Three years ago, Gwelup Croatia embarked on a journey through the Saturday tiers of Western Australian football after earning promotion to the State League in 2016. That campaign saw the northern suburbs club record 21 wins and a loss from their 22 games with a staggering goal difference of 107. They were certainly ready for the challenge of State League football after back to back Amateur Premier League titles.
Promotion from State Division Two was sealed at the first time of asking in 2017 after a 16-win campaign, which saw them finish 13 points clear of closest rival Morley Windmills. It was a chapter ticked off with relative ease after averaging nearly four goals a game and conceding a mere 15 times in 20 matches. In 2018, a minor roadblock would be hit as Gwelup lost 1-0 to Rockingham City in Round 20 of 2018. The defeat meant the club would go on to fall two points short of a fourth straight title and back-to-back State League promotions, but they would not be deterred as they edged past Western Knights in 2019 to secure a place in the NPL WA at the second time of asking.
That was a fourth title in five years across three divisions. Not bad for a club which was originally formed in the late 1980s as a hub for locals of Croatian descent to socialise and share in the sense of community provided by football. Now, they are an aspirational club, who are making their mark at the semi-professional level of NPL WA football and laying foundations for long-term sustainability with upgrades to the Croatian Sporting Complex currently in progress. The off-field aspects are matched by ambition on it, with an eye catching recruitment drive ahead of their maiden top-flight season, which included the acquisitions of former Perth Glory striker Ndumba Makeche, consistent goal scoring midfielder Jon Stynes and a trio of NPL Victoria returnees in Blair Govan, Sam Mitchinson and brother of Jon, Daniel.
So, the long-awaited NPL WA debut arrived and after a false start against Glory back in March before the COVID-19 shut down, the season resumed on the first Saturday of July 2020. A glistening winter afternoon and a barely a cloud in the sky at their inner-suburban Wishart Street home, matched by a healthy crowd in attendance for their top flight home unveiling. The freshly made chequered red and white goal nets were up at opposite ends of the pitch. The newly installed dugouts and fencing were in place pitch side. The Cevapi was aromatic and will no doubt prove to be a popular cuisine around the NPL WA home and away circuit this season. And it was all playing host to last year's Top Four Cup finalists Inglewood United. A real early acid test in terms of their credentials.
A tense first half had its shackles broken by Makeche scoring Gwelup's first NPL WA goal with an opportune finish beyond a stranded Alex Dunn. An emotional moment for many of the locals who had been part of the adventure to date and a surreal marker of the glaring progress made. Inglewood would go on to equalise through Brendan Italiano's long-range drive and that was how it finished, despite late chances at both ends for a match-winning moment. An encouraging performance and form which would be franked this weekend as the sides ended week two in the top four and unbeaten (albeit after just two games).
A week on and Gwelup's first away task since the restart certainly posed its challenges. A solid Sorrento team who suffered just one defeat in eight games to end 2019 and were full of confidence following a 6-1 win at Rockingham in the opening block of games. More so, the Gulls are a seasoned NPL WA side with 32 consecutive years in the top-tier of local football, and they boasted one of the form strikers in the competition in Cameron Teece – third in last year’s NPL WA Golden Boot race and scorer of four in week one.
It was a first clash between the teams at this level, although they did meet in the State Cup Round of 16 last year when the Gulls won 2-1. 14 months on and four players from that fixture appeared at the weekend with defensive mainstays Connor Campbell and Ciaran Salinger starting and the relatively long-serving duo of David Heagney and Bobby Wilson playing roles off the bench.
*Hasani Sinclair finishes a great team move with the opening goal for Gwelup Croatia*
The start from Gwelup was as bright as the afternoon sunshine at Percy Doyle Reserve. 12 minutes ticked over when Hasani Sinclair, a player whose improvement in recent years mirrors Gwelup’s ascent, opened the scoring after linking up with Makeche to finish smartly with the outside of his boot. Sinclair broke onto the local scene with 16 goals from 26 games in Forrestfield's sole NPL WA season back in 2018, before moving to Cockburn where he scored nine times at a rate of over one every two games. Now he is part of a front four which looks capable of taking this division by storm.
The lead provided by Sinclair's strike held firm until half time despite a double save from Campbell to deny Teece and Ollie Annis. Daniel Stynes perhaps should have doubled the visitors lead when he dragged an effort wide of the upright. Sorrento would respond as expected.
The hosts blazed their way out of blocks in the second period as they pressed Gwelup deep into their own territory. Annis forced Campbell to palm over his own bar, Daniel Faichney nearly found the top corner and Teece came close to hooking home spectacularly. Set pieces also came and went as each were admirably defended by Gwelup's rear guard. The challenge presented by the 2012 double winners was passed and unfortunately for the Gulls the second yellow and red combination shown to Annis near the hour mark would take the wind out of their sails.
It was left to two of Gwelup's other attacking stars to wrap up the points. Man of the match Makeche, who assisted Sinclair's opener with an effortless backheel, was put through on goal by Heagney before driving into the area and finishing past Sorrento stopper Matt Giudicatti. 10 minutes later it was Daniel Stynes' turn to benefit from a Makeche assist as he collected a pass and slotted in a third goal. It would put the icing on a significant result - one which head coach Taki Nicolaidis was proud of achieving for the club and its supporters.
"The first NPL WA win is a big thing," he said.
"When I joined the club three years ago it was the club's goal to get to the NPL and make a bit of noise, which I hope we will do this year. I'm so pleased for the fans who have been there since day one."
Three goals and three points then for Gwelup on a landmark day. Only two-from-two Floreat sit above them outright with Inglewood and Perth Glory alongside the newcomers on four points. The Glory will be Gwelup's next challenge in a repeat of a fixture from March’s pre-COVID lockdown ‘ghost round’, which has since been removed from the record books. Sinclair scored a hat-trick that day in a 5-0 win over the youngsters, but Nicolaidis insisted his team would be mentally prepared for a tougher round three meeting.
"The boys will be switched on. They are very professional about their approach,"he said.
"This game has now been and gone. We can't take it any other way, other than to relish a fresh challenge from Glory next week and be ready to go from the start, to play a strong 90 minutes and hopefully score more than we concede."
Fairy tales have nearly happened before in Croatian football. The Kockasti punched above their weight in the 1998 and 2018 World Cup's where they were twice thwarted by France in the latter stages. Gwelup Croatia made a final of their own a day before that Russian showpiece in Moscow. A State Cup final which ended in a 2-0 defeat to Armadale, meaning they were unable to replicate the feat of fellow Croatian sporting club Western Knights, who succeeded against Sorrento a year prior. That cup run gave the team a platform to represent Western Australia domestically in the FFA Cup Round of 32, and based on performances in the first fortnight of the NPL WA, it may not to be too long until the climb is complete and noise is made again on the national stage.