Floreat Athena look to pull themselves out of relegation trouble in Round 17 of the NPLWA – Men’s competition when they host Sorrento FC at E&D Litis Stadium.
The defending champions are remarkably bottom of the league with six rounds left, sitting a point behind Inglewood United who currently occupy the relegation play-off place, and three points from safety.
Athena’s fall this season has been partly due to a raft of injuries, but defender Dennis Galan also believes they have lacked luck in the key moments, including last week’s 1-1 draw against Balcatta where they led before conceding a late own goal.
“Last week’s game kind of summarises how it’s been going for us over the course of the season,” Galan said.
“You always need that little bit of luck in sport and we seem to have been on the bad end of it. We seem to have spells in games where we play well, but then invite pressure on ourselves a bit, perhaps because of where we are in the league.
“Overall, though, I don’t think it’s as bad as what it looks like on the table. Football-wise we’ve been in contention in the past few weeks, but minor mistakes seem to be costing us.
“There are still so many points to play for. There are six games left and we’re still confident in having an eye on the top four. That goal is still there and keeping us going if we can string results together. We know the players are capable, it’s just about going out there and doing it now.”
Having scored 54 times for the second-best attacking record in 2022, Vas Vujacic’s team have only scored 18 goals this year which is the lowest tally across the league. Galan says the return to fitness of forwards Robert Petkov and Bayley Brown-Montgomery will be pivotal as Athena look to rediscover their goalscoring groove.
“Our goals scored column hasn’t been the greatest this year and that’s due to losing a bit of firepower through injury, but getting them back fit now is great,” he said.
“Bayley is always causing havoc on the wings for opposition defenders and Rob gives us that real link up and target, so having them back is a big boost and hopefully we can keep them fit, get them scoring goals, and get those three points.
“We’ve had a large number of injuries, a few suspensions, and players away, so we’ve had to chop and change quite a bit. So consistency, when things like that are happening, is quite difficult to find.
“But with players coming back, the team are still confident and believe we don’t deserve to be where we are. It’s just a matter of sticking together and minimising those errors which have cost us in the last few weeks.”
The next two weeks see Athena face teams within striking distance at the bottom of the league as they host ninth-placed Sorrento this Saturday and go to Cockburn City, who are 10th, the following weekend.
The Australia Cup Round of 32 entrants are under no illusions that this is a crucial fortnight in their campaign, and Galan remains optimistic the tightness of the league means there’s still plenty of time to turn their fortunes around.
“It’s something we’ve spoken about at training and the importance of these next two games, given both teams are around where we are,” he said.
“The boys have been great in training, the spirits are high and now it’s about focusing on our performance at the weekend and those individual battles. We believe we can definitely get results from these two games, but there’s no hiding they’re a major factor in getting out of the situation we’re in.
“It’s always a good scrap with Sorrento whenever we play against them. The intensity is high, there’s a lot of strong challenges and aerial battles as well. We just need to keep our composure in what’s going to be a tough game and if we can keep it tight, I’m confident we can win the game.”
At the top of the division, Perth RedStar aim to extend their winning streak to three games when they welcome Inglewood United to RedStar Arena.
Callum Salmon’s side lead the league on goal difference, having played a game more than second-place Stirling Macedonia, while Inglewood try to build on last week’s win over Perth SC which lifted them off the foot of the table.
Andres Oliveira’s side remain in the relegation play-off place for now, but victory on Saturday and results elsewhere could mean they climb out of the drop zone.
Stirling are away at Cockburn with Ian Ferguson’s team four games unbeaten. The Cockerels are no pushovers at home though, having lost 3-2 there to RedStar last week, and equally need three points to pull away from the relegation scrap.
Elsewhere, there are several potential six-pointers in the race for the top four across the weekend, including Balcatta Etna and Perth SC going head-to-head in an Italian derby.
Draws in their past two matches have left third-placed Balcatta four points off the title pace with teams below them starting to close in. The Azzurri start the weekend sixth and only three points behind Glen Grostate’s side.
Armadale currently hold fourth spot and host eighth-placed Bayswater in another big game for the finals race. John O’Reilly’s side had their four-game unbeaten run halted against Stirling last time, while Bayswater are two games without defeat under Gary Williams, and are just one point behind the Army heading into Saturday.
Perth Glory and Olympic Kingsway are also in the mix when seventh and fifth meet. Something will have to give for either team at the weekend with Glory having scored 14 goals in their past three home matches, while Kingsway are unbeaten in four away games having kept three clean sheets in that run. The fixture at Lark Hill will kick off at the earlier time of 1pm.
All of the weekend matches are live and free on Streamer.
- Football West is proud that this weekend is Think Mental Health Round, developed in partnership between Football West and Healthway.
The aim is to raise awareness about mental health and wellbeing while supporting you and your club in fostering a supportive culture.
Round 17 fixtures
Saturday (3pm unless stated)
Perth Glory v Olympic Kingsway (1pm)
Armadale v Bayswater City
Balcatta Etna v Perth SC
Cockburn City v Stirling Macedonia
Floreat Athena v Sorrento FC
Perth RedStar v Inglewood United