It was a thrilling final round of NPL Victoria action, with the relegation threatened clubs’ fates not determined until the last moment. It looked like Ballarat would hang on to survival by a thread, with Port Melbourne were losing 1-0 to Werribee with just seconds to go. They needed a point to leapfrog the Red Devils on the ladder, and the equaliser came in the 95th minute to seal a dramatic result and their top flight status for next season. The rest of the matches this round didn’t have as much bearing on the ladder, with the lack of urgency in some matches reflective of the guaranteed safety of other clubs.
Melbourne Knights 2 defeated Bentleigh Greens 0 at Knights Stadium
Melbourne Knights finished off a roller-coaster season on a high, putting away Bentleigh Greens 2-0. The result could have been much different had the visitors taken some of their early chances, with Wayne Wallace in particular profligate up front.
A rare Knights’ foray forward in the 31st minute resulted in a penalty, with Daniel Visevic converting the saved penalty that landed back at his feet. Joey Monek added a second goal seven minutes later from a brilliant Marijan Cvitkovic assist. The score would remain 2-0, as despite Bentleigh’s charges forward, a goal still eluded them, with Tom Matthews striking a late penalty kick into the post.
Hume City 0 defeated by Northcote City 1 at Broadmeadows Reserve
It was a dead rubber between two safe, mid-table sides, and it showed, as both sets of players seemed lax in their disposition. As a result, this contest was one for the purists.
Northcote did seem the more solid of both sides, but were denied twice early by Chris Oldfield. Chances were hard to come by, and it took until the 77th minute for young gun Wade Dekker to score the opener, which also proved to be the winner.
Green Gully 2 lost to Pascoe Vale 3 at Green Gully Reserve
An entertaining contest ended 3-2 in the visitors’ favour, with a Jake Nakic hat-trick driving home the victory. The big forward caught the hosts napping in just the second minute of the contest, waltzing through the defence and beating Kieran Gonzalez.
This woke Gully right up, as experienced campaigner Jeffrey Fleming struck the equaliser from distance. Osagie Ederaro added another goal just a minute later to swing the pendulum in the hosts’ favour. However, it was déjà vu after the break as Nakic again scored two minutes into the interval. He completed his hat-trick with a lob over the keeper in the 57th minute, and there would be no Gully revival this time as Pascoe Vale held on for a satisfying win.
Goulburn Valley Suns 1 defeated by South Melbourne 4 at McEwen Reserve
Top vs bottom played out in expected circumstances, with South Melbourne brushing aside Goulburn Valley 4-1.
A rout was on the cards just 12 minutes into the contest after Matt Theodore volleyed home a Milos Lujic cross, and Nick Epifano added a second goal for the visitors. The hosts did manage to stem the flow a bit, and got one back after half-time via Craig Carley. Lujic won and converted a penalty soon after to restore a two goal buffer, and Jamie Reed put the contest to bed just minutes before full-time with South’s fourth.
Port Melbourne Sharks 1 drew with Werribee City 1 at JL Murphy Reserve
Incredible scenes at Murphy Reserve, with a clutch Connor Reddan goal in the 95th minute equalizing the contest and ensuring Port Melbourne stay in the top flight next season.
With Port Melbourne needing a draw to stave off Ballarat in the safety zone, their task was made all the more difficult when Werribee’s Matt Cundari hit a long distance strike in off the crossbar in the 72nd minute. Port Melbourne huffed and puffed and blew the house down with virtually the last kick of the game when Lambros Honos dribbled his way into the box and laid off to Reddan for the tap-in, securing their survival in the process.
Heidelberg United 0 defeated by Dandenong Thunder 1 at Olympic Village
There was more late drama in the NPL as Dandenong Thunder won their clash with a 90th minute wonder goal, courtesy of centre back Sakhi Zada Faisal.
The rest of the contest was a patient game of keep ball for the most part, and it was an ultimately uninspiring contest. Alas, Faisal’s winner – which sealed Dandenong’s first victory over top-four opponents – was almost, ALMOST, worth the wait as he struck true from 30-yards before wheeling away in jubilation.
Oakleigh Cannons 2 defeated Ballarat Red Devils 0 at Jack Edwards Reserve
James Robinson’s spirited side may have left the state’s top flight after their inaugural season in the competition, but won plenty of admirers with their endeavor throughout the season.
Alas, it wasn’t mean to be, as two second half Oaleigh strikes to Dusan Bosnjak and Nate Foster helped seal the regional side’s fate for 2015.
NPL fixtures wrapped up by Mark Gojszyk (@hahahamark)
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It was a goal-fest this week in NPL 1, with 23 goals scored across the weekend’s seven fixtures.
Richmond maintained their strong late season form, defeating Brunswick City away, whilst the match of the round saw North Geelong face St Albans in a clash which would see the home side seal promotion with a win.
