With the cobwebs dusted away and the rust painstakingly cleaned off, teams began to hit their stride in the second round of the Sportsmart Women’s Premier League. There were some shock results on the weekend, with the FFV U17s showing their class against Heidelberg, while title contenders Bundoora and Sandringham played out a six goal thriller at Hillsview. Here’s more on the weekend’s games.
Casey Comets 2-3 Box Hill United at Comets Stadium
Casey and Box Hill kicked off Round 2 with a scrappy affair, but despite the game lacking a rhythm, there were twists and turns to talk about. An own goal from Madeleine Richardson’s free kick in the 25th minute put the visitors in front, before Candela Ferreyra-Bas hit straight back as she thumped in a header from a Laura Croft free kick. Substitute Charlie West gave Casey the lead just before the hour, but Box Hill put the foot down and Natalie Exon equalised in the 67th minute, then laid on an assist for top scorer Jasmina Pedic to secure the three points away from home.
Monbulk Rangers 1-2 Cairnlea at Monbulk Recreation Reserve
Monbulk were unable to capitalise on home ground advantage for a second week running as they found themselves up against a stubborn Cairnlea outfit. Aneta Komijat put the visitors in front after pouncing on a loose ball, and they doubled their lead in the second half when Amy Scarlett clinically dispatched a penalty. Monbulk’s efforts did go not unrewarded though as they pulled a goal back through Nikki Ceeney.
Bundoora United 3-3 Sandringham at Hillview Recreation Reserve
In the marquee fixture of Round 2, Bundoora and Sandringham did not disappoint as they played out an absolute belter of a contest. The home side took the lead after Steph Galea’s wickedly deflected shot, but lost the lead just over ten minutes later when Emma Runnalls poked home for Sandringham. The visitors smelt blood and came out firing after the break, as Runnalls grabbed her second with a rasping drive from outside the box to make it 2-1. Bundoora didn’t give up though and equalised in the 65th minute through Stacey Papadopoulos, and the speedy winger provided the third for Rachel Alonso with seven minutes to go. Not to be outdone, Sandringham snatched a point in sensational fashion as Elaina Vatcky smacked a 20 yard drive into the back of the net.
South Melbourne 4-2 Boroondara Eagles at Ralph Reserve
Fresh off holding Bundoora to a 0-0 draw in the opening round, Boroondara Eagles almost recorded another upset against South Melbourne. After a goalless first half, the match exploded in the second and South went 2-0 up thanks to a brace by Selin Kuralay. But the resilient newcomers with young forward Emma Hubbard and Rachel Quigley squaring the ledger at 2-2. In the end, Boroondara couldn’t hold on to their point, and conceded twice in stoppage time to Tiffany Eliadis and Laura Sprianovic, allowing South to breathe a sigh of relief.
FFV U17s 3-2 Heidelberg United at State Football Centre
Fresh from their 6-1 thumping against Sandringham in the first round, the FFV U17s found their groove as they recorded their first win of the season against Heidelberg. Janna Lawson scored a first half brace either side of Julia Nicolaci’s strike to give the U17s a 2-1 lead at half time, and the home side increased their lead when Noel Boersma scored. Eager not to lose the game, Heidelberg managed to pull one back thanks to Melanie Camilleri, but were unable to breach the U17s defence again.
Ashburton 1-3 Bulleen Lions at Ashburton Park
In what was a game of two halves, Bulleen came up trumps after a much improved second half showing. After missing an early penalty, they fell behind thanks to Wendy Lopez’s fine goal for Ashburton. However, the home side couldn’t withstand the Lions second half pressure however, and Emily Coppock, Cindy Lay and Lia Privitelli got their names on the scoresheet to record Bulleen’s first win of the season.
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Over to the National Premier League, and once again there were upsets with wins for Ballarat and Werribee over Northcote and Melbourne Knights respectively, while South Melbourne showed why they are a force to be reckoned with this season after a sensational first half against Green Gully. Here is the weekend’s action.
