Mandurah impress but fall to Perth in National Premier League opener

That’s the message from Mandurah City coach Doug Hesketh after his side put in a spirited effort in the National Premier League opener but failed to overcome reigning champions Perth SC, going down 3-1.

The newly-promoted City started the game with the hotter hand, dominating play in the first half before allowing a goal to Perth in the 46^th minute to start player Gustavo Catarcione.

He struck again early in the second half to give Perth a 2-0 break.

Mandurah responded with a couple of crafty scoring opportunities that were agonisingly close to becoming points.

Daniel Dyson saw one of his efforts thump off the post, while Craig Tone dragged a shot wide.

It wasn’t until captain Andrew Brown linked up with Oscar Thompson that the side nailed the goal they so desperately needed.

Brown guided the ball over the Perth defence allowing Thompson to finish with a lob over Perth goalkeeper Francis Soale.

But City’s hopes of an upset soon came to an end as Catarcione provided some unselfish play finding Nicolas Ambrogio who made no mistake to make it 3-1.

Hesketh admitted the result was disappointing, but said his side’s first performance in their first National Premier League game provided plenty of positives.

“I think we played quite well for our first gig in the big league,” he said.

“I feel like we were the better side in the first half and we just had some opportunities go begging that really could have given us a good edge.

“Overall, we took on the reigning champions and gave them a fair shake. We have some aspects of our game that need work and we’ll continue to do that week by week.”

One bright spot for Mandurah City was the solid performance of 17-year-old Mitch Firth.

Firth was inserted into the Mandurah line-up following a last-minute injury and showed strong effort.

Mandurah’s next game will be played against fellow newcomers Joondalup United at Percy Doyle Reserve on Sunday, February 26.

- National Premier League WA