Melbourne Knights notched up a first win of the season, at the expense of the still winless Northcote City.
It came via a nervy 2-1 win at Knights Stadium. It was looking ominous early when Stipo Andrijasevic nodded home James McGarry’s set piece, with the latter then combining with Jason Hicks to score the team’s second goal. The tide turned after the break and substitute Todd Dekker won a penalty which Jonathan Bounas converted, but Northcote couldn’t find the elusive equaliser.
It’s now three straight wins and a goals for/against ratio of 12 to zero for South Melbourne.
Port Melbourne were their next victims, with Iqi Jawadi sending the visitors on their way after just six minutes. Nick Epifano then delivered an accurate cross for Luke Adams to nod home. That ended proceedings on the scoresheet at least, with the result remaining 2-0 in the second half to the away side.
It finally looked like Oakleigh were about to kick-start their season at home, but Richmond had other ideas.
Both Dimi Hatzimouratis and Dusan Bosnjak scored within minutes after half-time, capitalising on a lack of concentration at the back. Hamlet Armenian then pegged one back with less than half an hour remaining following a horror mix up between John Honos and his backline. A red card to Cannons substitute Perry Lambropoulos just two minutes after coming on in the 75th minute was a big catalyst for the equaliser, which fell in extra time to Alex Caniglia.
Alexander Caniglia earned a point for Richmond in the 4th minute of additional time against the Oakleigh Cannons with an unstoppable effort that Oakleigh goalkeeper John Honos could only watch. Richmond picked up their first point of the season, while Oakleigh are still searching for their first win of the 2016 NPL Victoria season.
Posted by NMS Media on Monday, 7 March 2016
Neither of the two promoted sides could be separated after 90 minutes, nor after three games, with both Bulleen Lions and Melbourne Victory on four points in 2016.
Bulleen took the lead via defender Will Abbott in the second half, which would have aggrieved Victory after a promising first half. Nonetheless, Victory’s equaliser came in the 75th minute through George Howard, who tapped home Sebastian Pasquali’s initial shot which rebounded off the woodwork. Last week’s hero Sami Nour was denied from point blank range late, as both sides settled for a point each.
With both teams looking for their first win of the year, it was Gully which triumphed at home convincingly over Avondale.
After a Tomas Murphy long throw-in emulating Rory Delap was sent in, Avondale failed to clear their lines and Liam Boland struck. Nick Krousoratis then doubled the advantage after the break, latching onto Rani Dowisha’s long kick-in to drive an effort past Chris May. Roddy Vargas then tapped in at the back post from Yohei Iwasaki’s delivery to seal the 3-0 win.
Hume City and Bentleigh had to settle for a rare scoreless draw involving the two teams.
As two of the league’s entertainers, neither side could find the breakthrough in a tight tussle. Bentleigh had Ryan Scott to thank, with the youngster denying Theo Markelis and Kym early. For Bentleigh, Chris Lucas and Wayne Wallace both had the ball in the back of the net, though both were deemed to be offside.
?| All the highlights from our hotly contested 0-0 draw with Bentleigh Greens Soccer Club at ABD Stadium. #HCFC #PS4NPLVIC NPL Victoria
Posted by Hume City F.C. on Sunday, 6 March 2016
After a gloomy opening round, in which the club found themselves on -3 points and a goal difference of -6, things are starting to look up at Heidelberg United.
Their second consecutive win, following a 6-1 trouncing of the Knights, came at the expense of the in-form Pascoe Vale. Rueben Way’s goal made the difference, pouncing to score after Paco couldn’t deal with Kenny Athiu’s initial shot. The Bergers defence then stood tall against the surprisingly lacklustre visitors, to earn a vital three points.
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Box Hill United picked up a second win of the season, triumphing 2-0 over local rivals Eastern Lions.
Simultaneously playing out as their women’s team grabbed a win of their own at Wembley Park, United did well to take the full compliment of points from their away fixture at Gardiners Creek Reserve. They took a 1-0 lead into the half-time break through Lucas Johns, which came about via his incessant forward pressure. Johns then double the lead in the second half to round off the result.
Eastern Lions v Box Hill United NPL2 05/03/2016 from Eastern Lions Soccer Club on Vimeo.
Dandenong Thunder continued their rapid start to the NPL2 East season, laying on another four goals but conceding for the first time all season in a 4-1 win over Murray United.
Amir Osmancevic also maintained his fantastic personal start to the season, striking the first two goals in the contest, before unselfishly setting up Veton Korcari for the third. Zac Walker found his third in as many games – as did Korcari – only for an unfortunate late own goal to Murray keeper Dylan Nikolovski to round off the result in injury time.
Kingston City profited from a lacklustre Springvale White Eagles, piling on three goals in a blistering first half at The Grange Reserve
Jerry Karpeh was handed his starting debut for City, and he helped oversee three goals in the first term, with his side ruthless in attack. Their forays forward saw Zdenek Koukal for the third time score from midfield, while youngster Damian Iaconis followed it up to double the lead. Velibor Mitrovic slotted home a penalty to make it 3-0, while also hitting the crossbar in a tormenting performance. 16-year-old keeper Nikola Popetrov would’ve been forgiven for shying away after conceding three goals in a half, but instead, it inspired the youngster to a brilliant second half, where he made a string of fine saves to limit the damage done.
Goulburn Valley Suns dropped their first points of the season, falling 3-0 to a rampant Dandenong City.
Halil Gur was left unmarked at the back post to header home the opener before Gonzalo Freddi pounced on a spill from the Suns keeper. Chris Antoinadis grabbed the final goal – coming early in the second half – to round off a great afternoon’s work for the visitors making the long trip to regional Victoria.