Port Melbourne Sharks 2-2 Oakleigh Cannons at JL Murphy Reserve
Port Melbourne recorded their second 2-2 draw of the season after they failed to make the most of their home advantage for the third straight week. Chris Grossman gave the Sharks a lead within 15 minutes, but that was cancelled out by Oakleigh’s Evan Christodoulou. The Sharks came out stronger in the second half and scored a stunner from Andrew Milicevic, but once again, they were unable to hold onto their lead as Dean Piemonte equalised soon after, ensuring both sides had to be content with a point.
Bentleigh Greens 1-1 Pascoe Vale at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Pascoe Vale held on to snatch a point from Bentleigh after going ahead early in the game from a Joseph Youseff header. Bentleigh were in control for much of the game following the slow start, but were unable to find a way past Stefaan Sardelic in the Pascoe Vale goal. They did eventually equalise in the 55th minute as Brent McGrath thumped home a loose ball which the Pascoe Vale goalkeeper spilled, but were unable to get the ball past him again for the rest of the match.
Green Gully 3-5 South Melbourne at Green Gully Reserve
“It was a typical Jekyll and Hyde performance,” said South Melbourne coach Chris Taylor about their game against Green Gully. South were irresistible in the first half, and Milos Lujic bagged a hat trick within 26 minutes while Jamie Reed added a fourth in the 31st minute. Green Gully were not disheartened by the barrage from South though, and struck two goals in quick succession at the resumption of the second half through Matthew Sanders. They even kept South at bay after Kieran Gonzalez and Stephen Downes saw red, and scored in stoppage time thanks to Roddy Vargas. Leigh Minopoulos ensured there was to be no embarrassment for South in the end however, scoring with virtually the last kick of the game.
Northcote City 1-3 Ballarat Red Devils at Jon Cain Memorial Park
Probably the upset result of the round, Ballarat came away from Jon Cain Memorial park with their second win to start the season. Dom Swinton punished Northcote for not taking their early chances with a goal after 31 minutes, and it was double trouble for Northcote when Pat Karras scored after a wonderful Nelson Salvatore through ball. Wade Dekker did pull one back for Northcote after the break, but Shaun Romein scored a penalty for Ballarat to secure the three points, and condemn Northcote to three successive losses to start their season.
Goulburn Valley Suns 2-6 Heidelberg United at John McEwen Reserve
Stung by their late loss to country rivals Ballarat last week, the Suns took the lead early when Craig Carley converted a spot kick. But that was about as good as it got for Goulburn Valley, who were wiped off the park by Heidelberg United. Jack Petrie equalised for the Bergers before Daniel Heffernan and Mark McGough gave them a 3-1 lead at the break. A brace to Kaine Sheppard and another to Kostas Kanakaris made it 6-1 for the visitors, before Carley converted his second penalty of the night to give the Suns another consolation goal.
Dandenong Thunder 1-0 Hume City at George Andrews Reserve
Hume will be wondering just how they failed to come away with anything at all from their trip down to Dandenong. The visitors had many opportunities to put the Thunder away, but were stung by Alan Mulcahy’s piledriver from 25 yards in the 20th minute. Frazer Siddall came up trumps whenever called upon for Dandenong and they secured their second straight 1-0 win.
Melbourne Knights 1-2 Werribee City at Knights Stadium
The Knights were undone by a late show from Werribee, who scored two goals in the last ten minutes to snatch three points away from home. After a disrupted first half, the hosts scored early in the second when James McGarry headed the ball into the back of the net. As the Knights failed to put the game to bed, Werribee came back at them and a quick fire double to Steven Cudrig and Ryan Filipovic put them 2-1 up with just a handful of minutes to play.
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And finally now to some NPL1 action brought to you by our NPL1 Correspondent Mark Gojszyk. There were many talking points throughout the round of fixtures, not least the crazy 3-3 draw between Bulleen Lions and Richmond on Monday night. Without further ado, here’s the round up of the games.
