ECU Joondalup dominated the first half of football at their home ground on Saturday and managed to hold off a late rally from visitors Armadale to claim an important 2-1 win.

Reliable Joe Smith and Jon Stynes were on target for the home side at ECU Football Stadium, while substitute Ben Wantee led the charge for Armadale with his goal late in the second half.

An action-packed start from the hosts resulted in the early goal to Smith, who delivered a bomb from the right wing, catching off guard keeper Matthew Gould.

Armadale reacted immediately with spirited efforts from Sam Loveless and Faustinho Machochi testing the ECU defence as they sought a way through.

Jackson Bealey came close from a Machochi ball when he stepped around his man and fired a shot, which was met with a brilliant diving save from ECU keeper Andy Banks.

But the early display of enthusiasm from the visitors was soon to wane as ECU extended their lead when Andy Higgins showed great vision to pick out Stynes, who finished past Gould.

Henry Durr was excellent in the ECU midfield, adding energy and fight to the cause.

The second half saw ECU Joondalup drop the intensity level and loosen the vice-like grip they had held all over the pitch. Armadale sensed the door left slightly ajar and tried to build some pressure.

David Foster was busy doing the same for ECU at the other end with his persistent but ineffective pestering of Gould. Similarly, Danny Dixon was instrumental in providing service from the left but collectively, ECU lacked drive.

Armadale had the majority of possession but were unable to make much of an impression until their goal late in the game.

Dennis Gaye crossed to Wantee in space at the edge of the box and his strike proved too much for Banks.

A fight back seemed possible when Varney took a free-kick in stoppage time. The ball floated over the wall and over the cross bar, along with his team’s chances of a draw.

ECU Coach Dale McCulloch, looking forward to being back in the technical area next week after a three-week suspension, was not overly inspired by his team’s performance.

“It’s the same set up to the way we went in against Perth last week but things didn’t live up to our expectations today,” he said.

“We were 2-0 up and cruising at the start of the second half and we really need to kill teams off. We didn’t do that today and we nearly got punished for it.”

“We want six points out of the next two games and jump as many spots (on the ladder) as we can. We’ll be pushing hard for our last two games.”

ECU Joondalup 2 (Smith 5’, Stynes 17’)
Armadale 1 (Wantee 79’)
Saturday 9th August, 2014
ECU Sports Centre
Attendance: approx. 150
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Referee: Matt Southern
Assistant Referees: Tom Dowle, Simon Hicks

ECU Joondalup: 1. Andy BANKS (gk), 2. Ryan LOWRY, 3. John HIGGINS, 5. Carl RODGERS, 6. Jon STYNES (9. David FOSTER 45’), 7. Henry DURR (12. Dejan SPASESKI 77’), 8. Joe SMITH, 10. Andy HIGGINS, 11. Danny DIXON, 13. Tommy AMPHLETT, 19. Stuart MONTGOMERY (14. Jake BENSON-COOPER 55’)
Substitutes not used:16. Daniel HEPWORTH, 21. Jamie SERRA
Yellow cards: Tommy AMPHLETT 84, Jake BENSON-COOPER 93’
Red cards: nil

Armadale: 20. Mathew GOULD (gk), 12. Alec SOLOMONS, 4. Billy QUINCROFT, 5. Nathan COSTELLO (8. Josh KUSER 62’), 3. Dylan EASTOUGH, 10. James ATKINS (18. Ben WANTEE 71’), 2. Jackson BEALEY, 7. Faustinho MACHUCHI, 11. Dannie RICHMAN (17. Dennis GAYE 77’), 13. Sam LOVELESS, 6. Lyon VARNEY
Substitutes not used: 14. Jett SHAW, 1. Jordan HOWELL
Yellow cards: Sam LOVELESS 31’, Alec SOLOMONS 53’
Red cards: nil