Brunswick City nabbed their first win of the season, consigning Nunawading City to yet another loss in their NPL Victoria lifecycle, with a 5-0 result.
Adam Wright got things kicking-off with a belter of a free-kick, which burst the back of the net on its way through, forcing a save with his second set piece of the half. The floodgates opened late in the second term as Brunswick raided the Nunawading goals; firstly through Michael Ndjekompte who headed home after a wealth of chances. Former Avondale FC man Jason Principato bundled home at the far post for 3-0, Ndjekompte acrobatically made it four despite a controversial call from the linesman in the build up, with Wright finding the back of the net with a 90th minute penalty.
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Sunshine crashed back to Earth after their Bendigo victory, while Whittlesea continued their early season form and are still unbeaten.
After draws against Werribee and Melbourne City, Whittlesea took a first scalp in the form of Sunshine George Cross, with the help of a red card to last week’s hat-trick hero Juso Julardzija in the 13th minute. From there it was always going to be an uphill battle, as Atilla Ofli netted a double to take his tally to five goals from three games, while Steven Baricevic also found himself on the scoresheet in the first half – with no score added to the second period.
After having to settle for a draw against a 10-man Whittlesea last week, Melbourne City were much more clinical this week against North Geelong Warriors.
It was 3-0 against North Geelong Warriors after an hour when Austin Wong, Stefan Zinni and Chris Cristaldo all scored, before Matt Townley pegged one back from the spot. Cristaldo made it a brace in the 70th minute, and while Michael Anderson again reduced the deficit, Giuseppe Marafioti capped off proceedings with a header from Cristaldo’s cross.
It’s not looking good for Bendigo, who slumped to a third straight defeat and are still looking for their first goal of the season.
Their latest defeat comes against Moreland City, who themselves notched up an overdue win to kick-start their season. Apai Ukono took his season tally to five goals in three games with a brace, while Trent Rixon also added his first goal for his new club, killing off the contest in the 76th minute. It’s now three defeats with no goals scored and 12 conceded.
St Albans continued their undefeated start to the season with an entertaining win over Ballarat Red Devils.
In a frenetic opening, 16-year-old Brandon Launton bagged a first senior goal for the season on his starting debut for Ballarat. The hosts struck the next two, with Joey Monek scoring following good interplay with Barry Devlin, before josh Knight tapped home from a corner. Shaun Romein squared the ledger from the spot, but it was that man Barry Devlin who popped up to volley home the eventual winner – though substitute Tedros Yabio made sure of the result deep in extra time.
Werribee City’s initiation back into the NPL2 continues to be a tough, having only picked up one point to date following a third round defeat to the Zebras
Moreland themselves bounced back from a disappointing loss at defeat against St Albans last week. Nejc Kolman struck first in the 24th minute, and it was all uphill from there as James Papadimitrou and substitute Vani Shamoon sealed the three points in the second half. While Julian Cassano scored in added time, it acted as mere consolation for the hosts.
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Bulleen Lions got off to a dream start to live in the NPLW, with a solid 3-0 win over newcomers Bayside United.
Bulleen boasted an incredibly strong bench, with players of the ilk of Tessa Sernio, Beattie Goad, Dani Gudelj, Alex Natoli and Liv Ellis making up the pine. Nonetheless, they boasted an incredibly strong XI, highlighted by pre-season signings Jamie Pollock and Taryne Boudreau, who both contributed heavily to the win. Boudreau scored a memorable double, with goals either side of the break. While her first was a regulation tap-in from inside the six-yard-box, her second was a peach of a strike to evade Erin Hudson in goals for Bayside. Jamie Pollock netted in between Boudreau’s brace with a nice, placed finish from just inside the area. Bayside looked a more solid, compact outfit in the second half, something they can take forward with them into their next fixture.
#PS4NPLWVIC #BLvBAYHistory in the making! FC Bulleen Lions ‘ Taryne Boudreau and Jamie Pollock scored the first #PS4NPLWVIC goals in Bulleen’s 3-0 win against Bayside United Football Club – WNPL on Friday night.
Posted by NPLW Victoria on Saturday, 5 March 2016
Box Hill United came from a goal down to triumph over Southern United 2-1, overturning the pair’s only previous meeting, a 5-1 reverse result in pre-season.
Southern United were the pick of the sides in the first half, but weren’t able to graft out enough clear-cut opportunities as the opening half fizzed away. Breathing some life into the contest – albeit momentarily – was a stunning strike from Tiffany Eliadis, who arrowed a shot into the top right corner, which came off the post and the keeper on its way into the back of the net. The second half saw Melanie Camilleri tuck home expertly with a looping header from the penalty spot, to set up substitute Ellen Wines for a 90th minute winner. The real star of the show was Box Hill United shot-stopper Emily Shields who shone, racking up double-digit saves in the win.
In the battle of two debutant sides, Calder United made their intent known early with a 2-0 win over Alamein FC.
Youngster Marie Rampal struck the opener, profiting from a delightful cut-back across the face from Enza Barilla to beat Melissa Maizels. A penalty – won by Aliesha Newman, finished by Rachel Alonso – in the second half to provided Calder the two goal buffer they desired, which they held onto well. Alamein had their moments in the contest, promising sides on their debut.
While it was a tight affair against Heidelberg United, Galaxy United claimed a 1-0 home victory to start their season, marking a momentous first win for the ‘new clubs’ over the ‘old clubs’.
Galaxy – on their competitive debut – got past their more established opponents courtesy of a first half goal to former Boroondara Eagles utility Jess Tay. In the end, their stubbornness in defence was enough for them to hold out against United, with things piecing together for Galaxy after their opening fixture.
Senior NTC play their opening game of the season against Heidelberg United tomorrow night.