Avondale Heights 4-0 Brunswick City at Avondale Heights Reserve
Kicking off the round were Avondale Heights, who treated their home fans to a 4-0 rout of Brunswick City. Following a close opening half that ended 1-0 through a Khrapko Opeksiy goal, the more experienced hosts put their foot down and piled three more goals on the hapless visitors. Simon Tolli added the first goal after the break, while Andrew Le Page netted a brace, and was only denied a hat-trick deep into extra time by a desperate Mason Interlandi save.
Box Hill United 3-0 Dandenong City at Wembley Park
Box Hill did the damage early on in their encounter with Dandenong City to extend their winning start to the season. After a brace to Rinor Muriqi and a third goal to Kenny Athiu all within 20 minutes, Box Hill shut up shop and the scoreline remained 3-0 for the rest of the game, something that displeased coach Arthur Georgiou. “There were aspects of what we set out to achieve today that we didn’t even get close to,” the perfectionist Georgiou said.
Sunshine George Cross 1-1 Whittlesea Ranges at Chaplin Reserve
Box Hill were not joined on nine points by Sunshine, who may feel aggrieved at having to settle for a 1-1 draw against Whittlesea. Delfin Mosibe got the home side off to the ideal start in the 22nd minute with a powerful header, and Jordan Brown though he doubled the lead when his chipped shot ricocheted off the crossbar and onto the goal line, but was adjudged not to have crossed the line. Daniel Giogha then equalised for the visitors from the spot early in the second half against the run of play. Ross Wallis had a chance to net his own penalty late in the match, but the crossbar again proved to be Sunshine’s nemesis. A fiery encounter ended in red with Whittlesea’s Daniel Peluso receiving his marching orders in extra time.
Springvale White Eagles 1-3 North Geelong Warriors at White Eagles Stadium
On the other end of the table, Springvale White Eagles are still searching for their first win of the season after suffering a 3-1 loss to North Geelong Warriors. After trailing 2-0 through goals to Nicholas Jurcic and Mark Paleka, Vojislav Milojevic scored to put Springvale within touching distance, but Jackson Davis sealed the win for the Geelong with a cracking strike, much to the delight of the strong contingent of travelling away fans.
FC Bendigo 2-2 Moreland Zebras at Tom Flood Sports Centre
Bendigo were just minutes away from gracing their first home game in NPL 1 with a win, but squandered a two goal advantage to draw 2-2 with Moreland. After leading 2-0 deep into the match through goals to Amara Kromah and Trent Waterson, the home side’s luck turned when Liam Brian scored, then Victor Rodriguez received his marching orders for a second yellow. Despite holding on for dear life, an air of inevitability surrounded the equaliser, which was duly scored by Simon Tolli.
Bulleen Lions 3-3 Richmond at Veneto Club
On Monday night, an eventful encounter between Bulleen and Richmond ended 3-3. Bullen would be less than pleased with the final result, having surrendered a two goal lead twice, while losing two players to red cards in the process. Dean Romas and Ross Harvey put the home side up 2-0 at half time, before James Stefanou got one back for Richmond just after half time. A second yellow card to goalscorer Romas ensued, but Joey Katebian seemed to have put Bulleen in the driver’s seat at 3-1 before another red card to Sam Borghesi reduced Bulleen to nine men. Richmond took full advantage of the second sending off and scores through Hamlet Armenian in the 73rd minute, before Tom Cahill equalised in the 88th. Katebian had a chance to win it for the hosts in extra time, but his shot was tipped onto the crossbar.
Kingston City 1-3 St Albans Saints at The Grange Reserve
Over at The Grange Reserve, St Albans Saints’s dominant display resulted in a 3-1 for the away side. Juso Julardzija netted two goals before half time, becoming the third player this round with a brace to their name. Brodie Paterson sealed the game in the 55th minute with a close range effort. Kemal Curan’s effort in the 59th minute proved to be the only consolation for Kingston City, who would be bitterly disappointed with their effort at home.
It was a very entertaining week of football with plenty of ups and downs throughout all the top leagues. While still early to single out potential title contenders in the NPL, the two main ones in the WPL, Bundoora and Sandringham, played out a classic encounter which showed just what both sides are truly capable off. We look forward to next week’s action, and hopefully lots more to talk about!