This week in NPL Victoria action saw the runaway train that is South Melbourne continue their rampant run in stunning fashion, notching up their 11th win in a row by defeating Dandenong Thunder 5-0. This was the same side that kept South scoreless over the 90 minutes for the first time all season in their 1-0 extra-time Dockerty Cup loss midweek.
Elsewhere, we had ‘FC Oakleighlona’ return to winning ways against Werribee – god bless Miron – with a 2-0 result at Jack Edwards Reserve, whilst Bentleigh ensured the blemish of a winless month of football wasn’t to be as they overcame Port Melbourne on the Friday night.
Heidelberg lost ground on the top two after their 1-1 draw with Northcote City, whilst there was losses for the leagues bottom three sides; The Knights losing narrowly away to Green Gully, Ballarat going down 3-1 to Hume City and a loss for nine-man Goulburn Valley against Pascoe Vale.
Port Melbourne Sharks 2 defeated by Bentleigh Greens 4 at JL Murphy Reserve
It was panic stations for Bentleigh who’s torrid month had seen them pick up the equal least amount of points for the month of May leading into the clash against Port Melbourne. Three losses, with just the solitary draw snuck between them, was enough to see the Greens drift from title hopefuls to a club making up the numbers.
Regardless, it was a return to form as they got the better of Port Melbourne to propel themselves back into the top four. They did have to do it the hard way however as Port Melbourne took the lead twice through a Nicholas Krousoratis header and a Lambros Honos goal on the 40 minute mark. Twice did Bentleigh claw back as McGrath nabbed his first to make it 1-1 with Ross Archibald also netting to make it 2-2. Another McGrath strike and a late Dave Stirton goal rounded off the result.
Green Gully 1 defeated Melbourne Knights 0 at Green Gully Reserve
Green Gully did it easy against the struggling Knights, with the 1-0 score line perhaps a bit flattering for the visitors. Christopher May’s stellar season in goals continued as he single-handedly at times kept his side in the contest. In the end it was a Roddy Vargas tap in which settled the match, propelling Gully into mid-table.
Ballarat Red Devils 1 defeated by Hume City 3 at Morshead Park Stadium
With the completion of Ballarat’s new home stadium came a sense of hope for those associated with the club. Whilst we’re not exactly saying that hope is dashed, it’s fast fading as the Red Devils slumped to another defeat to make it three losses from four at Morshead. With a whopping run of six home games in a row to come, Ballarat would’ve been looking to establish their turf as a fortress and their 3-1 loss to Hume has done little to help the cause.
The visitors leapt out of the blocks early, lead by their Melbourne Victory youth trio with Cristopher Cristaldo playing the ball into the path of forward Anthony Proia to slot home in the 8th minute. Hume struck again in the 29th minute, this time through Johnny Buceto, with CC again providing the silver service. A Richie Cardozo header made it 3-0 before Petar Franjic netted a second own goal in two games in what can only be described as a very convincing Richard Dunne impression. Sources close to the club say his act won’t be winning the club talent show any time soon.
Goulburn Valley Suns 0 defeated by Pascoe Vale SC 2 at McEwan Reserve
Pascoe Vale gave themselves some breathing space at the bottom end of the ladder after their 2-0 win over the Goulburn Valley Suns. With relegation to the NPL 1 looking more and more likely for the Shepparton based club, things will need to fall into place pretty quickly if they plan on plying their trade with the big boys next season.
Jonathan Voulgaris was the man to put the Suns to the sword, cutting in off the right wing to slot home two goals before the home side completely capitulated with two player seeing red, Stipo Adrijasevic and Frank Lagana the unfortunate pair to depart.
Oakleigh Cannons 2 defeated Werribee City 0 at Jack Edwards Reserve
There’s no doubting that Miron Bleiberg would’ve been in a much better mood following this weeks 2-0 score line. Oakleigh put behind the disappointment of last week to dispatch the unpredictable Werribee City at home, thanks to goals from Nate Foster and Dom D’Angelo.
The Bee’s had the chance to equalise from the spot with the score sitting at 1-0 in the second half but Daniel Sweeney’s poor effort was gobbled up by John Honos in the Cannons goal.
