Soccer: Melville City claims second win with 5-0 routing of Balga

MELVILLE City claimed its second State League Division Two win in a row with a 5-0 dismantling of Balga SC at Princess Reserve.

After gaining the upper hand in a tight first half, City put the game beyond doubt with four second half goals to claim three vital points.

The win saw Melville jump to eighth on the ladder as it approaches the mid-season mark.

The visitors started strongly as Dean Thurston, Mark Lucas and Simon El Chami all came close to breaking the deadlock early.

Midway through the first half, City took the lead when some nice work from Amel Dzaferovic set up El Chami, who curled home from the edge of the box.

Balga finally worked its way into the game late in the first half as Daniel Agudelo was forced into a smart save from an acute angle.

Melville got a much-needed second goal after the break when Grant Mowatt pounced on a turnover inside Balga’s half and rolled the ball past the keeper.

Some nice work from Thurston soon after sent Lucas through and the midfielder put the game beyond doubt with a tidy finish.

Thurston then made it 4-0 when substitute Christian Long raced away from his man and squared the ball for the striker to tap in.

Long missed a golden chance to extend the lead after being put through one-on-one, before atoning with another low cross which Lucas turned home to put the icing on the cake.

In other results, Melville’s Reserves won 7-2 while the under-18s suffered their first loss of the season, going down 5-3.