Meanwhile, Avondale Heights moved closer to clinching the title with a vital win at Springvale. Moreland, Box Hill, Bendigo and Sunshine were also victorious.
Brunswick City 1 defeated by Richmond SC 5 at Dunstan Reserve
Richmond took the lead early on through Seamus Carr’s own goal, and never looked back, with goals from Joshua Knight, Ryan Opperman and a brace from Rylan Sadler giving the visitors a 5-0 lead within 46 minutes.
Brunswick were better in the second half, and grabbed themselves a consolation goal through substitute Dimitri Vithoulkas. The match will perhaps be best remembered for the debut of 15-year-old Ryan Lambert for Richmond, who grabbed 2 assists off the bench.
North Geelong 1 defeated St Albans Saints 0 at Elcho Park.
In what was the most anticipated game of the round, second hosted third, and a goal 12 minutes from time by former St Albans player Mark Paleka was enough for North Geelong to see off St Albans. Both teams had their chances, and the result could have been very different had Nicholas Cullen not been denied by a stunning save from Warriors custodian Daniel Zilic. However, in a tight game, that was St Albans’ best chance, and the loss sees them slip to fifth place.
The result sees North Geelong promoted back to the premier division of Victorian football for the first time since 1997, a remarkable achievement considering the fact they were positioned in ninth place after ten rounds, before current manager Micky Colina took over.
Dandenong City 0 defeated by Moreland Zebras 3 at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex.
In a clash where both teams had nothing but pride to play for, one self-destructed, whilst the other was clinical. A frantic 15 minutes from Moreland score them score three, with a double either side of the half from Joel Nikolic followed by a goal from Nick Symeoy – returning from a trial at Melbourne City – confirming the Zebras’ comfortable 3-0 victory.
City had chances in the second half to get back into the match through Dario Matkovic and Goran Jozeljic, but imploded late on, with Steven Topalovic and Jozeljic both given their marching orders.
Springvale White Eagles 0 Defeated by Avondale Heights 3 at Serbian Sports Centre.
Knowing a win would, at worst, put them six points clear on top of the NPL 1 table with two rounds to play, Avondale travelled to Springvale, and produced a dominant display. A wonder strike from Daniel Slovacek eight minutes in got the ball rolling for the visitors, who doubled their lead through Zoran Pajic. Minutes later, Avondale put the game beyond the hosts, with Pajic’s defensive partner Michele Crazia adding a third. After the break Springvale were more threatening, and Slaven Vranesevic spurned a great chance to peg a goal back.
The result means that Avondale have all but secured the title, having already been promoted. They only need a point from the remaining two games to lift the NPL 1 trophy.
Box Hill United 3 Defeated Whittlesea Ranges 0 at Wembley Park
Whittlesea’s struggles in NPL 1 continued, with a stunning individual performance from Box Hill’s Alex Schroen ensuring the hosts enjoyed a dominant victory. Box Hill created a catalogue of chances in the opening half, with Chris Irwin and Rinor Muriqi both firing warning shots. However, it was Schroen who terrorised Whittlesea the most, netting a hat-trick. He opened the scoring early on, and added a second before half-time.
After the break, Whittlesea managed to create a chance at long last, but Josh Valadon could not connect cleanly from a corner. Schroen wrapped up his hat-trick in the shadows of full-time to compound Whittlesea’s misery. The win sees Box Hill rise to third in NPL 1.
FC Bendigo 3 Defeated Kingston City 1 at Epsom Huntly Recreation Reserve.
Bendigo continued their strong late season form, with a strong 3-1 win over Kingston City. A brace from Alon Blumgart, and a late goal from Josh Romein saw Bendigo record a second straight win. Blumgart opened the scoring for Bendigo early in the first half, before doubling the advantage in the 57th minute Romein put the game beyond doubt for the hosts with twelve minutes to play.
Maximillian Etheridge was able to pull one goal back for Kingston, but this would prove to be nothing more than mere consolation for the visitors, who had been outclassed for much of the match.
FC Bulleen Lions 0 Defeated by Sunshine George Cross 2 at David Barro Stadium
The travelling fans went home happy as Sunshine George Cross took all three points off Bulleen, with a penalty from Anthony Cassar and a beautiful long range strike from Chris Oghanna sealing the victory. Oghanna went close early, but his long range volley cannoned back off the crossbar. Cassar converted from the spot after Damian Rastocic was brought down in the box, and despite Bulleen’s best efforts, they went into the break trailing.
The home side had a great chance early on in the second, earning themselves a penalty, but Robert Santilli did well to deny Joseph Katebian from the spot. Despite dominating the half, Bulleen were made to pay the ultimate price, with Oghanna finding space on the edge of the box, and his stunning strike left Glen Tapia in the Lions’ goal with no chance, and made the game safe for Sunshine.
