Photo: Mark Avellino
Since 2004, only three teams have earned promotion back into the Victorian top-flight on the back of relegation from the same division a season earlier.
The feats of the Frankston Pines (2007), Heidelberg United (2013) and the North Geelong Warriors (2016) lay in stark contrast to the 24 other sides who failed to make a direct return to the VPL/NPL on the back of difficult campaigns in the top-flight.
Going into this season, many may have tipped the same fate to await a Northcote City team rebuilt from almost scratch by incoming coach Zeljko Kuzman, with heavy player turnover seeing only four members of the 2016 senior squad remain at John Cain Memorial Reserve in 2017.
Nicholas Bavcar, James Papadimitriou, Anthony Ramzy and Anthony Taranto were re-signed with a host of new players joining the new coaching team at Hercules, many of whom had previously worked under Kuzman at Richmond, St Albans and Port Melbourne respectively.
With that in mind, it might have been easy dismiss to 2013 VPL Champions of mounting a successful promotion charge in NPL2 West, especially given some of their rival’s own off-season acquisitions.
But fast-forward five rounds into the new season and City is flying high at the top of the NPL2 West standings having collected five wins from their opening five fixtures, the latest seeing the fallen champions of Victorian football convincingly defeat Box Hill United 3-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Having won two of their last two home games, Northcote came into the contest in a buoyant mood even though they were up against the league’s sturdiest defence, with United only conceding once from their opening four games but failing to pick up three points in any of those matches.
That trend looked to continue when in-form forward Alex Goodwin netted in the 15th minute with a spectacular strike to make it five goals from five games for the former Port Melbourne youngster.
The lead was doubled 20 minutes later in similar fashion when ex-Richmond skipper Peter Sawan netted his first goal for the club with another superb strike to rival his younger teammate.
Papadimitriou almost made it three had it not been for the heroics of Pythagoras shot-stopper Keegan Coulter, who diverted the forward’s shot onto the crossbar in a one-on-one situation between the two.
That moment proved only to be temporary relief for the visitors who conceded their third two minutes later as Welsh defender Matthew Whatley volleyed home Bavcar’s cross into the back of the net.
Papadimitriou was once more denied by Coulter, who did well to save his header away before his opposite number did well to preserve his clean sheet as Griffin McMaster made two noteworthy saves late on against a Box Hill side which has now failed to score a goal from open play in five league games.
While Northcote sit four points clear ahead of their nearest rivals in the West standings, Kuzman and his team will take note of Dandenong Thunder’s fine start to last campaign, which saw the relegated former Champions win their opening 15 games of the year before eventually missing out on elevation.
At White Eagles Stadium, a late Amir Osmancevic strike saw Moreland Zebras secure a 1-0 win over Springvale, inflicting Vlado Tortevski’s first defeat as White Eagles manager.
Both sides came into the fixture without defeat in the first four rounds, with the hosts sitting top of the East table on three wins and a draw while the Zebras sat second in the West after two home draws and two big victories away from home over regional opponents.
The first half started with plenty of promise as both sides struck the woodwork inside the opening 20 minutes. Springvale saw a header flicked onto the crossbar from a corner, while up the other end of the pitch Nick Niagorian’s effort bounced off the outside of the upright.
As the game wore on, however, both sides grew frustrated in their inability to break down the opposition defence, with the arm wrestle continuing well into the second half.
Just as the game appeared to be heading for a stalemate, the in-form Osmancevic received the ball on the left wing, beat two markers before unleashing a powerful shot from outside the area which went past goalkeeper Lajos Oliveria and into the top left-hand corner of the net.
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The result moved Fausto de Amicis’ men into outright second on the competition standings, with third-placed Moreland City left to rue a late stoppage time goal against the Dandenong Thunder, which saw Adrian Mathers’ outfit come away from George Andrews Reserve with a 3-3 draw.
The goalscoring began in the 25th minute when an own goal gave the visitors the lead only for Thunder midfielder Alon Blumgart to grab his second of the campaign a minute later to restore parity.
Gianfranco Impellizzeri’s men took the lead seven minutes into the second term when a scramble in the box saw reigning Goal of the Year winner Rinor Muriqi tuck away his first goal for the club.
City teenager Josh Hanna levelled matters in the 68th minute with the away side hitting the front for a second time in the 75th minute through former Manchester United Youth product Keil O’Brien.
