STIRLING Lions brushed aside Armadale SC with a convincing 4-0 win at Macedonia Park in round 8 of the National Premier Leagues WA on Saturday.
Two goals in each half saw the Lions easily account for an underwhelming Armadale outfit.
Armadale coach John O’Reilly said he was disappointed, but believed his side was progressing.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOW“We created some chances although the score line doesn’t show it, but how we were set up to start with probably played into their hands and they executed a lot better than us today,” he said.
The hosts applied the early pressure and made it count in the 21st minute when Daniel Micevski played a neat one-two with Alex Tanevski before making a decisive finish.
Minutes later, the lead was doubled when Lukas De Lima played Micevski through, and while Armadale goalkeeper Michael Craggs blocked the shot, the unmarked Tanevski slotted home the rebound.
It could have been 3-0 just before the break when Micevski had two efforts from inside the box expertly saved by Craggs.
It proved a busy day for Craggs, who was forced into a sharp save from Moses Kalua shortly after the re-start.
Jake Sardelic had two chances to bring Armadale back into the match, shooting straight at Stirling keeper John Perkins from close-range before firing over with Perkins stranded shortly after.
Kalua put the game beyond Armadale’s reach when he latched on to a Blamo Qua Qua pass and dispatched the ball past Craggs.
Stirling substitute Steve Sokol hit the bar following great nice work from Tanevski and Micevski, before going one better when he converted from close range to complete the rout.
The loss saw Armadale slip to 12th on the ladder.