Image: Rob Cruse
NPL Victoria’s cluttered ladder continues to throw up surprises as a run of a few wins can take a side away from relegation trouble into finals contention, as Oakleigh Cannons have learnt. It also means Green Gully go top momentarily following their last-gasp win over Melbourne Knights, who continue to occupy to 12th. At the bottom of the ladder the North Geelong Warriors and St Albans Saints split the points, while on Friday the Bulleen Lions won their third on the trot with a 3-0 victory over Port Melbourne Sharks to sit in eighth.
Meanwhile, Avondale’s clash at Somers Street against Kingston was washed out and postponed to a later date.
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Melbourne Knights were beaten with 10 men last week but this week weren’t able to defeat a side in the same predicament when Green Gully were able to come back to claim a 2-1 win despite a red card to Luke Walker.
The Knights however started brightly and had the first bite of the cherry when Jason Hicks forced a good save from Rani Dowisha.
At the other end, Nick Krousoratis dribbled past a defender and shot from just inside the box, forcing a strong save from Gabriel Matti who has had an extended run in the lineup due to Fraser Chalmers’ suspension and Harry Cakarun’s injury.
Knights had their opening just before the break when Luke Walker was sent off for a last-man challenge on Kym Harris, and the visitors made the man-advantage count when Jason Hicks pounced on an errant backpass in the 51st minute to slot the ball past Rani Dowisha.
Harris had the chance to put the game all but beyond Gully’s reach not long after when he forced a strong save from Dowisha to maintain just the goal deficit.
Gully began to lift despite being a player down and Alex Caniglia fired the first warning by smashing the ball into the woodwork in the six-yard box.
In the 86th minute the hosts finally struck as Krousoratis got the better of his opposition to net the equaliser and give Gully the momentum in the final minutes.
They made it count to full effect as Jay Davies’ cross in the final moments was turned into the back of the net by Milan Batur, sending the home side into raptures.
The result leaves Green Gully momentarily on top with Bentleigh Greens and Avondale yet to play, while Melbourne Knights remain in 12th spot for at least another week following their defeat.
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At ABD Stadium, Nate Foster had an early opportunity to open Oakleigh’s and his account for the season, stinging the palms of Michael Weier from close range.
At the other end the ever-dangerous Nick Hegarty was played in on the left in space but was pressured into a shot that missed the target.
Goran Zoric gave his first warning shot when he managed to evade a couple of defenders with some tricky footwork before poking a shot that was saved.
James McGarry was presented the opportunity to net the go-ahead goal when Hegarty’s delivery into the box found his fellow midfielder, whose effort was saved before follow-up opportunities were thwarted.
Zoric wouldn’t be denied in the 62nd minute when Dusan Bosnjak’s ball found its way to him, bearing down on goal and applying the low finish into the back of the net.
John Honos was required later to save Atilla Ofli’s long-range strike to preserve Oakleigh’s lead and help earn the three points, which now incredibly takes the Cannons into seventh, one point away from the top six.
Meanwhile, after a run that lasted four 1-0 wins, Hume are two defeats on the trot with that scoreline.
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North Geelong and St Albans went into the bottom-of-the-table clash desperate for the points, the hosts also looking for their first win of the season, but disaster struck early.
Rodrigo Covarrubias, played through in just the opening seconds of the match, beat the onrushing Daniel Zilic to the ball and slotted home into an empty net for his second goal of the season. It was 1-0 to Dinamo after just a minute.
The hosts toiled though and were rewarded in the 35th minute when Bobby Vidanoski’s cross wasn’t dealt with properly, allowing Matt Thorne to net the equaliser.
But their hard work was all undone once more when from the restart St Albans got on the front foot again and Caleb Mikulic propelled the visitors into the lead once more – he now has goals for Melbourne Knights and St Albans this campaign after his early-season move.
North Geelong got another equaliser on the hour mark when Andrew Doig was found at the back post following a well-constructed passage after Nick Jurcic’s throw-in.
The scores stayed that way with each side rewarded for their efforts with a point, though ultimately a point each doesn’t bode well for either on the ladder as many mid-table club continue to build a safety net from relegation.
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One of those clubs is Bulleen Lions, who secured their third consecutive win following a 3-0 triumph away to the Port Melbourne Sharks at JL Murphy Reserve on Friday night.
A double to Tasmanian defender Eli Luttmer and a further strike from Davide Cardamone set the Lions on the course to victory on a forgettable night for Sharks manager Dominic Barba against his old club.
The scoring was opened just seven minutes into the contest when Cardamone’s corner met the glancing head of Luttmer at the near post as the right-back scored his first goal for the club since 2015.
One became two five minutes later as Cardamone unloaded a low shot from 30 metres which caught Sharks goalkeeper Brendan White off guard and found its way into the back of the net.
The hosts almost reduced the deficit when Alex Khrapko’s flick back found Francesco Stella whose goal bound effort was cleared away from danger by the head of American import Oliver White.
Lions custodian Wyatt Chant did well to prevent Christopher Cristaldo from getting one back, having closed down the space afforded to the former Melbourne City attacker before making a smart save.
The visitors almost grabbed a third before the break as captain Andrew Mullet had his shot cleared off the goal line leaving Barba and his coaching staff with plenty of work to do in the second 45.
Having had just a four-day turnaround from their Monday night clash against Kingston, Port came out in the second half determined to make amends for a poor opening half although were thwarted by Chant’s reflexes, with the teenager making another good stop to deny Stella.
Andreas Govas was next to try his luck from range, with the former Bulleen midfielder seeing his effort from outside the area clipping the right-hand post to much frustration for all those on the home bench.
Bulleen striker White had been a first-half substitution for Scottish forward Christian McKenna and had a hat-trick of chances to extend the lead in the second half only to shoot off target.
The third goal eventually came with Luttmer finding himself free at the back post before heading at goal as the ball bounced off the crossbar and into the net to round off the scoring.
Not long ago sitting 12th, the win saw Bulleen overtake Port to move up to eighth on the competition ladder for what is the youngster side in the NPL as the Sharks slipped back in in the standings.