We start this week’s wrap with Round 9 action of the NPL, and it was basically the same story at the top of the table, with South Melbourne extending their lead with yet another win to add to their perfect run, after Oakleigh had stumbled to a draw with Northcote City.
Heidelberg are the other form team of the competition, hanging onto third spot after a narrow win over Melbourne Knights, who have spiralled down the table themselves. Only Pascoe Vale and Goulburn Valley Suns sit below the Knights, and the Suns’ actually gained a big point at home to Bentleigh Greens.
The middle of the table remains congested, with teams continually taking points off each other. We start with one of these clashes which was played out at JL Muphy Reserve on Friday night.
Port Melbourne 1-1 Hume City at JL Murphy Reserve
Both sides will be wondering how on earth the match only finished 1-1 given the amount of goalmouth action both teams enjoyed throughout the contest.
Lambros Honos put the hosts in front just before the break after latching onto Kevin Braniff’s ball over the top, then leaving a defender for dead and smashing the ball into the roof of the net. Shane Rexhepi managed an equaliser by bundling home a header from a free kick on the hour mark, and that was all the scoring done for the night as both sides had to settle for a point.
WATCH > Match Highlights (FFV TV)
Ballarat Red Devils 3-2 Green Gully at Morshead Park
It proved to be third time lucky for Ballarat, who finally won their first NPL match at their new home ground. Dane Milovanovic was the hero, with a couple of spot kicks making up his brace, the first of which opened the scoring in the 13th minute.
Having to weather quite a storm from Green Gully, Ballarat managed to pull two goals ahead when Liam Harding converted Pat Karras’ cutback in the 64th minute. But two goal leads are always dangerous and Green Gully hit back with substitute Stephen Downes first pulling a goal back, then Ratip Cileli equalised with just four minutes remaining after making the most of a goalmouth scramble. Milovanovic did have the last laugh though, converting his dubious penalty to delight the home faithful for the first time.
Goulburn Valley Suns 1-1 Bentleigh Greens at McEwen Reserve
It was a tale of two penalties in Shepparton, as Craig Carley scored yet another spot kick to earn his side their first draw of the season.
Bentleigh had ‘keeper Alistair Bray sent off for tripping Carley outside the box just after the break, but were actually the side who broke the deadlock in the 64th minute when Brent McGrath dispatched a penalty. The Suns hit straight back though, and Carley made no mistake from the spot just five minutes later, to keep him on top of the scorers charts.
Oakleigh Cannons 1-1 Northcote City at Jack Edwards Reserve
Oakleigh picked a bad week to slip up at home, as they couldn’t hold onto their narrow lead against Northcote City. Nate Foster had put the hosts in front with a lovely chip, but his teammates were unable to follow his lead and find the back of the net.
Northcote came out strong in the second half, but it took until the 73rd minute before substitute Wade Dekker found the back of the net for the equaliser. The result has halted Northcote’s pattern of results, and it also meant Oakleigh have fallen six points behind South Melbourne.
South Melbourne 1-0 Pascoe Vale at Lakeside Stadium
A sole strike to Mathew Theodore in the 25th minute was enough for South Melbourne to secure all three points on Sunday evening, and preserve their record perfect start to the season.
The midfielder was teed up by Iqi Jawadi after a funky bounce bamboozled Pascoe Vale’s defence as their tried to clear their lines. Stefaan Sardelic’s acrobatics ensured there was no change to the scoreline before the break, and the hosts just couldn’t fashion any real clear cut chances in the second as the match ended in a narrow 1-0 win.
WATCH > Match Highlights (SMFC TV)
Dandenong Thunder 0-3 Werribee City at George Andrews Reserve
Werribee pulled off somewhat of an upset at George Andrews Reserve on Sunday evening, beating the more fancied hosts who came in to the match on the back of a big win against Northcote.
The home side dominated proceedings for much of the first hour, but paid for their profligacy in front of goal when Steven Cudrig headed in a corner in the 69th minute. Werribee extended their lead six minutes later when Joshua Groenewald finished off a Ryan Filipovic cross, then rounded out the result in the 80th minute after Bobby Vidanoski made Dandenong pay for not clearing their lines.
READ MORE > Ragusa: The boys were fantastic
Heidelberg United 1-0 Melbourne Knights
Heidelberg maintained their status as the other form side of the competition after another home win, this time against the Melbourne Knights.
While Daniel Heffernan has been the player who’s caused all the damage for the Bergers so far this season, it wasn’t to be his day as Chris May produced a series of saves to deny the top scorer and his partner in crime, Kaine Sheppard. In the end, with defending more akin to court jesters at set pieces, the Knights paid the price for not properly clearing their lines earlier on, and Ivan Grgic’s own goal just rubbed salt into the wounds of a team who’s now lost seven straight matches.
