Photo: Mark Avellino
Having spent almost two days knocked off their perch atop the NPL Victoria ladder after Bentleigh Greens’ win on Friday night, South Melbourne returned to top spot after a 1-0 win over FC Bulleen Lions.
It was Marcus Schroen who struck the only goal of the contest, coming in the 15th minute from close range.
A hamstring injury to the far linesman, prompting a switch of officials proved a rare talking point in the first half, so it proved for the full 90 minutes.
For South, it didn’t matter how it came, but they did just enough to regain top spot.
Saturday’s fixtures saw both Richmond SC and Oakleigh Cannons feature in the league for the first time in a fortnight, after their meeting was postponed last weekend.
Richmond however featured in the FFA Cup mid-week and despite a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Hume City, the 90 minutes of competitive football seemed to do them the world of good as they left opponents Melbourne Victory further anchored to the bottom of the NPL ladder, after a 3-1 win at Epping Stadium.
All four goals came in the first half, as Richmond got off to a flyer, with winger Alex Caniglia netting the opener after just two minutes.
Souheil Azagane doubled the visitor’s advantage by poking home from close range – his first goal for his new club.
A reckless tackle from Bryan Bran – who was involved in Azagane’s goal – saw the Victory go to the spot, with John Maclean finishing on 43 minutes.
However, midfielder Jake Barker-Daish, donning the captains armband for the afternoon, was able to restore the two goal buffer with a brilliant free-kick on the stroke of half time.
Despite a few more opportunities at either end, the scores remained locked at 3-1, which saw Richmond move to within four points of definite safety, currently occupying the play-off relegation spot.
Oakleigh too looked fresh as they hit the front early against Hume City, however they were overrun by their opponent’s attacking outlet’s in a 3-1 loss at ABD Stadium.
It was Dusan Bosnjak who hit home his sixth goal in five games to give Oakleigh the lead within just eight minutes, having seen an earlier chance saved by Chris Oldfield.
Craig Carley found the back of the net for a third consecutive game in Hume colours to restore parity, putting home the rebound from Nick Hegarty’s initial shot.
Kristian Trajceski put Hume into the lead just before the half hour mark, while the Cannons hit back just before half-time, only for their goal to be scrapped after an offside flag.
Plenty of chances flowed at either end, however it was Carley at it again to seal the contest with just over 15 minutes remaining, which put Hume temporarily over Heidelberg United and Green Gully into third place.
Those two teams faced off on Sunday afternoon, with the winner rewarded with a return to that spot in third.
However the two side’s 1-1 draw at Olympic Village kept them locked at 30 points along with Hume, with the Bergers currently ahead on goal difference.
The hosts hit the lead courtesy of an own goal to Roddy Vargas just eight minutes into the opening half.
Similarly, the second half also saw an early goal, coming through Liam Boland in the 52nd minute, heading home from close range.
Heidelberg’s first choice ‘keeper Chris Theodoridis came off due to an apparent calf injury, which saw the club utilise a fifth goalkeeper for the season in Chris Davis, all of whom have appeared in front of the home crowd at Olympic Village.
Substitute Reuben Way was sent off late in the tie, as the game petered out to a draw.
The other game of the round saw Melbourne Knights claim a 1-0 victory over Port Melbourne, in a second meeting between the two sides this week.
Their last meeting ended in a 2-0 win to the Knights, which saw the former NSL side qualify to the FFA Cup Round of 32 for the second time since its inception.
Minus their captain and vice captain in Milan Batur and Stipo Andrijacevic, the Knights secured their first league win in three starts, courtesy of a goal to fullback Nick Glavan.
The second half goal was enough to move the Knights over Port Melbourne into seventh, and still in reaching distance of finals football.