Photo: The Man in the Stands
It’s advantage Calder United in the race for the NPLW Minor Premiership after the Keilor-based outfit hit top spot with two games in hand after Bulleen Lions’ consecutive losses in the league. It was Alamein that consigned Bulleen to defeat this weekend in a stunning 6-0 rout, the equal third biggest winning margin of the season. Heidelberg remain in touch with the top-four after a win and first clean sheet of the season, while Southern fought hard to claim a late come-from behind win over Bayside, just their second win of the season.
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Second-rate send-off for Stanford bound superstar
Despite vastly different outcomes in their respective Team App Cup fixtures last weekend, it was Alamein who stole a march on title rivals Bulleen Lions with a shock 6-0 victory.
In Beattie Goad’s last fixture before heading off to Stanford University in the United States, Bulleen were outclassed and outgunned by a superior Alamein who showed no signs of weariness despite playing their third game in the space of a week.
Their penalty-shootout cup exit at the hands of Heidelberg United was followed up by a 5-1 rout of the Senior NTC mid week, which saw both Hannah Keane and Melina Ayres net braces.
The score in this fixture read 3-0 at half-time, with the scoring opened by Emma Runnalls who was on hand to turn in a Hannah Keane cross.
Similarly, a darting run from Brittany Thomas was topped off by a quality cross in for Ayres to net her 19th goal of the season.
It was three in the 35th minute as Harriet Cordner rose to score a magnificent headed goal to put her side well into ascendency heading into the second half, where a spell of late goals compiled a lacklustre Bulleen’s misery.
Substitute Cristina Cardaci grabber her side’s fourth before Cordner completed a rare brace with another header to turn in Christine Pfeiffer’s initial effort.
The rout was completed by another substitute in Jessie Kotsikas to consign Bulleen to their biggest ever defeat in the Victorian top-flight.
On top of that, it also marked the first time the Lions have conceded six goals in a match and the first time this season they’ve lost two straight league fixtures.
Calder move into pole-position for Minor Premiership
A first half frenzy allowed Calder United to breeze past title-challengers Galaxy United 3-0 at Banyul Warri Reserve in Torquay, which puts the visitors into outright first on the NPLW ladder.
Galaxy could have drawn level with Calder on 37 points with a victory, but now a six-point buffer has opened up between the two sides, with the ladder-leaders also holding a game in hand with just six fixtures remaining in the season.
Despite Galaxy coming into the clash with supreme confidence built from the 7-0 rout of Senior NTC in last week’s catch up game, the early running was all with Calder United, with Jess Au denied at the near post by a smothering save from Galaxy keeper Katie Neville.
American signing Kasha Meyer netted her first goal for Calder with a powerful header from a Tyla-Jay Vlajnic free-kick, and they should’ve gone two up soon after.
A loose pass from Neville allowed Rachel Alonso in, but the shot-stopper made a good save to redeem herself.
The follow up from Au was then cleared off the line by Jess Tay, much to the relief of the home crowd.
However Calder kept knocking on the door, and came close with a free-kick from Alonso – which struck the upright from 25-yards with some force – and then a Cindy Lay chip which went just wide of the post.
Their second eventually came in the 32nd minute through Vlajnic who turned in an Alonso free-kick with a glancing header into the near post.
A third followed in somewhat more fortuitous circumstances as an Au cross held up perfectly to sneak in from the right wing, with Neville unable to tip the ball over the crossbar.
Galaxy’s best chance came in the second half, but a brilliant save off the leg of Bethany Mason-Jones saw Lulu Al-Huneidi denied from 12-yards, with Rachel Binning working hard in defence to help the ball to safety at the second attempt.
It wasn’t all bad news for Galaxy, as they were able to get minutes into the legs of new signing Selin Kuralay, who made a welcome return to football after suffering an ACL injury playing for Melbourne Victory in the opening round of the W-League season.
Dudley-Smith delivers Southern second NPLW win
Southern United toiled until the final whistle to steal a 2-1 come from behind victory over Bayside United.
The bottom-of-the-table clash was played out at Comets Stadium, which saw a return to hosting top-flight Victorian womens football after housing Casey Comets last season.
Jaymee Dudley put the visitors into an early lead with a goal after just six minutes, her second since linking up with the squad mid-season.
The lead lasted for over an hour, before Saphri Lines pulled one back to draw level on 70 minutes, which allowed Brittany Dudley-Smith to pop up with an injury time winner.
It takes Southern up to 11 points for the season – just one point off Bayside – with the bottom-placed side presented five games in which to avoid the wooden spoon in their maiden NPLW season.
Heidelberg’s first clean sheet keeps them in touch of top-four
Heidelberg United continue to keep pressure on the NPLW top-four after putting three unanswered goals past Box Hill United at Knox Regional Football Centre, astoundingly their first clean sheet of the season.
With the sixth-placed Senior NTC ineligible for the four-team finals series, Box Hill are the only team that can mathematically still make the finals along with the Bergers, albeit this loss all but consigns them to another season watching on the sidelines.
The goals came courtesy of Bonnie Barnes, Julia Nicolaci and Leigh Gray as the gap between them and fourth-placed Galaxy United closes in to just seven points with the former still holding a game in hand.