Report by Aisling Lawless

Hat-trick hero Ashley Rosindale was the man of the moment, helping Perth to an empathic 5-3 win against Sorrento at Percy Doyle Reserve yesterday.

Mark Pritchard supplied the other two goals for Perth, while James Marocchi put Sorrento on the scoreboard with an own goal.

Reece Vittiglia and Daryl Platten both hit the back of the net for Sorrento in the second half of an entertaining match.

Rosindale was pleased they came away with the three points against Sorrento, who he said were a tough side to beat.

“I’m always happy to score goals being a centre forward, but for us it’s all about the result, and obviously without the team effort you aren’t going to get on the score sheet,” he said.

Perth started strongly and went ahead after six minutes when the referee granted a questionable free kick on the edge of the penalty area.

The foul committed on Robert Sciascia occurred after a Sorrento player cleared the ball and inadvertently landed on his back.

Pritchard converted the free kick and 10 minutes later Rosindale extended the lead from a corner.

Sciascia’s pressure on Sorrento forced many turnovers and his counterpart on the left, Friday Zico, matched his strong runs down the right wing.

However a lapse in concentration from Perth in the 20th minute gifted Sorrento with an own goal.

Joint NPL WA leading scorer Sean Canham narrowly missed equalizing a minute later when his curling shot sliced past the left post of Alex Dunn’s goal.

The Azzuri’s pressure and organisation paid off again in the 37th minute when Pritchard made the score 3-1, curling the ball past a diving Curtis Aspden.

Sorrento came out strongly in the second half with Mike McGinley pressuring for possession and nine minutes after the restart Vittiglia slotted the ball into the top-right hand corner of the goal.

Soon after, Danny Cain headed Sorrento captain James Morgan’s corner against the goalpost, before Daryl Platten guided the rebound into the net in the 67th minute.

But despite Sorrento’s added urgency, Rosindale’s two goals in the 64th and 75th minutes put the game beyond the Gulls’ reach.

Sorrento co-coach Trevor Morgan said the performance was unlike Sorrento’s usual strong defensive showing.

“I don’t think for one minute that we are going to score a large amount of goals this season but we are better than we were today defensively,” Morgan said.

“It’s been a bad day for us really, but credit to Perth, they’ve taken the chances when they’ve come along.”

Sorrento 3 (OG 20’, Reece VITTIGLIA 54’, Ryan PLATTEN 67’)
Perth 5 (Mark PRITCHARD 7’, 37’, Ashley ROSINDALE 16’, 64’, 75’)
Saturday 22 March, 2014
Percy Doyle Reserve, Duncraig
Kick-off: 3.00pm
Referee: Michael Jasinski
Assistant referees: David Scragg, Brendon Skinner
Crowd: Appx 250

Sorrento: 1. Curtis ASPDEN (gk), 2. Danny CAIN, 3. Alex BRAIN, 4. Shaun KILKELLY, 6. Daryl PLATTEN, 7. James MORGAN (c), (8. Brodie MARTIN 60’), 9. Todd HARNWELL, (13. Steve McDONALD 75’), 14. Scott BULLOCH, 17. Reese VITTIGLIA, 18. Sean CANHAM, 21. Mike McGINLEY.

Substitutes not used: 20. Jesse FULLER, 25. Wes PADLEY, 60. James MORGAN (gk)
Yellow cards: Todd HARNWELL (54’)
Red cards: Nil

Perth: 2. Josh WILKINS, 4. Craig SIMPSON, 6. Clark KELTIE, (8. Aden DA LUZ 60’), 9. Friday ZICO, 10. Ashley ROSINDALE, 11. Robert SCIASCIA, 12. Tim ROBERTSON, 14. Mark PRITCHARD, 15. Mark DONINGER, (19. Andreas THEODOSIADES 80’), 20. James MAROCCHI, (21. Jarrod BELFORD 67’), 23. Alex DUNN (gk).

Substitutes not used: 1. Domenico SAVOLDELLI (gk), 16. Nicholas ABROGIO.
Yellow cards: Mark PRITCHARD (73’), Friday ZICO (57’), Clark KELTIE (86’)
Red cards: Nil