Image: Northcote City
The NPL2 West ladder continues to swing wildly as, Northcote aside, the mid-table throws up more surprises each week, with Ballarat now the new movers up to fifth and Whittlesea also move back to fourth, while Sunshine are the big sliders down to eighth. Both Moreland sides also won to keep Northcote from extending their lead at the top of the table.
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Luke Gavalas was making his Whittlesea debut against Melbourne Victory following the departure of Phil Petrovski to Northcote but he couldn’t stem the tide early as Pierce Waring added to his season tally with a neat strike into the bottom corner after half an hour.
But soon enough the Ranges had the equaliser with Ross Frame pulling one back for his side.
Whittlesea continued to push after the break as Frame headed one wide with the net gaping, but it didn’t matter as in the 51st minute Janiel Silva netter a parting gift for his side.
The Brazilian defender (with Tobias Haegele returning to Whittlesea this week) is Oakleigh Cannons-bound and some later involvements showed his class, including a stunning run leading to a corner and another ball finding Tom Barforosh who missed wide.
In the end the Ranges ran out 2-1 winners, marking a welcome second consecutive victory to fourth and now pushing both Morelands after not long ago sitting eighth, highlighting the topsy turvy nature of the league.
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In what was deemed as a six-pointer for the Moreland Zebras and Sunshine, the former scored five minutes from time to snatch a winner.
In a rather quiet first half the Zebras had most of possession, however were unable to make something of it. Jav Marangos’ long-range strike whistled through the air, however to Matthew Jones’ relief the ball landed safely in his hands.
George Cross struggled to create chances at one end, as the Zebras continued you to mount on the pressure at the other. Mohammed Habib had his shot deflected out for a corner by Jones in a goalmouth scramble.
The next opportunity fell to Zebras captain Mile Medjedovic, who was first to meet a knock down from a corner, but to Sunshine’s relief Jones tipped the effort around the post.
Going into the sheds at a stalemate, the Zebras came out firing and were rewarded with a penalty after Barry Devlin was judged to have brought down Amir Osmancevic. The latter stepped up to the spot and rifled his shot into the top corner.
This sparked life into Sunshine, where a string of combinations through the midfield and out wide were causing the Zebras some havoc.
With half an hour to play Jagajeet Shrestha was brought down and stepped up to take the free-kick. The left foot ball trickled across the penalty area and eventually nestled into the back of the net to spur the game back into life.
Sergio Azagane and Adam Hodor had clear-cut chances to put Sunshine in front, however the opportunity went begging.
The Zebras would punish Sunshine for doing so, when Nejc Kolman stepped up to a free kick and mirrored Jagajeet Shrestha’s earlier goal as his ball rolled past the helpless Jones to give his side the winning goal.
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Northcote had a much tighter affair than they would’ve liked, just getting over the line over a plucky Bendigo, who put on one of their most resilient performances against the ladder leaders.
It looked like City were going to run away with it early as Josh Knight struck a quality effort from distance to propel his side into the lead.
Bendigo have conceded an average of four and a half goals per game and that trend looked set to continue. Many weren’t expecting them to have an impact against the top side despite playing mid-week in the FFA Cup.
But after half an hour Asa Kryst scored from a Kevin Walsh cross to leave most at the ground shocked and Bendigo daring to dream after netting the equaliser, with the clubs going into the break at 1-1.
The visitors were holding off their opponents but Alec Goodwin hit the bar in the 70th minute in search of his first goal since Round 5 to send a warning shot.
Then in the 82nd minute Trent Manicas broke Bendigo’s heart and prevented a major upset with a right-foot rifle to seal the 2-1 win and maintain Northcote’s 10-point gap at the top.
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Ballarat City ensured that seven of their last nine games have gone unbeaten and showed there was life beyond Michael Trigger with a narrow 1-0 home win over Brunswick City.
The winning goal came in the 10th minute when Nelson Salvatore tapped in Pat Karras’ square ball after Daniel Tinker’s great pass to make it 1-0.
Juan Portillo had a shot saved just before half-time and custodian Josh Dorron nearly let a ball slip through his hands in the tough conditions in the second half, while Karras had two golden chances to put the result beyond doubt cleared off the line and saved consecutively.
In the end it made no difference as Ballarat moved up to fifth with a third undefeated game in a row, while Brunswick now sit in seventh.
The good news continued for Danny Gnjidic’s side, announcing the signing of 19-year-old former Brentford youth Courtney Austin, who has also plied his trade with non-league sides Hanwell Town and Southwell FC.
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Moreland City snapped a horror run of form while ending Werribee’s resurgence in recent weeks with a hard-fought win at Galvin Park in a game that featured numerous recruits (see link below) to both sides looking to improve their fortunes in 2017.
Apai Ukuno opened the scoring after half an hour with his side taking the lead into the break. It was a welcome goal for the striker who took his tally to five, not quite on par with last season’s prolific count, but ending a scoreless run that stretched to Round 10.
Rob Naumoski then got the equaliser for the hosts and it looked as though Werribee might just continue their strong at the visitors’ expense.
But then it was an own goal recorded against George Slefendorfas – one of said new signings – that sunk his side late as Moreland City ran out 2-1 winners.
It ended a six-game winless run for Adrian Mathers’ men, who now sit four points behind the Zebras in third, while Werribee’s three-game unbeaten run also comes to an end, unable to climb closer to mid-table this week.
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