The pulsating end-to-end encounter had another twist as Thunder stalwart Veton Korcari scored his second injury time equaliser in the space of a week through a well-timed header.
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Thunder’s slip-up allowed city rivals Dandenong City to move into second on the East standings following a narrow 1-0 victory over a plucky Sunshine George Cross at Chaplin Reserve.
The only goal of the game came in the 27th minute when a cross from Mate Dugandzic to the back post was half cleared by Brandon Scerri, with James Kelly picking up the ball out wide and playing Ljubo Milicevic in, who opened fire but his shot was blocked. The deflected shot found Dugandzic who slipped the ball under an onrushing Robert Santilli.
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Over at Mahoneys Reserve, Nunawading City were unable to make it back-to-back wins following a 4-2 defeat at the hands of a prolific Brunswick City, with normal service seemingly restored.
Spartans marksman Adam Wright had an early goal ruled out for offside while Nuna danger man James Brown also came close to edging his side in front in a frantic opening half an hour.
Brunswick utility Matthew Murphy did open the scoring in spectacular fashion when he chested the ball down and hit it on the half valley from 25 metres, which sailed underneath the crossbar.
The visitors doubled their advantage a minute later when Cameron Neales’ low cross into the goal area was deflected into the back of the net by young Nunawading defender Matthew Saitlik.
A mistimed possession in defence from Brunswick presented the returning Jason Trifiro with a strike on goal, with the 2014 Asian Champions League winner making no mistake by firing a well-placed finish past visiting shot-stopper Sebastian Mattei to reduce the margin.
However, the advantage was restored less than two minutes later when the hosts failed to clear their lines, allowing Spartans midfielder Ali Turgut to net his second goal in seven days.
Opposing players Sam Antoniadis and Murphy forced Mattei and Franken into making superb saves before the break, with Brown wasting another good opportunity for the hosts.
Nick Dimitrakis’ men wasted a glorious opportunity to add a second when Devon Bonne spurned an open goal, before Mitch Cooper saw his well-hit strike clip the crossbar and bounce on the line.
The second eventually did arrive when Brown beat the offside trap and laid the ball into the path of an unmarked Bonne, who made no mistake with an easy finish for his second goal in five games.
Brown was then presented with a one-on-one chance against Mattei, but the former Melbourne Victory goalkeeper made a crucial save to deny him from levelling the scoring
Any hopes of a comeback from the hosts was dashed when Welshman Wright blasted in his fifth of the campaign to seal the win.
Andrew Le Page also rattled the crossbar with a header late on.
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At Galvin Park, Darcy Den Ouden gave struggling Werribee the perfect start with a goal inside the opening 60 seconds to fire the Bees in front against Melbourne City Youth.
However the teenagers rallied in the second and produced a destructive 13 minute spell of football with former Victory Youth Josh Cavallo opening his account for City on the hour mark.
Two goals in three minutes from Captain Ali Eyigun and Gerrie Sylaidos wrapped up the three points, with the duo each grabbing their third goals of the campaign as City moved to third on the East ladder.
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Over on the other side of town, the Whittlesea Ranges secured their second consecutive 1-0 win with a hard-fought triumph over the Eastern Lions at Epping Stadium.
Last week’s goalscoring hero Ross Frame missed two good opportunities to give his side the lead inside the opening half hour only to have his blushes spared by teammate Danny Charalambous, who opened his account for Vinko Buljubasic’s men in the 37th minute.
Lions defender Thomas Falconer saw his header strike the crossbar in the second half with the Ranges managing to hold onto the three points and join Brunswick and Sunshine on eight competition points.
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Melbourne Victory Youth collected their first three points of the year as a George Howard brace in the second half saw Gareth Naven’s enforcers defeat last-placed Murray United 3-1.
Stefan Nigro gave Victory the lead going into the break with a quality free kick only for talismanic Murray forward Zac Walker to equalise, before Howard rose to the occasion to double his season goal tally to four goals.
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Ballarat City and Goulburn Valley Suns played out a scoreless draw at Morshead Park with Danny Gnjidic’s side securing a much needed clean sheet, having conceded nine goals from their past two games going into the clash against the resolute Shepparton outfit.
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In the round’s final game, league strugglers Bendigo City and Richmond played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in a game which does little to lift their respective positions on the ladder.
Argentine striker Gonzalo Freddi scored his third goal in five to give the visitors the lead, only for City to claw their way back into the game and gain a point through a second-half goal from Daniel Purdy to earn their first goal and point of the campaign.