Inglewood United suffered just their second loss of the National Premier Leagues season when beaten 4-2 by Perth SC in a spirited encounter at Inglewood Stadium. Captain David Cyrus and Mark Pritchard found the back of the net in an action-packed first half but those goals weren’t enough to save the afternoon for Inglewood, whose woes were compounded by the late dismissal of Scott Blackmore.
“The players are disappointed with themselves and the performance we put in,” said coach Taki Nicolaidis of the loss. “We didn’t deserve any more than we got. Perth played out of their skin whilst we just weren’t at the races. We made some crucial defensive mistakes and were punished.”
“But one defeat doesn’t mean our season’s gone – we’re still top (of the ladder). Moving forward, we’ll re-group during the week, be positive and focus on next weekend’s double header which has up playing ECU Joondalup on Saturday (in the League) and Floreat Athena on Monday (in the FFA Cup semi-finals).”
Gustavo Catarcione put Perth on the scoreboard first, the striker punishing a lapse in concentration by sliding the ball into Alex Dunn’s net. Inglewood’s first genuine chance resulted in an equaliser as Cyrus stabbed in at close-range after Pritchard’s free-kick into the penalty area was headed across goal by Blackmore.
This set up a frantic finish which saw three goals in a six minute spell. Jordan De Leo drove through a crowded area to restore Perth’s advantage. Barely a minute later Pritchard converted from the penalty spot to level the game. And Perth grabbed the lead for a third time when Catarcione smashed in a loose ball.
Dunn twice prevented Matthew Milenkovic from extending the visitors lead, while at the opposite end Adam Tong was thwarted by Francis Soale. Two quick bookings led to Blackmore exiting the game after 83 minutes, damaging Inglewood’s hopes of salvaging something from the afternoon. Catarcione completed his hat-trick deep in stoppage time.
Match stats
Inglewood United 2 (David Cyrus 36, Mark Pritchard 43)
Perth SC 4 (Gustavo Catarcione 27, 44, 91, Jordan De Leo 39)
Inglewood United: Alex Dunn, Adam Tong, David Cyrus, Scott Blackmore, Jason Colli (Scott Witschge 70), Jason Barrera, John Migas, Mark Pritchard, Slobodan Vulin (Ashley Rosindale 60), Calum O’Connell (Tim Robertson 70), Kenny Keogh
Perth SC: Francis Soale, Nicholas Ambrogio, Tom King, Rocco Pizzata, David Filippou, Jordan De Leo, Dean Evans, Andreas Theodosiades (Dino Topcagic 60), Clark Keltie, Matthew Milenkovic (Frank Furfaro 84), Gustavo Catarcione
Bookings: Blackmore (81), Topcagic (82), Milenkovic (84), Catarcione (90), Cyrus (91), Tong (95), Ambrogio (95)
Dismissals: Blackmore (84)
