Image: Dion Fountas Photography
Easter Saturday action in the NPL saw four fixtures take place with Port Melbourne’s upset 3-0 victory over the Bentleigh Greens the pick of the action. The result allows Avondale to reclaim top spot on the ladder following a 2-1 come-from-behind triumph over the previously unbeaten Pascoe Vale.
Green Gully surged into the top four following a hard fought 1-0 win over the struggling St Albans Saints at Churchill Reserve who are now one point ahead of last placed North Geelong following the Warriors 1-1 draw with the underperforming Oakleigh Cannons down at Elcho Park.
At JL Murphy Reserve, the home side weathered an a barrage of Bentleigh chances within the opening 15 minutes of proceedings, as former Sharks midfielder Lambros Honos had a hat-trick of early opportunities, while Keanu Moore’s header off a Ben Litfin cross struck the post and went out.
Kieran Dover then turned before launching a shot which sailed over the bar, while Port’s opening opportunity on goal came via an Andreas Govas free-kick which went wide of goal.
Bentleigh continued to put ample pressure on their hosts with Honos denied by Brendan White once more who also produced a fingertip save to tilt Thurtell’s header over the crossbar.
Dominic Barba’s men tested opposition goalkeeper Ryan Scott for the first time on the stroke of half time, with the youngster doing well to thwart their attack only to concede seconds later.
Alex Khrapko handed the home side the lead against the run of play with a well taken strike from the top of the area, netting his fifth goal of the campaign in the process as the half-time break followed.
The Sharks doubled their advantaged less than ten minutes into the second period when Christopher Cristaldo found Govas who produced another tremendous finish for his third of the season.
The visitors pressed hard for a comeback with Thurtell seeing his effort saved by White, who was forced to earn his clean sheet with another shot in injury time striking the crossbar once more.
Port’s victory was sealed in the final few seconds of the game as Khrapko split the Greens defence via a through ball to 16 year-old debutant Oscar Curcio, whose attempt was saved by Scott’s foot only for the ball to fall into the path of Cameroonian forward Calvin Mbarga to tap home a third and in the process open his account for his new club after his summer move back to Melbourne.
The win was the Sharks first since Round 5 as Barba masterminded their first triumph over the 2016 NPL Premiers in four years. In the process John Anastasiadis’ men relinquish top spot on the ladder.
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Bentleigh’s loss was Avondale gain as the Avengers came from behind to defeat Pascoe Vale, with Craig Carley marking his return to the starting eleven with a well-taken brace at Knights Stadium.
Avondale began the game the brighter of the two sides, only for the undefeated visitors to gain control over the game and have the better of the scoring opportunities in the opening period.
Vitale Ferrante’s men got their due reward on the stroke of half time when the in-form Davey van’t Schip turned his marker on the edge of the area before seeing his angled shot fly past Chris Oldfield, who got a hand on it but was unable to deny the Dutchman from scoring his tenth of the campaign.
Both sides exchanged opportunities in the second half with Avondale’s shooting off target, while the Rams themselves were thwarted on a couple of occasions by shot-stopper Oldfield.
Anthony Barbieri’s men levelled the scoring in the 70th minute when Carley got his head onto a cross into the box by substitute Kristian Trajceski to net his second goal of the campaign.
An 82nd minute corner presented Carley with another opportunity in front of goal, with his the Englishman doubling his tally on the day via another Trajceski cross and handing the hosts the lead which they held onto.
Despite their defeat, Paco remain third but are no longer the sole undefeated side in the league, with Avondale moving back to the summit of the table following last week’s loss to Hume City.
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Joining the pair inside the top four is Green Gully who secured their second consecutive victory after grinding out the win over St Albans despite playing much of the second half with ten men.
The visitors produced an emphatic performance mid-week in their 4-0 FFA Cup thumping of Altona Magic and began the game on the front foot as Nick Krousoratis got on the end of a long ball from Daniel Jones, beat two markers before seeing his shot saved by Saints custodian Chris May.
A defence-splitting pass from Captain Jones then found its way to compatriot Matthew Breeze with the Englishman’s header sailing just over the crossbar in the 15th minute.
2015 NPL Goalkeeper of the Year May had to be alert to deny Jeremy Walker and Jay Davies before the half-time break as the duo tried their luck from distance.
Gully began the second half in similar fashion with a George Lambadaridis corner met at the front post by Breeze who fired another warning shot to them Dinamo defence as his effort went just wide.
The breakthrough came minutes later when a Jonathan Bounas through ball found its way to Krousoratis, whose angled shot beat May for his third of the season in addition to his five assists.
Despite their dominance, Brian Vanega’s men were forced to finish the game with ten men as Bounas collected his second yellow of the afternoon – and his second of the season – in the 57th minute although Gully players protested that his first had been a case of mistaken identity.
The hosts’ best chance of the afternoon fell to youngster Daniel Slovacek, whose close-range shot produced the best out of Rani Dowisha who made a smart save to keep the Saints at bay.
The in-form Matthew Cundari had another opportunity late in the game only to see his attempt go over the bar as the hosts struggled to create many attacking opportunities with the visitors finishing the game the stronger of the two as Breeze went close to adding a second.
Nonetheless Gully held on for all three points as the Saints continued their troubles in front of goals.
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Down in Lara, the North Geelong Warriors gained their first point since Round 3 in a spirited showing against the Oakleigh Cannons who have one win from eight having drawn five of their games this term.
Things looked bright for the visitors four minutes in when midfielder Ioannis Georgopoulos scored a tremendous opener as his first time volley left Marko Stevanja with little chance of saving it.
Both sides exchanged opportunities afterwards with Dean Piemonte and Matthew Thorne coming close to finding the back of the target while Kene Eze tested John Honos from range.
Piemonte has been one of the Cannons few shining lights in a rather underwhelming team this year and once again showed his quality only to be denied by Stevanja who produced two great saves in ten minutes to deny the away side from extending their lead.
Those saves proved pivotal minutes before the break when Thorne was adjudged to have been pushed in the box following a Matthew Townley throw in, with the Warriors being awarded a penalty.
Andrew Doig stepped up from the spot and buried his effort past Honos, with the Scotsman netting his second goal in nine appearances since moving down the Princess Freeway in the off-season.
Warriors midfielder Vito Cichello went in search of a rare goal in the second half while Dusan Bosnjak’s troubles in front of goals continued with the playmaker yet to score since Round 1 and penalised for a push on Townley in the lead-up to a disallowed Oakleigh goal mid-way through the second half.
The hosts had a late penalty appeal waved away while Stevanja produced a fantastic double save from the next passage of play in an entertaining afternoon of football that did little to alter both sides’ position on the ladder.