NPL fixtures wrapped up by Marc Sudholz (@marc014)
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An enthrawling final round of the WPL saw both finals and relegation action go right to the wire. Sandringham and Heidelberg both won their first match of the week, which set up a season defining final clash on the Wednesday night which essentially played out as a pre-final final. The Bergers nabbed a draw to progress.
The other sub-plot saw Ashburton and Cairnlea fight for their Premier League status. It was the latter that won out in the end as they toppled Casey Comets 1-0, with Cairnlea ironically losing to South Melbourne by the same margin.
To top it all off, we had the madness of Bundoora and Box Hill which saw Bundy take an astonishing SEVEN goal lead into half-time.
The other match of the round – the ultimate dead rubber – saw Bulleen get a neat finals warm up, accounting for the NTC girls four goals to zip.
Bundoora United 7 defeated Box Hill United 0 at Hillsview Recreation Reserve
It all came together for Bundoora against the side that’s held together that mid-table spot on the ladder all season. Box Hill were outclassed by Curo and co. as the Albanian striker netter a quick fire hat-trick to lead her side to a whopping seven goal lead. Did I mention that this was all within the first 40 minutes of the clash?
Enza Barilla and Louisa Bisby – via a lovely free-kick – got the ball rolling early as the pair netted in the third and seventh minute respectively. Livewire winger Stacey Papadopoulos added a third soon after as she profited from a goalmouth scramble.
Elly Curo netted her first in the 24th minute before Padiki Dade made it five from five different scorers just beyond the hour mark.
Curo then sealed the hat-trick with two goals in two minutes.
South Melbourne 1 defeated Cairnlea FC 0 at Lakeside Stadium
It had to happen, one of Cairnlea or Ashburton would be joining Monbulk Rangers in the second tier of Victorian women’s football next season. Knowing in the build up to their crunch match against South Melbourne that they’d simply need to match Ashburton’s result against Casey, the mobiles would’ve no doubt been on stand-by to update the away side on any goalmouth action.
In the end however, Ashburton remained a WPL side by the skin of their teeth, as they trumped Casey 1-0, while Cairnlea – however spirited – were downed by minor premiers South Melbourne.
They made it extremely tough for their more fancied opponents, creating much more in their forward half without that little bit of luck going their way. Defender Kara Theodorou hit the crossbar with her first half attempt and in the end it was as close as they got.
Rhea Schreuder hit Cairnlea with the sucker punch quickly from the restart to seal a narrow 1-0 win, and with it, the fate of their opponents.
Monbulk Rangers 0 defeated by Sandringham 2 at Monbulk Recreation Reserve
Sandringham and Heidelberg both played out their penultimate match at the same time on Saturday, and with finals hinging on a victory against the lowly Monbulk, Sandy delivered the goods with a 2-0 victory away from home.
It wasn’t the prettiest of wins as the away side failed to gain a foothold in the contest in the first half. It took until five minutes into the second term when Emma Runnalls broke the deadlock with a deadly header that we’ve come to expect from the forward. When Steph Tanti slotted home a sealer 15 minutes from time, the game was as good as done for Sandringham. For Monbulk, it was their final foray into the WPL for at least another year.
It was hard fought but the three points were the only thing that mattered, which ensured the final position in that finals series would go right down to the wire.
Heidelberg United 4 defeated Boroondara Eagles 2 at Olympic Village
As mentioned, Heidelberg also had a game to play out parallel to Sandringham, but they had the unenviable task of coming up against the Boroondara Eagles.
Midfielder Michelle Verzi was the one to step up to the plate for the Bergers, dishing out a spectacular hat-trick to see her side win by two goals. She opened the scoring late in the first half, only to see Emma Hubbard equalise right on the stroke of the half.
Two more to the American in the second half – split by a goal to fellow Yank Kendra Jones – set up the three points, which was soured only by Ellen Turner’s late consolation.
FFV U17 Girls 0 defeated by FC Bulleen Lions 4 at State Football Centre
Casey Comets 0 defeated by Ashburton Women’s 1 at Comets Stadium
Sandringham SC 1 drew Heidelberg United 1 at Kingston Heath
In to do-or-die clash for both sides in their battle for finals football, it was Heidelberg who went home the happier of the two sides, despite only fashioning a draw. The home side required a win to overtake Heidelberg, with goal difference splitting the two teams. When marauding wing-back Emma Robers put them 1-0 up, it seemed as if an unlikely finals resurgence was on for the Kingston Heath based side.
Alina Kapusa’s blinder on Wednesday quickly became a blunder as she bundled into her own net on the hour mark to see the Bergers make up the final spot in the top five.
WPL fixtures wrapped up by Jordan Lim (@JordanLim24)