ECU Joondalup moved a step closer to reprising last year’s finals run, with a 5-1 thumping of Swan IC in a bad-tempered game that featured eight yellow cards.

Swan took the lead after just 4 minutes, thanks to a neat Cocking finish, but quickly surrendered the momentum to a hard-pressing ECU outfit. It wasn’t long before they surrendered the lead as well, with Ian McMurray opening his McInerney Ford Night Series account to level the match at 1-1 in the 26th minute.

The game took a turn for the physical, with 3 players from each side going into the referee’s book before 40 minutes had gone past. ECU were the quicker to regain their composure, however, and with half-time looming Bushby beat the Swan ‘keeper to make it 2-1 at the break.

The second half began rather dourly, but came alive with 15 minutes left after Swan’s Moterosso received the seventh yellow card of the game. ECU’s reply was swift – super sub Sam Montgomery and Ian McMurray made it 4-1 inside of 5 minutes to effectively kill the game as a contest, and send all three points north with Willie McNally’s side.

Montgomery added his second and ECU’s fifth on the stroke of full-time, as the boys from up the freeway roared into second place in Group B on goal difference. Swan coach Trusso will be unhappy with how his side dropped their heads in the second half, and both teams will want to show some much-improved discipline next weekend, but for now its ECU with the momentum and the form that could see them return to the final for the second straight year in 2008.