The result is enough to maintain pressure on the ladder leaders South Melbourne, who are yet to slip up. Speaking of which…
READ MORE > Foster enjoying life at Oakleigh & Ragusa looking to transfer window
South Melbourne 5 defeated Dandenong Thunder 0 at Lakeside Stadium
South Melbourne have been a class above the competition this year but they had to survive a massive scare in their Dockerty Cup clash with Dandenong Thunder last Wednesday. The score was locked at 0-0 come the end of the 90 minutes, and with time running out in extra-time, South managed to steal a late winner to keep their 2014 winning streak alive. Just.
Fast forward four days and they were faced with their biggest threat to their perfect record, a second clash with the Thunder. The club sure didn’t play that way, making a mockery of the script and dispatching their opponents 5-0 whilst simultaneously sending a clear message to the rest of the comp.
South amassed their 11th win straight that day, with five different goal scorers contributing to the blowout margin. Milos Lujic took his season tally to nine goals after opening the scoring in the 41st minute. Further strikes to Matthew Theodore and Tyson Holmes saw the score blow out to 3-0. Substitute James Musa slotted home late to add salt to the wounds before Jamie Reed made it five goals from the penalty spot.
Heidelberg United 1 drew with Northcote City 1 at Olympic Village
A tight affair saw Heidelberg and Northcote cancel each other out in the rounds solitary draw. City opened the scoring through right back Kristian Konstantinidis, whose belter from 30-yards left Warriors keeper Ryan Norval no chance.
With time ticking down, it appeared for all money that Northcote would earn a vital away win, but Kaine Sheppard had other ideas. Whilst Dan Heffernan may be earning the plaudits for his fruitful season in front of goals, Sheppard has worked equally hard, and his 86th minute equaliser was just reward for a fine evenings work. His sixth goal of the season was a combination of timing and expert finishing, as he nailed his shot into the bottom right hand corner.
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It was the weekend where Heidelberg joined the leading pack as they defeated Box Hill on Friday night to move level on points with Sandringham, who lost to Bulleen on a wet Monday night.
Bundoora continued their recent form with a good away win at Casey, while Boroondara did likewise against struggling Monbulk.
South Melbourne dispatched Ashburton on the Sunday, while Cairnlea managed to stave off the NTC U17 Girls to pick up three important points.
Casey Comets 1-4 Bundoora United at Comets Stadium
It was another loss for Casey, who were probably just unlucky to run into a red hot Bundoora without their captain Laura Croft. Enza Barilla took charge of the contest with a hat trick, scoring the first two and final goal of the night.
The home side did have a bit of hope when Tayla Vlaeminck’s long shot flew past Tori Snelleksz to pull the score back to 2-1, but after Amanda Lawless scored, Bundoora simply saw out the game and recorded a convincing victory.
Monbulk Rangers 0-4 Boroondara Eagles at Monbulk Recreation Reserve
Ever since Emily Hulbert cracked in a stunning winner against the NTC back in April, Monbulk have failed to trouble the scorers, and have been beaten heavily in four out of their five games (including this). The Rangers have struggled to find an avenue to goal, despite plenty of good lead up play, and it was the same story against Boroondara.
Despite showing some good signs, the hosts were conceding chances to their opponents and went behind after Boroondara took a deserved lead as Emma Hubbard headed in from a corner just before half time. It took a while before the Eagles scored again, but once Racheal Quigley scored from Ash Callaghan’s pinpoint cross, they struck a groove and put two more past Monbulk courtesy of Aliesha Newman and Alex Gummer.
Box Hill United 0-2 Heidelberg United at Wembley Park
This particular matchup never fails to deliver, and Heidelberg made it two out of two wins against Box Hill in league and cup this season after overcoming a couple of real scares in the match.
In just the second minute of the game, Ruby Foottit found herself clean through on goal, only to be foiled at her feet by Kelsey Quinn, then the rebound from that ended up back in Foottit’s path, but Quinn once again dived to prevent the surefire goal. That was not it however as the rebound from that shot landed in front of Jasmina Pedic, whose curling shot looked destined for the goal before it hit the post! It was truly unbelievable.
