ATHENISTA: El Classico Athena vs 3.1

Athena vs Perth 3.1 at Dorrien Gardens.

The match day program greeted the fans of both sides to a confronting numerical table. The fact that both clubs were foundation federation clubs since 1960 is established as part of our shared history. Besides the differences inn the honours count another distinguishing feature is the fact that Perth have never been relegated! And when dividing their final league ladder placings by the number of seasons they end with a staggering overall figure of 3.1- a remarkable achievement - 60 years of continual top flight sky blue WA football - Perth were formed in 1948 vs Athena in est. 1951 - 60 years of blue and white passionate football.

It is always a classic contest Perth vs Athena and last Sunday true to form and history it was no exception on Sunday 20 July 2011. Post match arm chair pundits throughout the WA football family were quick to point out that it was not the “Real Perth” with three high profile players not featuring in the match (Naglieri – vacation, Oliveria – club suspension and Puca – sudden retirement). But whilst this may have been a hypothetical reason that can never really be proven what cannot be disputed was Athena’s dominance of the game and the emphatic scoreline 3-0.

Perth Soccer Club stalwarts Aldo Trinca and Gary Marochi - were in unison as they muttered "I have never seen a Perth side play like that". While the clubs engine driver and organiser extraordinaire Margaret Trinca stated - "congratulations guys on your big win or was it more a case of how bad we played". Since I was kid I have loved every moment of visiting the Gardens to play Perth - because the clubs machine is powerful and well oiled - and they constantly remind you of how the game should be played and how a club should behave and be organised. This feeling comes not from a position of envy but one more of respect and admiration.

The match was a pleasure to witness. The game plan was executed with the precision of Swiss watch. And the arrival of the goals matched the timeliness of a Japanese bullet train. The personal match-ups were superb for the Athena boys as the fans once again left the ground pondering just how far can this side go in 2011 with only 5 league proper matches remaining.

Congratulations to AK, Taki and the entire squad for their performance that did the club and its fans proud.

This match was built up all week as being a crucial encounter to return to winners circle after a narrow loss to Balcatta an and hard fought draws vs Sorrento and the Western Knights.

The strict adherence to a certain style and form play and game plan was evdident throughout the 90 minutes. The overall consistency and tactical play showed signs of experience and maturity. The plans set in place to tackle the might of Perth were obviously meticulous and well thought out.

On Tuesday night AK spoke to the Lets Talk Football crew on live talk back radio. Some notable quotes were extracted and are presented below:

Finals football is a realistic goal for the club now being only three points off 3^rd.

I am definitely pleased with where we are a currently at. I am confident in the calibre of players we have.

I don’t fear other clubs - I only fear that we don’t play to our potential.

I am happy with the result of course – any coach beating Perth at Dorrien Gardens would be happy - but I am also very satisfied with the way we played.

How often do you see teams dominating near the fist half hour mark - miss a penalty and fail to go on to win the game - that is what I was concerned about.

But full credit to the boys for sticking to the game plan and they go the reward they deserved.

We are a little blessed at the moment - touch wood with a full strength squad being available for selection each week.

But right from the outset of the season I have stressed - its all about one game at a time and now we have 5 to go to secure a top five berth.

I still think that Perth will still grab second spot – but if we play like we did on Sunday - our destiny will ultimately be in our hands.

At a post match media interview with Peter Simcox comments made by assistant coach Taki Nicolaides also reflected overall satisfaction with the day at the office:

Very rapt with the result and a performance - well done.

I thought we won the important battles in the individual battles in every position.

And on AK - you can't fault his experience and what he gives to our defence and our whole team is fantastic.

"It was a hard day for Liam Boland, missed a penalty hit the bar twice - but he was outstanding today"

Really happy with Liam Boland he fought hard, chased down balls, won headers, did everything right but score goals. and importantly he is at least he is getting i the righ positions to be scoring its just now that he has to work on his finishing.

A great day for Paul (van Dongen) popping up for two great goals - a nice volley for the second one and even Danny Trev coming in for the third off the save from the keeper.

Floreat assistant Coach Taki Nicolaidis was delighted with his side's performance. "It was a good performance from the side, and we had no passengers today and really deserved the win," said Nicolaidis.

"We're in the mix know for the top five, but we have a tough game against Mandurah City next week, who had a good win yesterday, so we need to keep focused for the rest of the season."

Scoring Summary: Perth SC 0 Floreat Athena 3 (Paul VAN DONGEN 30', 68' Daniel TREVISIOL 90')

Perth SC: GK Devon SPENCE, 2 Trent KAY, 3 Adam BACHILLER, 4 Craig SIMPSON, 6 Shaun KILKELLY, 7 Matt DANSKIN, 9 David ONOFORO, 14 Josh PEREIRA, 17 Vlad NAUMOVSKI (16 Matthew IZZO 80'), 18 Dom DE FELICE, 23 Greg SHARLAND

Substitutes not used: RGK Luke MARTINO, 13 Matt BEYER, 20 Thomas BLACK, 21 Josh WILKINS

Floreat Athena: GK Alex DUNN, 4 Julian MADASCHI, 5 Jarrad SMITH, 8 Michael VAN DONGEN (6 Miki VUJACIC 79'), 9 Paul VAN DONGEN (11 Damien CATALANO 80'), 10 Liam BOLAND, 12 James ISAIA (17 Daniel TREVISIOL 87'), 13 Kyle MORAN, 14 Mark PRITCHARD, 16 Ante KOVACEVIC, 18 Callum O'CONNELL

Substitutes not used: RGK Simon MADASCHI, 15 Callum FRANSZ,