Image: Con Deves
All three of South Melbourne, Hume City and Bulleen Lions notched up significant victories on Easter Monday’s triple header, with one-third of the season now wrapped up as the league continues to throw up multiple surprises.
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South Melbourne saw off Melbourne Knights 2-0 in a derby encounter that yielded a couple of worldies but also left the Knights wondering how they couldn’t find the back of the net.
The visitors fashioned a number of chances in the early exchanges, the best of which included Danny Dixon being denied by Nikola Roganovic, while Elvis Kamsoba struck the woodwork.
Jason Hicks also two good chances which he failed to convert, while Nikola Jurkovic’s effort flashed across goal.
It would come back to haunt the Knights as a late flurry before the break saw South register two incredible goals.
Milos Lujic got on the end of Nick Epifano’s long ball forward before unleashing an effort reminiscent of Peter Crouch against Manchester City in 2012, lobbing the ball over keeper Fraser Chalmers from near the wing.
It marked his first goal from open play in the league and it came in extraordinary circumstances, delighting the home fans.
The scoring wasn’t over as Marcus Schroen’s sweetly struck free kick also beat Chalmers to double the advantage on the stroke of half time.
The hosts came out with renewed confidence after the break as Lujic had a volley miss wide while Schroen hit the woodwork.
Dixon again came close in the second half for the Knights by striking the woodwork, while Schroen was denied a brace by Chalmers, with South seeing out the rest of the contest to earn bragging rights and build a bit of momentum with a second consecutive victory.
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In the second fixture Hume City continued their run of 1-0 wins, defeating Heidelberg by that scoreline to notch up four in a row – their sixth clean sheet in nine games.
Hume looked the more dangerous throughout and had an ideal opportunity to get the go-ahead goal just before the break when Atilla Ofli was bundled over in the box. However, Nick Hegarty’s effort cannoned off the woodwork before being cleared.
It looked to be a wake-up call for the Bergers who came out in the second half creating a few openings, as Kenny Athiu saw a couple of headers sail over while Harry Noon had an effort parried away for a corner.
But the visitors clicked into gear again and with time running out notched up the winning goal.
Hegarty’s back-post corner sailed past Chris Theodoridis, with Liam Boland heading back across the face for Wayne Wallace to nod home his first league goal for Hume.
In a frustrating night for the hosts, chances were hard to come by and it was a first defeat since round two. More concerning, however, Olympic Village hasn’t been the type of fortress it has been in the past, with the Bergers losing two games now (against Hume and Avondale) having previously not lost at home since March 2015, and also dropping points against St Albans.
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Bulleen Lions hosted Kingston City under Monday night lights and Jordan Templin starred with a brace to help Aaron Healey’s side to a crucial 2-1 win.
The opener came in the 20th minute when the ball fell in the path of Eli Luttmer on the right wing, with his pinpoint cross finding the head of one of the shorter players on the pitch in Templin, whose effort bounced in off the crossbar.
The visitors had a golden chance to equalise seven minutes later when Sean McIlroy got the ball in the box but his effort only hit the side netting.
Kingston also had a half chance before the break when Wyatt Chant was tested by Mouad Zwed from the edge of the area, diving down low to make a save.
But it was Templin again after the break again doing the damage, capitalising on Kingston’s failure to deal with Brad Clarke’s ball forward before tucking the finish past Kile Kennedy – then hobbling off the pitch injured.
While his night was done, his teammates had to grind it out for the remainder of the contest, enduring their fair share of nervy moments.
Nicholas Voulgaris received his marching orders in the 58th minute, leaving the hosts with 10 men for more than half an hour.
For the most part the visitors couldn’t find an easy route on goal, though Damian Iaconis tapped in from close range in the 85th minute after his side had mounted a number of corners.
Coach Nick Tolios threw some big bodies forward and it was defender Simo Jovanovic who had the best chance to equalise, but his header flashed wide and the Lions escaped with three points intact.
The result doesn’t propel Bulleen above 12th yet, still behind Oakleigh on goal difference, but it keeps them in touch with safety and creates more of a gap on bottom two sides North Geelong and St Albans.