Box Hill would pay for that too, as Melanie Camilleri headed in from a corner on the stroke of halftime. The hosts came out firing in the second half, but seemed to have the yips in front of goal as Natalie Exon missed a tap in from Ellie Brush’s dangerous cross. In the end, Heidelberg sealed the points when Michelle Verzi curled in a finish with ten minutes remaining.
READ MORE > Week off, Familiar Face boosts Box Hill United
Ashburton 0-3 South Melbourne at Lakeside Stadium
Winless Ashburton fell to yet another loss, this time to South Melbourne on a wet and windy afternoon at Ashburton Park. A brace from Jessica Au before the break did most of the damage, in a game where chances were few and far between as a plucky home side was determined to make life difficult for their opponents.
Ashburton did actually cause South Melbourne some problems after the break, going close through youngster Melina Ayres and winger Brittany Thomas, but in the end they couldn’t find a goal to bring them back into the game and South clinched the points when Tiffany Eliadis scored eight minutes from time.
Cairnlea 2-1 FFV U17 Girls at Cairnlea Park
It was a case of missed opportunities for the development side, as Cairnlea held on to their lead the second time around to pick up three important points in what’s turning out to be a table for the best of the rest.
Zoe Stamatopoulos got her second in as many games to kickstart the match, but it was the NTC who had most of the running in the game. After quite the assault on goal, they finally got the equaliser they were searching for when Emily Harbis found the back of the net.
Cairnlea came out after half time eager to restore their lead, and did so through Bridie Kean’s impressive strike on the hour. It was enough as the NTC were unable to put their chances away, which actually is beginning to be a bit of a theme across the league!
READ MORE > Performances focus for Cairnlea & NTC looking at long term goal
Bulleen Lions 4-1 Sandringham at Veneto Club
Bullen coach Bob McGuinness had prophesied a hammering for one of their upcoming opponents and while the score read 4-1, it could have been a lot uglier for Sandringham in the end.
Player of the Month Lia Privitelli got the ball rolling in the first half with a fine strike, before Sandringham hit back through Emma Runnalls. The hosts didn’t really kick on until after the break, as a shrewd tactical decision from McGuinness opened up the contest and the floodgates (not literally, it wasn’t that wet!).
Cindy Lay kickstarted a run of three goals in eight minutes with a sweetly struck shot from outside the box to punish the Sandringham defence, while Liana Iaconis ghosted into the box to tap in Olivia Ellis’ cross a couple of minutes later. Privitelli completed the scoring after Kapusta had dropped the ball, which really summed up Sandringham’s night. It could have been worse still, with Dani Gudelj and Iaconis missed gilt edged chances to score.
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Richmond SC 2 defeated St Alban Saints 0 at Kevin Bartlett Reserve
Richmond suddenly find themselves in with a chance of promotion after earning a third straight win at the expense of St Alban Saints, who would’ve been harbouring their own ambitions of playing in the NPL next season.
Tim Purcell opened the scoring in the first half with a neat individual goal, shimmying past a defender before slotting into the bottom corner. Club captain Tom Cahill put the game to bed in the 65th minute after being the lucky recipient of a wayward Stjepan Gal goal-kick, which cannoned off the forward and into the net.
Avondale Heights 1 defeated Box Hill United 0 at Avondale Heights Reserve
Avondale Heights are sitting pretty atop the NPL1 ladder, after extending their winning run to eight games. With their lead now sitting at an even two games over the chasing pack, it appears the title is all but there’s to lose.
They did it tough against Box Hill United who themselves missed the chance to keep up with the leading pack. Much like the game itself, the goal that separated the two sides was scrappy. With a cross coming into the box, NPL1 leading goal scorer Opeksiy Khrapko was there to meet it and after some initial trouble, he eventually cleared his feet to slot home.
Brunswick City 1 defeated by Kingston City 5 at Dunstan Reserve
A brace of braces for Kingston as they compiled more pain onto Brunswick’s horror year to date. Two goals each to Max Etheridge and big man Gino Defeo were enough to push City towards a comfortable victory.
