks Vrteski and Jason Colli resulted in the latter heading past his goalkeeper. David Sesay and Clarke both went close to levelling before Andrija Jukic forced a good save from Devon Spence. Vrteski made the sure Bayswater didn’t add to their tally by palming away David Heagney’s curling shot.
The second half commenced with Inglewood again on the attack and on 68 minutes Clarke equalised at close-range. Scott Witschge and substitute Kenny Keogh were unfortunate not to capitalise on Inglewood’s momentum but goalkeeper Devon Spence stood tall on both occasions.
Inglewood spent the final few minutes under pressure as Bayswater mounted a late charge. Vrteski came to the rescue by denying Todd Howarth and Paul McCarthy in quick succession, and just moments before the final whistle Jarrod McNally cleared Gustavo Giron-Marulanda’s effort off the line.
Match stats
Bayswater City 1 (own goal 10)
Inglewood United 1 (Clarke 69)
Bayswater City: Devon Spence, Chris Saldaris, Andrew Reale, , Trent Kay, Sam Mitchinson, Declan Hargreaves, Steve Burton (Paul McCarthy 68), Todd Howarth, Damien Catalano (Borbor Sam Bindi 45), David Heagney, Gustavo Giron-Marulanda
Inglewood United: Aleks Vrteski, Jason Colli (Jarrod McNally 39), Rikki Smith, Jovo Pavlovic, Scott Witschge, Ryan Clarke, Scott Blackmore, Matthew Izzo, David Sesay, Andrija Jukic (Kenny Keogh 55), Abdul Sesay
Bookings: A.Sesay (20), Burton (29), Saldaris (38)
Dismissals: Nil
