Image: Mark Avellino
Winter came early this weekend with most of the football fixtures across the state being subjected to a torrential downpour on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. NPL2 was no different but that did not hamper the action on the park as Dandenong Thunder made ground on division leaders Dandenong City, while regional outfits Goulburn Valley Suns and Murray United earned hard-fought victories to climb up the ladder.
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Arguably the game of the round took place on Saturday evening at George Andrews Reserve as the home side clawed back from 2-0 down to score three times in the last 20 minutes of the contest to record an important 3-2 victory over the Eastern Lions.
The visitors took the lead with virtually the last kick of the first half when Lions captain Andrew William hit a free kick from just over the half-way line which caught out Thunder custodian Fraser Maclaren by sailing into the back of the net. That lead was doubled 11 minutes into the second half through winger William Ellis, who netted his second of the campaign, only for Brandon Barnes to become the first player to hit double figures this term by heading in John Kuol’s cross.
Simon Colosimo then levelled the scoring with eight minutes to go via a long-rage belter. Speedy winger Kuol had his ball into the danger area turned in for an own goal to evoke wild celebrations from the hosts, who came into the game having won one of their five previous clashes.
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The three points leaves Thunder five points adrift of Dandenong City, held scoreless by a resolute Box Hill United, who are still the only side in the conference yet to win a game. Hajduk came into the game without the services of Ljubo Milicevic and goalkeeper Damir Salcin, with 20-year-old Zac Demetri deputising in place of the veteran in his senior debut.
Having served as United’s third-choice goalkeeper in 2014, the 19-year-old was called into action several times in the first half to deny the hosts from opening the scoring. The second half saw both teams exchange opportunities on goal as the heavy rain began to take effect.
Hajduk defender Steven Topalovic was given his marching orders for a second yellow in the final minutes of the game. Coincidentally, that red card occurred almost three years to the day since the former Bentleigh Greens Championship winner was sent off for City in a 3-0 defeat to Box Hill, also at Wembley Park.
The struggling hosts showed plenty of spirit and determination in a much-improved display without finding the back of the net, which is a continued concern with Pythagoras the lowest scorers in the division by some margin, having only netted three goals in nine games.
Both Box Hill and Dandenong City now face big mid-week FFA Cup ties against South Springvale and the Bulleen Lions respectively.
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The Goulburn Valley Suns moved to fourth on the standings, a point behind second-placed Melbourne City, whom they defeated at McEwen Reserve on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts did it the hard way, however, as City took the lead half-way through the opening term through former Melbourne Victory winger Lucas Derrick. The 18-year-old former Joeys World Cup representative latched onto a through ball on the left-hand side of the field before cutting in and firing past Clayton Scott for his second goal in nine appearances since moving to Bundoora in the summer.
The Suns were on level terms just three minutes later when Scottish attacking midfielder Shaun Kane scored his third of the season with a sublime chip that caught goalkeeper James Delianov off his line.
Nick Kalafatis’ men went into the half-time break with the lead after Welsh import Robert Hughes opened his Goulburn account with a brilliant free-kick from 25 metres.
City ended the game with ten men as substitute Kobe Timms received a straight red card in the 82nd minute following a reckless challenge, although that proved to be the first of two contentious moments late on.
Derrick appeared through on goal in stoppage time only for goalkeeper Scott to deny him, with the City coaching staff adamant the shot-stopper had done so illegally. But it was not to be for the A-League Youth side, which suffered its second consecutive defeat on the road against a Goulburn outfit that has lost just once in its past eight league games to put an embarrassing FFA Cup defeat at the hand of State League 2 side North Caulfield behind them.
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Another in-form team is Murray United, now unbeaten in its last four league games following a 2-1 win over the out-of-form Richmond at Kevin Bartlett Reserve on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors were boosted prior to the game with news that marquee signing Archie Thompson had turned his initial four-game stint into a season-long stay. The Melbourne Victory legend was at the heart of the action and won his side a penalty just past the hour mark after being brought down in the penalty area.
Defender Sean Pye made no mistake from the spot, with the Murray team making the most of the wet conditions by indulging themselves in a slip and slide celebration. Their joy was heightened three minutes later when marksman Zac Walker scored goal number four of his season to double the lead for James Coutts’ men via a well-taken strike.
English midfielder Rob Taylor halved the deficit to ensure a frantic last 10 minutes by blasting his shot past United shot-stopper Abdulkerim Koc. However, despite some late pressure from the home side, Murray held on to move up to fifth in the standings – their highest ladder placing at this point of the season.
@nplvictoria Gallery live from @RichmondSC1953 v @murrayunitedfc game yesterday https://t.co/M71qlteEv3 @nplvictoria @FFV365 pic.twitter.com/HUQpwcIHzV
— Mark Avellino (@Avellino_Photo) April 9, 2017
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The conference’s final fixture took place on another wet and windy Sunday afternoon at Mahoneys Reserve as sixth and seventh place Nunawading City and Springvale White Eagles played out a 2-2 draw.
The home side took the lead in just the fifth minute when James Brown pounced on defensive mistake to play through Mitch Cooper, whose shot was saved by opposition goalkeeper Lajos Oliveira only to fall straight into the path of Brown to tap the ball home.
Springvale equalised in the 36th minute when defender Erdem Ozcagli squared the ball to Delfin Mosibe, whose strike rebounded off the post and was tapped into an empty net by wide forward Vojo Milojevic, scoring his fourth of the season and his first in five league games.
City retook the lead in the 57th minute thanks to a neat volley from Devon Bonne. Another Nunawading win looked even more likely when new Springvale signing Milos Ilic was shown his second yellow card just after the hour mark.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Vlado Tortevski’s side levelled the scoring once more as Isaiah Joseph slipped the ball through to Mosibe, who tucked the ball past Jordan Franken, with the Equatorial Guinea international having his best game in a Springvale shirt since his summer transfer from Hume United.
That draw stops the rot for Springvale who had lost their past four while Nunawading now prepares itself for a massive mid-week FFA Cup assignment as they travel to ABD Stadium to take on 2015 semi-finalists Hume City.
