Image: The Ball Game/Saangpi Suan
With just five minutes remaining on the clock, Nunawading hung on to a slender 1-0 advantage over a lacklustre Richmond in just their second NPL2 fixture following their inclusion in the competition at the start of 2015.
The new boys lost their opening fixture 4-0 away to Kingston City in a one-sided affair but were now leading against their more experienced opponents thanks to Anthony Giannopoulos’ first half strike. Then Richmond came alive.
Two goals in a matter of minutes from Welsh midfielder Josh Knight stole all three points at Kevin Bartlett Reserve for Rick Mensink’s men, who had suffered a miserable 6-0 opening round defeat to the Goulburn Valley Suns in Shepparton a week earlier.
That heartbreaking defeat came almost two years ago and since then the much-maligned club from Mahoneys Reserve had only collected four points from 54 games with the onset of relegation this year a cause for concern for City.
The club hierarchy acted swiftly and brought in former A-League players James Brown, Mitch Cooper and Jason Trifiro, as well as Devon Bonne and goalkeeper Jordan Franken to stop the rot.
Coach Nick Dimitrakis had insisted throughout the past two years that results would come if Nunawading had a core of experienced names to play alongside their emerging youngsters. That declaration appeared accurate on the basis of their opening three fixtures of this campaign, although a priceless victory had still evaded the Sky Blues despite their improved performances.
Heading into Friday night’s contest, Nunawading were dealt a huge blow as midfielder lynchpin Trifiro was ruled out due to family commitments, as they made their return to Kevin Bartlett Reserve almost two years to the date from their gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat in Round 2.
A win there might have helped change the perception of the club in the eyes of many but come the end of the 90 on Friday night even some of their fiercest detractors could not help applaud at the quality of football on the park. The tone was set early on in proceedings when Brown’s quick free-kick teed up forward Devon Bonne, whose shot from inside the goal area produced a reflex save from Richmond shot-stopper Brandon Osipov.
Bonne turned provider shortly afterwards as his cross from the right-hand side of the pitch saw Cooper rise up over Robert Taylor to head the ball into the back of the net for the lead. Former Olyroo Brown drove down the left wing before cutting into the penalty area with former Avondale defender Baki Efe catching the ex-Melbourne City forward late as the referee pointed to the spot.
Bonne stepped up and sent Osipov the wrong way as he scored his first goal for his new employers against his former club. Richmond reduced the deficit soon after as Taylor’s through ball picked out Argentine forward Gonzalo Freddi, who lobbed the ball over an oncoming Franken for his second goal in four league games. Both sides exchanged chances from there onwards, with Rudi Saglam’s free-kick superbly saved by Franken. The former North Geelong Warriors forward also saw his spectacular volley just go wide.
Mitch Cooper had a goal-bound shot blocked after some nice play between captain Sam Antoniadis and James Brown, with the former then setting up Jordan Siamoa, whose fierce shot flew past Osipov’s right-hand post.
Paul Donnelly’s men levelled the scores early in the second half when returning skipper Alan Mulcahy’s shot from range flew into the top right corner of the net, leaving Franken with no chance. Buoyed by the equaliser, Richmond went in search of the lead and were denied by a scrambling Franken, who made himself big to save Valli Cesnik’s close-up shot.
Nunawading threw on substitute Ivan Skorich, with the forward returning from injury as the visitors entered the last half an hour of the game seemingly on the back foot. Undeterred, star man Brown restored Nuna’s advantage when he met Cooper’s pass with a powerful low shot from outside the area as he challenged Mulcahy for goal-of-the-night honours.
Brown then turned on the style as he won back possession from his free-kick, passed to Cooper, who played Antoniadis out wide – the ex-Sunshine midfielder slipped the ball through to Brown, whose cutback across the box was met by Skorich to restore City’s two-goal advantage.
A flowing team move from Nunawading led to Cooper playing the ball to marksman Skorich, who had his second of the evening in the 87th minute as Dimitrakis’ side ran out 5-2 winners for just their second victory in the NPL in 60 outings. While the away side celebrated, concerns of a different kind have surfaced at the 2015 NPL2 Champions, whose return to the second tier has been difficult to say the least.
Two draws and two heavy defeats have Richmond bottom of the standings after four games with their defence shipping 13 goals in that time, leaving Donnelly and technical manager Savas Saglam with plenty to ponder ahead of next week’s first cross-conference round.
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The week’s big game pitted a resurgent Dandenong City up against fierce rivals Springvale White Eagles in the Saturday afternoon sun at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex. Stuart Munro’s side were still without the strike services of injured pairing Paul Harvey and David Stirton, with in-form midfielder James Kelly continuing to deputise at the pivot of the attack.
