A gritty 1-1 draw with Floreat Athena has snapped Inglewood United’s three-game losing streak at Litis Stadium this afternoon. Mark Pritchard made no mistake from the penalty spot to have the visitors on the board after only a handful of minutes but Jon Stynes’ equaliser deep in first half stoppage time meant the points were shared.
The result leaves Inglewood five points adrift of competition pacesetters Bayswater City, however, captain David Cyrus believes the point gain could be an important stepping stone in the teams return to form. “It’s a great turnaround for us, getting the team spirit back after that result in the cup,” Cyrus told nplwa.com.au.
“The boys did really well to get the point, but it’s great for us. Everyone has a blip in the season and hopefully that was ours. We set the standards high and that point could make a difference coming into the final half of the season. That point just might make a difference for us.”
Inglewood started brightly with Pritchard converting a penalty awarded after Ashley Rosindale was taken down inside the area by goalkeeper Jason Saldaris. The game remained in Inglewood favour until the closing stages when Stynes converted the follow-up to a Philip Arnold shot which was kept out by Alex Dunn.
A similarly tight second half saw neither side create much in the way of chances on goal. The late dismissal of Scott Blackmore for a second bookable offence opened the door for a late surge by Floreat. But Calum O’Connell turned away Ludovic Boi’s attempt at a last gasp winner to secure a value point.
Match stats
Floreat Athena 1 (Jon Stynes 45+)
Inglewood United 1 (Mark Pritchard 6)
Floreat Athena: Jason Saldaris, Chris Saldaris, Bobby Wilson, Blair Govan, Dennis Galan, Jon Stynes, Dean Evans, Ludovic Boi, Kris Gate (Andrew Scaldaferro 82), Phil Arnold, Lewis McMahon
Inglewood United: Alex Dunn, Adam Tong (Brian Woodall 75), David Cyrus (Scott Witschge 81), Scott Blackmore, Calum O’Connell, Jason Colli, Jason Barrera, Mark Pritchard, Tim Robertson, Ashley Rosindale (Slobodan Vulin 70)
Bookings: J.Saldaris (6), Boi (37), Cyrus (50), Migas (65), McMahon (70), Blackmore (71), Evans (92), Wilson (94)
Dismissals: Blackmore (82), McMahon (95)
