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Does anybody want to win the NPL2 West?
That’s the question after the top three sides heading into the weekend’s action – Whittlesea Ranges, St Albans Saints and Moreland Zebras – all succumbed to their opposition, allowing the previously fourth and fifth placed North Geelong Warriors and Melbourne City to make ground in the promotion race.
Top of the ladder Whittlesea Ranges will be counting their blessings that their defeat didn’t cost them too dearly, given that their four-point lead remains.
At Campbell Reserve, a scoreless first half burst into life in the second when Andrew Doig’s strike gave the hosts the lead.
The contest took a second turn when Luke Gallo’s unfortunate own goal saw the hosts’ lead double.
A last minute goal to Atilla Ofli only served to half the deficit, however, at the hosts held on for three points.
While the victory saw City leapfrog Ballarat Red Devils on the ladder into sixth place, luckily for Whittlesea the result saw no direct ramifications.
Second placed St Albans Saints also succumbed, this time at home to Werribee City – who continue to enjoy a productive second half of the season.
St Albans pressure early saw a Joe Monek shot saved and Josh Knight’s goal ruled offside, but then in the 91st minute Ben Mannone – just in his second appearance since moving from Keilor Park – popped up to score the upset winner.
Moreland Zebras, who were on third place going into the round, enjoyed a bumper crowd when Juventus’ appearance saw many pundits attend to meet some of the players and club legend David Trezeguet.
However, a solo goal from Ilija Manojlovic in just the 10th minute gave the visitors the lead, which they ultimately held on to for the rest of the encounter.
With those three defeats, a win to North Geelong saw them jump to 37 points and just one point behind St Albans in second place.
Their match with Bendigo didn’t go all their way, however. After a first half with no score, the visitors were the ones to break the deadlock at Elcho Park when Sergio Castel-Martinez applied the finish in the 49th minute.
It jolted the hosts into action, with Kene Eze equalising shortly after the restart, and Matt Townley scoring a penalty for the lead, settling the home fans’ nerves.
Juso Julardzija then scored in the 66th minute to ram home the advantage, while Matt Thorne applied the finishing touches in the 83rd for a convincing scoreline.
Rounding out the weekend were Melbourne City, who also leapfrogged the Zebras into fourth with a 2-0 win over Ballarat Red Devils.
A goal in either half saw Stefan Zinni bag a brace as his side jumped to 36 points for the season.
The top five now reads: Whittlesea (42), St Albans (38), North Geelong (37), Melbourne City (36), Moreland Zebras (35).