WATCH > Match Highlights (Knights TV)
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In NPL 1 action, it was all about St Albans as they responded to the news of their 3 point docking with a hard fought victory over Moreland. Elsewhere, Avondale and Brunswick extended their gaps at the top and bottle of the table respectively, the struggling Richmond and Dandenong City earned some much needed wins, while Springvale scored three goals in 10 minutes to overcome a two goal deficit and pip Kingston City at the post.
Richmond 1-0 Whittlesea Ranges at Kevin Bartlett Reserve
Kevin Bartlett Reserve was a sanctuary of happiness again for Richmond who ended weeks of turmoil with a scrappy 1-0 win over Whittlesea Ranges. A scoreless opening half was not lacking in action, as Tom Cahill flashed a header wide from point blank range in the first minute, while Whittlesea’s Matthew Iuliano hit the woodwork down the other end.
The second half saw many chances fashioned, but little in the way of finishing, as two sides devoid of confidence kept pushing for that elusive goal. It would be Richmond to break the deadlock through Hamlet Armenian in the 79th minute, holding on for a tough victory.
Bulleen Lions 5-0 Brunswick City at Dunstan Reserve
A hapless Brunswick stay firmly rooted at the bottom of the NPL 1 ladder after succumbing to a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Bulleen. After going almost a whole half without conceding, Joseph Katebian struck the first dagger in the hearts of City a couple of minutes before the break.
The floodgates opened in the second half, with Paul Harvey scoring a brace and additions from Alex Dao and Joshua Sabidussi blowing the result out to 5-0. Brunswick now sit four points clear at the bottom of the ladder.
Springvale White Eagles 3-2 Kingston City at Serbian Sports Centre
A scoreless 60 opening minutes of this encounter were interrupted abruptly by consecutive goals to Kingston through Max Etheridge and Gino Defeo. One may have thought the visitors would go on to win easily due to Springvale’s inconsistency this season, but the “2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline in football” adage held true in this instance.
After Jamie De Smit gave the home side a glimmer of hope with a 25-yard wonder strike 15 minutes from time, young star Vojo Milojevic’s blistering speed earned a penalty when he was dragged down in the box, which Abel Fesseha calmly converted. Up stepped Milojevic again, volleying home just before time, sending the Springvale crowd into a frenzy.
Dandenong City 2-1 Sunshine George Cross at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex
A Goran Jozeljic brace in the first half was just enough to get the underachieving Dandenong City over the line against Sunshine, ending their recent dry spell with a much-needed win.
In this instance, the “2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline in football” adage didn’t hold true, just. Sunshine’s Delfin Mosibe scored a penalty in the 82nd minute, and moments later had the chance to equalise from the spot again, but his effort was saved by Marko Stevanja, sparing the home side’s blushes.
North Geelong Warriors 0-1 Avondale Heights at Elcho Park
North Geelong were unlucky to lose this game against the table topper, spurning three chances early in the game before the prolific Opeksij Khrapko scored against the run of play for the visitors in the 25th minute.
In a fiery encounter with more biff than bang, a number of incidents led to mini-mêlées, a player injury and a penalty shout. Avondale would hold on for the scrappy 1-0 win, which coach Anthony Barbieri described as their “probably our worst performance of the year,” but there’s no denying Avondale are the in-form team at the moment, extending their lead to four points at the top of the NPL 1 ladder.
Box Hill United 3-0 FC Bendigo at Wembley Park
This game saw no surprises as Box Hill eased to a 3-0 win over Bendigo. The home side was looking ominous early, as Josh Valadon nodded home the opener from a corner in the 13th minute. While former Victory and Heart man Seb Mattei kept the visitors in the game with a string of important saves throughout the game, he could do nothing to prevent Box Hill’s main danger men Kenny Athiu and Rinor Muriqi from adding two more goals just before the final whistle with fine finishes.
St. Albans Saints 2-1 Moreland Zebras at Churchill Reserve
St Albans ended a tumultuous week on a positive note with a 2-1 win over Moreland, with the main highlight being a clutch overhead scissor kick from Sean Mcilroy to win the game in the 87th minute.
Just days after the club found out they had been docked three NPL 1 points for not fielding an under-13s side a month prior, the Saints responded in the best way possible when Ryan McGuffie hit a low strike from outside the box in the 7th minute. Simon Tolli equalized for the Zebras in the 64th minute, and with time running out, up stepped Mcilroy with a hit most aptly described by coach Toby Paterson on Facebook:
READ MORE > St Albans boss lambasts FFV
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The Women’s Premier League took a break this week as the teams that remained in the Women’s State Knockout Cup played their Round 3 fixtures.
