Photo: Rachel Bach
The excitement machines of the NPLW continued on their merry way as Galaxy United notched up another four goals in their win over Box Hill United at Banyul Warri Reserve.
Galaxy saw plenty of joy from wide positions with wingers Kariah White and Caitlin Pickett netting a brace each, while Hayley Geurts steered home an early goal of the season contender for the losing side.
The hosts got off to a flying start with White curling a cross from the right wing into the path of Pickett for the opening goal.
Similarly, Galaxy’s second came from a cross and tap in with captain Laura Spiranovic’s bursting run into the box picking out White to tap home at the far post.
Melanie Camilleri responded with a powerful strike on 12 minutes to halve the deficit, but Galaxy were able to restore their two-goal buffer before half-time.
Pickett grabbed her second of the match with a brilliant solo effort as she carried the ball into the box before cracking a shot past Alyssa Dall’oste to make it 3-1.
They had a fourth in the early stages of the second half with White also completing her brace with a powerful left-footed finish from inside the area.
Geurts then scored the pick of the goals, finding the back of the net with a first time strike from 25-yards which arched over the head of Emily Kenshole in goals.
The result leaves Box Hill languishing at the wrong end of the table after going four games without a win, while Galaxy retain their position at the perch of the NPLW ladder.
A fourth-consecutive brace to South Melbourne’s Melina Ayres was enough to deliver the club a 3-1 away win over Southern United.
The forward put in arguably her best performance of the year with a more telling all-round impact on the contest, ably supported by midfielder Natalie Martineau who finished the game with two assists.
It was Martineau carved out the opener on 15 minutes with the Canadian’s raking through ball finding the run of Ayres, who applied a low finish across the face of Christina Fonua’s goal.
The pair nearly combined for a second minutes later; this time Ayres turning provider for a Martineau tap-in.
A flag correctly raised on the far side of the pitch for an offside ensured the match continued on with just a goal separating the two sides.
Ayres continued to impact the contest in a creative sense by setting up Caitlin Greiser with a clever back heel in the box.
An unkind bobble at the last moment saw the young forward fail to make clean contact from five yards as her shot went well over the crossbar.
She made no mistake on the stroke of half-time as Martineau’s low-driven cross found the striker free at the far post for a characteristic tap-in, her third of the season.
South’s third came from a Tiffany Eliadis corner kick to find the towering leap of Ayres, who steered home a powerful headed effort just 10 minutes into the second half.
Some good work from Fonua late on ensured the scoreline remained respectable, most notably making a reflex save to deny Jamie Pollock one-on-one.
A booming kick from the goalkeeper set up Southern’s only goal of the match, coming deep into stoppage time.
Fonua’s expert distribution was well collected by Courtney Hueston who laid the ball off to Rachel Stirton.
The half-time substitute was able to confidently skirt around Alex Cheal, then cleverly round goalkeeper Molly-May Ramsay on her way to goal.
Alamein FC required a late goal to get past bottom-placed NPLW outfit Bayside United in a tight 1-0 result at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex.
The game was decided by Mari Pastor in the 88th minute, with the forward capitalising on some lazy defending from the home side.
Bayside allowed a Jaimee Williams throw to inexplicably bounce inside the box, before being turned in by the American import.
The victory was soured by injuries to Amy Kane and defender Amy Marron, who was unfortunately stretchered off in the dying embers of the game.
Alamein were earlier awarded a penalty in the 83rd minute, but a brilliant save from Ingrid Phillipe denied Rhea Schreuder who is now zero from two from the spot this season.
They saw another brilliant chance go begging earlier in the second half as Kelsey Minton fired wide despite having an open goal to aim for.
Although far from convincing, the result was enough for Alamein to jump into the top four, while Bayside remain in search of their first win of the season.
Calder United has a relatively straightforward win on the board at the Veneto Club, with two first-half goals doing the damage early.
The hosts were effectively masters of their own downfall after the half-hour mark, with mix-ups at the back allowing both Rachel Alonso and Enza Barilla in on goal within four minutes of each other and both gladly obliged.
From there the hosts struggled to claw their way back, a Liv Edwards free kick that stung the palms of Beth Mason-Jones the closest they got to pegging one back.
Goals to Frannie Iermano and Alina Zahovic gave the Senior NTC their first win of the NPLW season, coming at the expense of Heidelberg United.
The 2-0 result also marked the NTC’s first clean sheet of the season, which came in the absence of captain MelindaJ Barbieri who completed a move to Calder United over the weekend.
The Bergers enjoyed the first real chance of the contest through the in-form Cortnee Vine, who unleashed a sighter on 20 minutes to no avail.
Senior NTC were sent to the spot just three minutes later, but saw their chances at the lead scuppered by a save from Katie Neville.
They didn’t have to wait long for the opener with Iermano netting her first goal of the season coming from a Kyra Cooney-Cross assist.
The NTC controlled the majority of the game as the Bergers remained one-dimensional in their attempts to get back into the contest, too often launching the ball long for the pacy Vine to run onto, only for ‘keeper Teresa Morrissey to sweep clear.
They were able to grab a sealer in the 78th minute through Zahovic, lifting the NTC off the bottom of the NPLW ladder and level on points with the Bergers.