In a pulsating night of football, there were some real attacking masterclasses to catch the eye in one of the most eventful Fridays ever in NPL Victoria.
Matthew Millar’s superb start to the season continued with a double last night which took his season tally to six goals in addition to the handful of assists he has amassed over the opening 11 rounds of the season. The 19-year-olds’ decision to leave Melbourne City in February may have raised a few eyebrows but his outstanding form will have no doubt caught the attention of several A-League clubs.
Milos Lujic also got himself a brace to move two clear on top of the goalscorers’ chart as he looks to claim a fourth successive Golden Boot but whether he is being considered in the minds of any A-League clubs remains to be seen. A standout on a disappointing evening for the Knights was forward Stipo Andrijasevic who provided two assists on the night as he continues to lead by example in attack.
48 league games for the club has yielded 17 goals for the attacker who although not as prolific as Lujic and some of the other strikers in the league, has excellent technique and is looking to take his game to the next level as he turns 22 this year.
Not to be forgotten, Victory Youth captain Joey Katebian stepped up when it mattered last night by scoring a brace of his own, taking his tally to five in nine games. Whether that means he is afforded a greater look-in for the senior side by Kevin Muscat is yet to be seen.
Special mention must go to Irishman Alan Mulcahy who scored his first career hat-trick with a well taken treble, the first two of those coming from dead-ball situations. The Sharks youngsters also had a good night with Alec Goodwin scoring his third of the season, Dennis Koutroulis grabbing his first senior goal off the bench, and winger Erhan Yalaz assisting a goal while also winning a penalty.
While much of the night’s talk centred on the clash between the two traditional rivals at Somers Street, the night’s two other games shed to light events taking place at the bottom end of the ladder. Richmond’s performance appeared lifeless and despite their numerical disadvantage, should not have crumbled so badly in the second half. Their defensive frailties were exposed once again last night and they have now conceded a whopping 39 goals in 11 games as they sit 13th on the ladder with a mere six points to their name.
Pascoe Vale’s slide down the ladder continued with Vitale Ferrante’s side now winless in their last nine league games having not tasted victory since their Round 2 away win over Green Gully. Now 12th on the competition standings, they face a tough trip to Lakeside Stadium next week where they take on the league leaders, with their poor run of form raising questions on whether the pressure is on last season’s NPL Coach of the Year.
Paco’s pain was Victory’s joy and the result and overall second-half performance suggests that there is life in the youngsters who recorded their first points and win since their Round 4 triumph over Richmond to move away from the relegation spots.
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Melbourne Knights 2 (Colosimo 3′, McGarry 21′) defeated by South Melbourne (Lujic 8′, 43′, Millar 12′, 80′, Adams 76′)
South Melbourne has defeated rivals Melbourne Knights 5-2 at Knight Stadium to move six points clear at the top of the NPL ladder. The hosts opened the scoring in the opening minutes of the contest when Jacob Colosimo headed home after beating the offside trap and latching onto the pin-point cross from the right side.
However the lead was short-lived when a header from Milos Lujic had South level before Matthew Millar gave Chris Taylor’s side the lead 12 minutes in after following up the initial shot which had pounced back off the post. The Knights equalised not long after when another accurate cross from Stipo Andrijasevic – this time from the left-hand side – met by the head of James McGarry whose header fired past Nikola Roganovic. Both sides exchanged chances for the rest of the half until Brad Norton’s cross was tapped home at the back post by Lujic for his second.
Andrew Marth’s men were then dealt a huge blow on the hour mark when Nick Epifano was adjudged to have beaten the offside trap before being brought down by debutant Damien Miskulin just outside the area – with the latter subsequently sent off. The defending Premiers then doubled their lead when Knights goalkeeper Michael O’Farrell failed to catch the ball in flight leaving Luke Adams to head the ball into an unguarded net before Millar got his second off the evening to round off the scoring in another action-packed Original Melbourne derby.
Port Melbourne Sharks 7 (Mulcahy 7′, 63′, 90′[p], Honos 19′, Goodwin 54′, Koutroulis 80′, de Abreu 89′) defeated Richmond 0
Port Melbourne has moved into fourth position on the ladder after a 7-0 dismantling of ten man Richmond at JL Murphy Reserve. The Sharks began the contest on the front-foot and found themselves in front in the 7th minute when an Alan Mulcahy free-kick got the better of Richmond custodian Chris Davis.
The lead was doubled just before the 20 minute mark when Lambros Honos chipped Davis from the outside the area for his second goal of the season. Richmond recovered from their poor start but failed to create many meaningful opportunities heading into the half.
However Rick Mensick’s side was reduced to ten men minutes into the second half when Jordan Seeto was sent off for kicking the ball into a crowd of players. Alec Goodwin made it 3-0 soon after before Mulcahy grabbed his second off the night via another free-kick. Goodwin was then replaced by fellow youngster Dennis Koutroulis who added a fifth and in the process scored his debut senior goal. Jamie de Abreu scored after latching onto a pass from Erhan Yalaz who was then fouled in the box allowing Mulcahy to complete his hat-trick from the penalty spot on a good night for Eric Vasiliadis’ men.
Pascoe Vale 1 (Vakirtzis OG 51’) defeated by Melbourne Victory 3 (Maclean 80′, Katebian 87′ [p], 90′)
Pascoe Vale’s poor winless run has stretched to nine games following a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Melbourne Victory at CB Smith Reserve. The home side struck the woodwork twice in the opening 20 minutes, first through Jake Nakic and then Luka Prelevic with Davey van’t Schip also coming close on two occasions.
Alex Pavlidis was then forced to make a crucial save to deny Joey Katebian on the stroke of half-time as the teams headed into the interval deadlocked. The opening goal arrived shortly after the resumption of play as the Rams got a slice of luck following an own goal from Victory full-back Jonathan Vakirtzis.
Joseph Youssef had an effort cleared off the line on the hour mark before John Maclean stunning strike levelled proceedings with ten minutes to go. Galvanised by that goal, the visitors pressed and were rewarded a penalty which was duly converted by skipper Katebian who added a second minutes later to earn Victory their first win since Round 4 as they moved out of the 12th position on the ladder, overtaking their opponents who are now found themselves in the relegation zone after a promising start to the season.
Feature image: Cindy Nitsos