It was Brunswick who took the lead, much to everyone’s surprise as Nick Terezakis hit a long range strike into the back of the net, with a little assistance from a deflection. Kingston’s George Stavridis levelled proceedings, connecting cleanly with a cross to make it 1-1. Gino Defeo had his first nine minutes before half time, and had his second in the latter stages of the second stanza. Etheridge netted his brace in quick time, with his goals sandwiched in between.
MATCH REPORT > Brunswick City’s difficult NPL1 introduction continues
North Geelong Warriors 0 defeated by Moreland Zebras 1 at Elcho Park
Moreland Zebras took a valuable three points home with them following the long trip over to Geelong to battle the Warriors. The solitary goal was enough to separate the two sides in an even contest.
Nick Symeon’s third minute strike gave the Zebras a platform for success, to which they defended like their lives depended on it. North Geelong had their chances but ultimately it was Moreland’s heart which prevailed, giving them their first away win of the season.
Dandenong City 2 drew with Whittlesea Ranges 2 at Frank Holohan Reserve
A surprisingly entertaining affair was played out between 10th and 12th place on the NPL1 ladder on Saturday, with City pegging back a two-goal deficit to earn a point at home. Despite having the better of the play, they lacked a finishing touch – to put it very, very kindly – with a strong contender for miss of the season taking place inside the first 20 minutes.
Goals on the counter to Daniel Peluso and Kliment Dimitrieski put Whittlesea up in the first half before Dandenong made their late surge. Substitute Daniel Giogha was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box, just minutes after making his way onto the pitch. Alex Rojas made no mistake. Fleet footed winger Keegan Ziada drew level with his effort in the 69th minute. On another day he could’ve had a hat-trick, given the quality chances he created for himself.
READ MORE > Duzel: We had our chances
READ MORE > Carroll: We’re not there mentally
Springvale White Eagles 0 drew with Sunshine George Cross 0 at White Eagles Stadium
Rather than finding ways of scoring, it seemed as if both sides were trying to finding ways of missing in their stalemate on Saturday afternoon. Springvale had all the running in the first half, but Dejan Erakovic and Keletso Mthembu were the major culprits in front of goal, missing some gilt edged chances to break the deadlock.
In the second half, it was Sami Nour who had the best chances for the visitors, initially missing a simple one on one before hitting the crossbar with another chance later in the game. Abel Fesseha forced Georgies keeper Nabi Tuna into a fine save as well, and in the end both keepers would have been pleased with a clean sheet.
READ MORE > Mihajlovic not happy with point
FC Bulleen Lions 3 defeated FC Bendigo 1 at David Barro Stadium
Bulleen had the chance to move into second spot on the NPL1 ladder after witnessing Sunshine fail to gain maximum points just moments before kick-off. They didn’t disappoint, putting Bendigo to the sword to slip nicely behind run away leaders Avondale Heights. As for their opponents Bendigo, they slipped down to second last after Moreland’s win and the point to the Ranges.
The home side got off to a poor start after George Slefendorfas capitalised on some poor defending to give Bendigo a shock lead. Parity was restored soon after through Alex Dao who was on hand to tap in after Paul Harvey’s initial shot. NPL1’s player of the month Joey Katebian played his hand in his sides final two goals of the game, with his corner resulting in a penalty for handball on the line, before he fired home his ninth goal of the season in the 83rd minute to seal the three points.
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It may be the off-season in the A-League but there is still plenty of news to fill you in on!
In the biggest news this week, Melbourne City have not only changed their name but have also announced David Villa as a guest signing following the forward joining American sister club New York City FC. The announcements headlined the club’s big bang in which they also unveiled their new kit which will be white with a small navy and sky blue trim, while the away kit retains the red and white stripes that Melbourne Heart’s brand was built upon.
Melbourne Victory themselves have announced a significant signing of their own, with Carl Valeri joining on a bumper 3 year deal. What that means in terms of Mark Milligan staying or going, that’s to be continued but Valeri will soften the blow of the captain’s probable departure.