Paul J. Laverty Match Report NPLWA Round 18

Champions Bayswater City returned to winning ways with an emphatic 5-0 victory that sent Subiaco to the bottom of the PS4 NPLWA.

Goals from Lawrence Shuruma, Jason Mirco, Alex Salmon and Andy Reale, as well as a Subiaco own goal, contributed to Bayswater’s first win in six matches.

Not that coach Chris Coyne had been concerned about performances.

“It’s not been a form slump, it’s been a results slump,” he said. “Subiaco just caught us on a good day when the boys were on red-hot form.”

Bayswater controlled the game from start-to-finish and it took just 16 minutes for winger Shuruma to capitalise on their early pressure with a close-range finish following a neat cross from Salmon.

Subiaco then had goalkeeper Ryan Montgomery to thank for keeping them in the game with a brilliant double save first from Salmon and then Mirco.

Bayswater’s forward line was linking seamlessly and it was only a matter of time before they went further ahead. And it came following some fine play between Salmon and Mirco, which resulted in Subiaco centre-half James Casserly directing a clearance past Montgomery.

Salmon and Mirco were running the Subiaco defence ragged and on 32 minutes the former stormed into the box presenting Mirco with the simple task of side-footing the ball into the back of the net.

In the second-period, Bayswater continued where they left off with the mercurial Salmon curling a 30m free-kick onto the bar.

Subiaco heeded the warning and tightened up at the back but it came at a cost with them offering little going forward to test Bayswater.

Coyne brought Reale on to lift the tempo and he did just that pouncing on a cute backheel from Salmon in the 75th minute to slot past Montgomery for his side’s fourth.

Things then went from bad to worse for the visitors when Ian McMurray handled inside the box and Salmon made no mistake from the spot to secure Bayswater’s first win in six matches.

It was an afternoon to forget for Subiaco coach Michael Brazil, whose team is in last place and fighting to avoid relegation.

“No excuses,” he said. “There was no energy, no desire, no passion, no nothing today. That was men against boys.”

In contrast his counterpart Coyne savoured Bayswater’s return to the top two as he looked ahead to next week’s blockbuster away at third-placed Perth SC.

“It’s a funny league this season,” he said, as his squad chases a fourth-straight title. “Kudos to those clubs who’ve caught up with us. We’ve got four games left and everyone’s a cup final.”