Image: Con Deves
The Bentleigh Greens have momentarily moved to the top of the NPL ladder after a routine 3-0 home win over the North Geelong Warriors while Pascoe Vale came from behind to defeat the Melbourne Knights 2-1 for their first three points in almost two months.
At Kingston Heath Soccer Complex, the hosts were coming off a short three-day turnaround from their 3-2 FFA Cup triumph over Green Gully on Tuesday night while the visitors were on the up after securing their first win of the year to move off the bottom of the ladder.
John Anastasiadis’ men made numerous changes to the starting eleven and took the lead in the 9th minute when Trent Clulow was adjudged to have stayed on onside before rounding Marko Stevanja and teeing up Lambros Honos who made no mistake by tucking in his fifth of the campaign.
The first half turned out to be a personal duel between Honos and Stevanja, with the latter making numerous saves throughout the half to keep the score at 1-0.
The Warriors shot-stopper continued his heroics into the second term by making a point-blank save with his legs to deny Clulow at the back post after a magnificent cross from Honos.
The former Melbourne City Youth goalkeeper could do nothing to prevent the Greens from doubling their advantage in the 69th minute when Luke Pilkington’s ball into the box was met by a glancing header from Matt Thurtell, who now has nine goals from 14 league games this term.
The three points were sealed five minutes from time when substitutes Tyson Holmes and Andy Brennan combined, with the latter netting a neat finish for his fourth of the season.
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Over at CB Smith Reserve, Pascoe Vale were looking to end a barren run of form which had them winless since Round 7 against the Melbourne Knights, who had new manager Eric Vassiliadis in the dugout for his first game in charge.
The hosts almost opened the scoring 14 minutes in only to be thwarted by a fantastic double save from Knights shot-stopper Fraser Chalmers, who was on hand to deny Mateo Ballan and Davey van ’t Schip.
However it was the visitors who went into the break with the lead after absorbing plenty of pressure and striking on the stroke of half time following a sublime curling finish from outside the area by Tom Cahill, with the Englishman scoring his fifth in 11 games this term.
Vitale Ferrante’s men missed a golden chance to equalise as Luca Santilli’s pin-point cross from the right met the head of Joseph Youssef, who fired his header over the bar.
However Youssef would be at the centre of attention ten minutes later when he was given a penalty after being held inside the box by Nikola Jurkovic, with Van’t Schip sending Chalmers the wrong way to convert his 12th of the season and extend his lead at the top of the Golden Boot standings.
A well-worked team move from Paco saw them edge in front when substitute Matthew Lazarides played the ball into the path of Youssef, who hammered home just his second of the season with his first coincidentally being in Vale’s 2-1 defeat of the Knights away from home in Round 2.
The same scoreline was replicated on the evening as Pascoe Vale won their first fixture since April 1 while the Knights now gear up to face the Bentleigh Greens at home next Friday night.