Match Report By Neil Martin

Perth Saints headed up Canning Highway to take on arch enemy Ashfield Dynamos in this round two encounter.

Fresh in both teams’ minds was the 7-3 drubbing the Saints handed to Ashfield on their home turf in round Eight during season 2007. Ashfield did reclaim some ground by defeating the Saints 4-2 in round 13 so it all added spice to what was sure to be a tough encounter. New signing Iain Deans and Dave Evans made their league debuts for the Saints.

The Saints started the brighter of the two sides but failed to make the most of the opportunities they created. Ashfield continued with their usual wellie forward and run tactic and it caused the Saints defence some anxious moments in the opening quarter of an hour.

Stand in keeper Elido Biletic demonstrated that he was a man of many talents after producing a string of excellent saves to deny Ashfield the opportunity to take the lead including a finger tipper over the bar that Gordon Banks would have been proud to have made.

The ball continually swung from end to end however it was the Saints who took the lead in the match after 32 minutes when talisman Graham Cameron latched on to a cross to open his account for the league season after scoring a hat trick in the Preliminary round of the cup against Fremantle. The goal lifted the Saints and they quickly went in search of a second.

The Saints were providing good drive through the midfield with Ross Greer, Dave Evans and Alex Robertson constantly finding gaps in the Ashfield line up whilst the Saints defence were coping well with anything that Ashfield could throw at them.

A lovely interchange of passes left the Saints Adrian Scagnetti one on one with the Ashfield keeper and Scagnetti had no problem in finding the back of the net with just minutes to go until the break. The 2-0 score line in favour of the Saints was a fair reward for the hard work the Saints players had put in during the first half.

Saints coach Neil Martin stressed the importance of scoring the first goal in the second half to deny Ashfield the opportunity to get back into the game. The mood was buoyant in the Saints huddle and you could smell the determination in the air.

As expected Ashfield came at the Saints from the opening kick off in the second half and it was that man Biletic who once again denied the home side a sniff with another series of quality saves. The Saints continually went in search of a third goal and a lovely through ball to Cameron after 68 minutes produced the breathing space the Saints had so eagerly sought.

Not to be outdone Ashfield continued to plug away and got the goal they wanted at the 79 minute mark. Ashfield’s Ivan the Terrible who had been uncharacteristically quiet all day suddenly found his voice and left his usual trademark on the proceedings.

Ashfield continued to fight to get back in the match however the Saints remained in control to make it two wins from two starts. The margin between the teams could have been much greater had the Saints put away all of the well worked chances that they created.

The Saints face The Jacks at home next weekend and they will be keen to continue their good form.

Coaches’ best: Biletic, Cameron, Deans & Sayers.

April 21, 2008