Armadale Soccer Club

A hat-trick by striker John Thornley has seen Balcatta make it two from two for season 2012.  (Report courtesy of Nathan Drudi and Football West)

A Johny Mirco hat-trick coupled with a man-of-the-match performance and a brilliant headed goal from the lively Callum Roberts inspired Western Knights to a 4-1 romp of Armadale at Alfred Skeet Reserve on Saturday afternoon.  (Report courtesy of Ilija Mihalj and Football West)

This weekend's Round One All Flags State League match between Western Knights and Armadale has been moved from Wauhop Park to Alfred Skeet Reserve.

All matches on the day (Under 18's, Reserves and First Team) will be played at the Armadale venue, with Western Knights remaining the home team.

Inglewood United are through to the last eight of the Night Series after playing out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Armadale at Alfred Skeet Oval.

The visitors raced to a two-goal lead through goals by Ryan Clarke and David Perich only to have Sean Nicholls reduce the deficit in the shadows of half time. Alan Darlington restored parity early in the second half but despite some sustained late pressure the Reds were unable to find a winning goal and therefore bow out of the pre-season tournament.

Inglewood will meet the winner of Group C, most likely Bunbury Forum Force, in next week’s quarter-finals.

Division Two side Melville City came from a goal down to snatch a 2-2 draw with Armadale at Alfred Skeet Oval. Clayton Kendall scored the late equaliser to compliment Sasa Slavujevic’s opener and cancel out finishes by Mark McClements and David Caine.

A revamped Armadale have started the new season on the right foot, defeating eastern corridor rivals Gosnells City 4-2 at Alfred Skeet Oval. Alan Darlington proved lively up front with two goals while fellow new signings Allan Claxton and David Caine also got on the scoresheet. “The first 20 minutes we played really well then we started to get a bit too comfortable having too many touches on the ball and doing things we don’t want to do,” said Reds coach Lee Bamber. “Second half we warned the boys that they would come out and put us under pressure which they did and we didn’t deal with it for 15 minutes. Then when we finally got it sorted we settled down and were comfortable again.”

Perth has once again been chosen as the perfect place for a pre-season camp for a top football team in the region.

Malaysian Super League side Felda United will arrive into Perth today for a week long camp that will see them take on State Premier League sides Bayswater City and Armadale.

New Armadale coach Lee Bamber is tackling with gusto the task of guiding the Premier League’s perennial struggler into a new era of consolidation. The eastern corridor club have finished outside the bottom three just once during their seven years in the top flight but Bamber and his assistant Kevin Brophy have assembled a squad which will serve the Reds well this coming season. “We’ve only been training for three weeks but the signs are encouraging on what we’ve seen so far,” commented Bamber. “The squad is coming together slowly with a good mix of youth, experience and a couple of overseas players, so Kevin and I have been happy with start we’ve had.”

Lee Bamber will take charge of Armadale for the first time when they take on Malaysia Super League outfit Negiri Sambalan on Friday 23rd December 2011.  Negiri Sambalan, who claimed the Malaysia Cup in October and are in preparation for the upcoming season, will take on an Armadale select side comprising existing players and trialists. There’s a wealth of experience and talent in the visiting squad which features Malaysian internationals Norhafiz Zamani Misbah (63 caps), club captain Muhammad Shukor Adan (58 caps) and Idris Abdul Karim (39 caps). The Armadale-Negiri Sambalan friendly is set down for Friday 23rd December at Alfred Skeet Reserve (7.00pm) with admission $5.00.