Round 6 - Belmont Villa Firsts vs South Perth United

Very happy to be back playing after watching on the sidelines for the first 5 weeks of the season and even happier the Villa had their 4^th win of the season.

Although we won 2-0 the game definitely wasn’t that easy, South Perth controlled most of the first half and after about 20 minutes of sustained pressure they hit the post with a shot from outside the box. The only real chance we had in the first half was a deflected low cross from Patrick that cannoned into the near post, other than that the first was a real scrappy midfield battle lots of tough tackling and a few heated exchanges.

In the 2^nd half we came out more settled and with a better passing game, we started to have an impact down both wings with John and Yousef starting to get into attacking positions. The first goal came after a spell of Villa pressure resulted in a corner. Patrick swung the ball in low and hard and after the keeper missed it Yoni Steingiesser was on hand at the back post with a diving header straight into the net. After that I feel the team as a whole got more confident on the ball and we held possession well and all of a sudden it was South Perth who were getting frustrated. On about the hour mark Benji snapped at the heals of their left back and when the ref didn’t blow for a free-kick he ran his mouth which ended in a red card. After that the result was never in doubt and the 11 men of Belmont finished the game strongly. The icing on the cake was a breakaway from a SP corner resulted in Patrick being upended by the SP keeper in the area and myself stepping up and putting the game beyond doubt.

Lots of positives out of this victory SP are a very organised side but we held on defensively for an excellent clean-sheet. Sami and Amin worked their butts of in the midfield and the lads playing who were injured or ill (Kev, Ryan and Patrick) also played excellent games.

Looking forward to (perhaps) having a full squad next week. Hammersley will be no pushovers but hopefully the Villa can secure a 5^th win.