There were a couple of notable upsets, with Warragul United surprising their much more fancied opponents in Preston Lions with a 2-1 win, while Boroondara were bundled out by Melbourne University.
It was comfortable wins elsewhere, and here is a low-down on the match that we were able to cover.
Box Hill United 0-3 Heidelberg United at State Football Centre (DISC)
Heidelberg United pulled off a convincing win against Box Hill United on Sunday afternoon, with both sides fielding younger squads due to injuries and other commitments.
The nominated visitors were in control of the contest from start to finish, and went ahead in the 20th minute thanks to a fine strike by Kendra Jones, and the American winger doubled her tally just before the break after pouncing on a defensive lapse. Box Hill were better after the break but conceded their third just past the hour when Holly Tsalikidis tapped in after United failed to clear their lines.
MATCH REPORT > Bergers trump United in Cup
READ MORE > Shaw targets steady improvement
> Youngsters step up for Bergers
Boroondara 1-2 Melbourne University at Knox Regional Football Centre
A brace from Keryn Walters helped Melbourne University cause a cup upset when they beat Boroondara on Sunday evening. The forward struck early with a fine run and finish and Melbourne Uni continued to put pressure on their more fancied opponents.
Boroondara did come out stronger after the break and equalised when Emma Hubbard slotted the ball into the bottom corner from just inside the 18 yard box, but they were once again stung by Walters who unleashed a curling effort into the top corner after another mazy run. Hubbard came close to forcing extra time when she had a header hit the post, but it wasn’t to be for the Eagles, who have now been bundled out of the cup.
MATCH REPORT > Boroondara bundle out of Cup
READ MORE > Koutroulis: No shame in Cup defeat
Bulleen Lions 7-0 Eltham Redbacks at Veneto Club
It was a simple task for Bulleen on Monday night as they made light work of their State League 2 North West opponents Eltham Redbacks. Elise Manassa gave the Lions an early lead before Emily Coppock scored a brace before the first half came to a close.
Alyssia Blewonski made it four in the 65th minute with a powerful effort, and Dani Gudelj then made it five, in the 70th minute before Tayla Mure scored one of her own to make it six. Gudelj rounded out the scoring five minutes from the end and secured not only her brace for the night, but passage for Bulleen into the Quarter Finals.
MATCH REPORT > Bulleen ease into Cup Quarter Final
Sandringham 3-0 Monbulk Rangers at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Monbulk were unable to cause a cup upset on Tuesday, as they fell 3-0 to Sandringham who made the most of their chances on the night.
Emma Runnalls put the hosts in front after rounding the ‘keeper to keep up her goalscoring form, but the first half became more of a midfield battle with both sides proving tough to break down. Sandringham did come out stronger after the break though and scored two goals in five minutes with an hour played. Elaina Vatcky also continued her fine form with the second goal and the result was rounded out by Annabelle Gibney.
MATCH REPORT > Monbulk crashes out of State Knockout Cup
Other results:
Preston Lions 1-2 Warragul United
Melbourne Knights ? – ? South Melbourne WFC (was 0-7 after half an hour)
Lara SC 0-7 Bundoora United
Essendon Royals 3-5 Brighton SC
The draw has also been made for the Quarter Finals and they are:
South Melbourne (WPL) vs Bundoora United (WPL)
A tough draw for two sides with genuine ambitions of winning as much as they can, will certainly be intriguing to see who comes out on top, especially with South having beaten Bundoora 3-2 recently in the WPL.
Sandringham (WPL) vs Brighton SC (SL1)
Somewhat of a local derby, and Brighton will be harbouring ambitions of an upset against their near-neighbours. Sandringham will be a tough outfit to beat though, especially with a title to defend.
Heidelberg United (WPL) vs Bulleen Lions (WPL)
Yet more WPL opposition for Heidelberg United, and it doesn’t come tougher than the in-form side in the league at the minute. Bulleen have struck a groove with their attractive gameplay, but will have to do it against a Heidelberg United side who can be tricky on the counter attack.
Melbourne University (SL1) vs Warragul United (SL4S)
This fixture ensures there will be a lower league representative in the semi finals and Melbourne University are odds on favourite for this clash after upsetting Boroondara Eagles. But they need to be wary of Warragul who has beaten Point Cook, Darebin Falcons and Preston Lions to get this far.
So it looks like being another enticing round in the cup, and we will try to bring you coverage of all the fixtures if possible! For now, it’s goodbye for another week.