It came as no surprise then when the former Bolton Wanderers academy graduate opened the scoring after heading home a cross from the left delivered by ex-White Eagles utility Andy Jerez on 15 minutes. The home side then wasted numerous opportunities to double their lead, with Mate Dugandzic, Jerez and Kelly coming close to doubling Hajduk’s advantage.
The latter almost grabbed his second early on in the second half when his flashing shot was tipped onto the post by Lajos Oliveira, who was having another superb day in between the sticks for Vlado Tortevski’s side. The experienced coach then drew on ex-Real Madrid junior Delfin Mosibe into the fray as the White Eagles looked to get themselves back into the contest, having resisted a number of City’s attacking attempts.
Bosnian international Nebojsa Pejic tried his luck from 30 metres when his spectacular dipping strike rattled the crossbar. Hajduk goalkeeper Damir Salcin was quick to deny Damir Stoilovic from finding a leveller, with the resulting corner changing the course of the outcome. Pejic’s corner was met by the head of Mosibe at the front post, with his flick-on finding Vojo Milojevic unmarked at the back post, with the forward smashing the ball past Salcin for the equaliser.
With momentum on their side, Springvale searched for a winner and got it when a defence-splitting through ball from Milan Jovanovic found Stoilovic to fire past Salcin. The impressive Jovanovic then came close to adding a sealer when his surging run into the attacking half saw him blaze his powerful effort over the goal and into the stands.
City had one final opportunity to grab a point only to be denied once more by Oliveira as Springvale celebrated their third successive victory over their rivals to move three points clear at the top of the NPL2 East standings.
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Sunday afternoon’s sole fixture saw a heated one-sided affair played at Gardiners Creek Reserve as Melbourne City ran out convincing 6-1 winners over the previously undefeated Eastern Lions. Joe Palatsides’ chargers raced into a two-goal lead after 15 minutes of play thanks to debut strikes to former Bentleigh Greens fullback Jaiden Madafferi and senior-team squad member Daniel Arzani.
Dynamic playmaker Gerrie Sylaidos added a third three minutes before the break, with the Lions second-best to a prolific, sharp and quick City outfit. Centre-forward Philip Ajao grabbed his first of the campaign to reduce the deficit on the hour mark, giving Jim Williams’ side some hope of making a comeback minutes after City had been reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of goalscorer Arzani.
Despite their numerical advantage, the Lions failed to capitalise and were forced to pay when Connor Metcalfe restored the three-goal margin in the 72nd minute. Ali Eyigun added a fifth, with the rout capped off by a maiden senior goal from substitute Nathaniel Atkinson as the hosts also ended the game with 10 men following the stoppage time dismissal of Gianni Allebi for a poorly-timed challenge.
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Controversy reigned supreme in Shepparton on Saturday evening as Goulburn Valley Suns collected their first victory of the campaign with a 3-1 defeat over regional rivals Murray United. The visitors took the lead inside the opening three minutes when influential forward Zac Walker scored the goal of the weekend by lobbing Muntadhar Al-Gazaly from just inside his own half, having caught the Suns shot-stopper off his goal line.
Yougnster Cooper Gosstray levelled just before the break after Shaun Kane’s initial shot deflected off the crossbar and into the path of the local youngster. Kane then scored his second of the season and in the process put Nick Kalafatis’ side in front as Murray were reduced to 10 men following Alex West’s sending off after a poor tackle on Suns midfielder Jamie England.
Substitute Alou Kuol then won a penalty which was converted by England, with United coach James Coutts blasting the standard of referee in his post-match comments to The Border Mail, labelling the officiating “nothing short of a disgrace”.
FT and GVS are the winners in the first derby 3v1. Well done to all.#PS4NPLVIC #GVSvMU pic.twitter.com/YjbXq4ANQh
— Murray United FC (@murrayunitedfc) February 25, 2017
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Box Hill’s spate of draws continued as United finally conceded a goal deep into injury time in a 1-1 draw with second-placed Dandenong Thunder at Wembley Park on Saturday afternoon. Greg Kassidas’ side were looking to open their scoring account for 2017, having been held to three scoreless draws in their opening three fixtures.
That deadlock was broken in the 34th minute when a foul in the penalty box saw United captain Thomas Lakic step up to put away the spot-kick and give United the lead. Thunder peppered the opposition goal for much of the afternoon but were frustrated as Keegan Coulter had another fantastic day in goals.
That resistance was broken however with the last kick of the match as a Brandon Barnes low cross was met by Thunder stalwart Veton Korcari at the front post for the equaliser as Gianfranco Impellizzeri’s men leapt into second place on the standings.