In the NPL2, a win to Whittlesea Ranges cemented their promotion credentials with a win over Kingston City, holding off Melbourne City from the top of the West table, while giving Dandenong City a sniff in the East after they defeated Moreland Zebras 3-0.
That result also allowed St Albans to get their promotion campaign back on track, moving to third after a win over Eastern Lions.
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At the top of the table, it was West leaders Whittlesea who maintained their lead at the top with a 3-1 over Kingston City at the Grange.
No surprises for guessing for who did the damage: Atilla Ofli with a hat-trick.
After weathering a storm early from the hosts, the Ranges hit the lead as the dangerous front man struck on the counter.
It seemed as though Kingston may run away with it after Hamish Millar equalised following numerous Kingston chances – ironically the goal came via a cross that evaded everybody, despite a number of more conventional chances not being converted.
However, Ofli added two more after the break as Whittlesea gained the ascendancy and ran away 3-1 winners.
Earlier, Melbourne City had temporarily taken the lead with a 2-0 win over Springvale White Eagles at Epping Stadium, away from their usual La Trobe base.
Goals from experienced heads Stefan Zinni and Chris Cristaldo were enough for City to consolidate their place in the top two as Yaren Sozer at the other end ensured Springvale’s chances were kept at bay.
Kingston’s loss in the East was Dandenong City’s gain as the latter in third place kept the pressure on second with three goals and three points against Moreland Zebras, who in turn continue to lose momentum in the West race.
A double to Amir Osmancevic and single to Ross Frame capped off another productive outing for the new Dandenong City duo, who joined mid-season and have really breathed life into City’s season.
They now move to 11 points behind with 10 games to play.
The other Dandenong outfit also did no favours to another West promotion-chasing side, with Thunder seeing off North Geelong 2-0 at Elcho Park.
Simon Colosimo put the visitors ahead early, and while Sam Catherine’s red card after only half an hour, the door was opened a bit for the hosts to mount a potential comeback.
However, usual suspect Brandon Barnes sealed the win for the 10-man NPL2 East leaders, with the Championship and automatic promotion looking more likely by the week.
St Albans then jumped back up to third place with a 2-1 win over Eastern Lions.
Coming off a 7-0 defeat to Melbourne City, the Lions held their fort better this time around and went in front via Jhoan Barrero.
However, they were to be denied the lead into half time via Ryan McGuffie, who netted for the third time this month, and Rodrigo Covarrubias then netted the eventual winner for St Albans.
Elsewhere, Bendigo City finished the month unbeaten, earning a 4-2 win over Nunawading City
Sergio Castel-Martinez opened the scoring in the second minute and Godwill Basha added another in the 16th minute as the hosts raced to a 2-0 lead.
However, an Ivan Skorich double locked the scores at 2-2, before Basha added his second and David Younan confirmed the 4-2 result.
Another mid-season bloomer in the West, Werribee City notched up another win, this time against Murray United.
Just who is Shaun Weaver? The new import continued his introduction to the league with his second brace in three weeks, while Jonathan Voulgaris also netted in the 3-0 victory.
It wasn’t to be for another in-form West side, however, as Sunshine were brought back to Earth with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Goulburn Valley Suns.
Shaun Kane was another multiple scorer across the weekend for his respective side, while high-profile signing Dan Heffernan continued to make an impact, netting for the second week running.
Meanwhile, Moreland City made it two good wins albeit in two different circumstances, backing up a 5-3 result over Goulburn Valley with a tighter 1-0 win over Box Hill United on the road.
All it took was a Nejdett Sahin effort to ensure the visitors took the three points home and move within sixth spot, hot on the heels of Ballarat.
The Red Devils did well to take the lead against Brunswick City with 10 men, but while in the past the Spartans had often dropped points in additional time, this time they were able to salvage a late point.
Former Whittlesea man Liam Newman scored first, and Brunswick’s lead looked cemented at half time when Simon Murphy was red carded in the 42nd minute.
Yet Ballarat squared the ledger via former Celtic man Paul George, before Shaun Romein belted in what seemed to be the winner with a goal of the season contender from distance.
However, the extra man ended up seeing Brunswick push and eventually equalise via an Andrew Le Page penalty in stoppage time.
Image: Kingston City