Despite a goalless draw kicking off Round 16 between Pascoe Vale and Bentleigh Greens, an exciting and entertaining week of action nevertheless unfolded.
Goran Zoric and Dean Piemonte both bagged a brace as Oakleigh demolished Port Melbourne 4-0 whilst Saturday’s only fixture saw Northcote City edge out Ballarat by a goal to nil.
Sunday’s action saw a total of 13 goals as Heidelberg smashed five passed a struggling Goulburn Valley whilst on the other side of town, Knights put four passed Werribee City.
South Melbourne and Hume also triumphed in less emphatic fashion, defeating their respective opponents 1-0.
Pascoe Vale 0 drew with Bentleigh Greens 0 at Hosken Reserve
Neither side were able to break the deadlock on Friday night as a poor surface otherwise overshadowed a hotly contested affair.
Bentleigh Greens coach John Anastasiadis vented his frustrations about the quality of the pitch at full time.
“The problem was the ground,” Anastasiadis said.
“I’m actually disgusted to be playing on a ground like that. If you’re going to get the best out of the best footballers, you have to have the right sort of grounds and facilities.
All in all opportunities for both side’s presented themselves throughout the contest, yet unfortunately none found the back of the net.
Oakleigh Cannons 4 defeated Port Melbourne Sharks 0 at Jack Edwards Reserve.
Second placed Oakleigh smashed a total of four goals passed the struggling Sharks on Friday night to keep the pressure on South at the top.
Goran Zoric and Dean Piemonte both bagged a brace as Miron Bleiberg’s men overwhelmed their opponents.
The charismatic coach was especially pleased with his forwards, explaining there was no need for any additions, despite his certainty of acquiring the services of a particular A-League star.
“We’ve got a good forward line and that’s why we never recruited anyone in the forward line. I could’ve gone for (Besart) Berisha if I wanted, he’s a good friend.”
Ballarat Red Devils 0 defeated by Northcote City 1 at Morshead Park
The reigning champions notched up consecutive victories for the first time since April, defeating Ballarat 1-0.
A penalty from Jonathan Munoz just under a quarter of an hour was enough for Northcote to grab the three points at Morshead Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The result sees James Robinson’s side sit two points adrift from safety.
Hume City 1 defeated Dandenong Thunder 0 at Broadmeadows Valley Park
Shane Rexhepi came back to haunt his former side on Sunday afternoon, heading in the games’ only goal after 20 minutes.
Hume goalkeeper Chris Oldfield was in fantastic form as he did is best to preserve the lead which included a superb point-blank save late in the game.
The match though concluded on a sour note with Joseph Franjic shown red, but Hume nevertheless held on for a crucial victory.
Werribee City 2 defeated by Melbourne Knights 4 at Galvin Park
Melbourne Knights atoned for their slip up in the corresponding fixture early in the season, defeating a disappointing Werribee 4-2.
The visitors came out of the blocks firing, netting two goals after six minutes whilst Daniel Visevic raced to the top of his clubs goal scoring tally with a brace.
New signing Stipo Andrijasevic also continued his promising start with captain Ben Surey adding one of his own.
Two second half goals to Simon Tolli and Evan Batsis salvaged some consolation for the hosts but Melbourne’s early dominance proved to be the difference.
Heidelberg United 5 defeated Goulburn Valley Suns 0 at Olympic Village
Heidelberg maintained third spot on the NPL table with thrashing 5-0 victory over bottom-placed Goulburn Valley on Sunday evening.
Former Victory man Daniel Vasilevski bagged a brace with Kosta Kanakaris, Mark McGough and Andrew Cartanos rounding out the result.
The visitors defended reasonably well during the first half but four second half goals put the game well beyond doubt for George Katsakis’s side.
South Melbourne 1 defeated Green Gully 0 at Lakeside Stadium
South Melbourne maintained their six point lead at the top of the table, grinding out a 1-0 victory over Green Gully on Sunday evening.
Matthew Theodore opened the scoring early in proceedings, heading Jamie Reed’s pinpoint cross into the back of the net after 12 minutes.
Despite no further contributions to the scoreline, both side’s continued to create chances for the remainder of a sluggish contest.
The result also saw Green Gully drop a point into 7th position.
Taylor: Gully made it difficult for us
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Five games played out on Saturday in the NPL 1 with high flying Richmond SC and Avondale Heights both getting back to winning ways after failing to secure maximum points last time out. Avondale prevailed 4-2 over Sunshine whilst Richmond also did it convincingly with a 3-0 win over Springvale White Eagles.
Box Hill succumbed to a shock 2-0 home loss to North Geelong whilst the other regional club FC Bendigo lost to second bottom Whittlesea Ranges. Brunswick City picked up points for the second time all season after drawing 2-2 with Dandenong City.
FC Bulleen and St Alban Saints also drew, with the former no doubt the more disappointed of the two sides. The other Monday night game saw the Zebras leapfrog opponents Kingston after a 2-1 win.
Avondale Heights 4 defeated Sunshine George Cross 2 at Avondale Heights Reserve
The usual suspects were making themselves a nuisance for Avondale Heights as they overturned a Tom Reilly goal to win 4-2 against Sunshine George Cross.
Italian Arturo Ymeri equalised before Dean Campelj, Andrew Le Page and Oleksiy Khrapko netted to make it four unanswered. Chris Oghanna scored an injury time consolation for Sunshine.
Dandenong City 2 drew with Brunswick City 2 at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex
Brunswick came close to a second win for the season; instead they had to settle for a draw as Dandenong City scored two unanswered to draw 2-2. New signing Rikiya Kitami stormed forward to open the scoring for Brunswick before Baggio Yousif had the away support in dreamland after putting through his side’s second.
Dario Matkovic cut celebrations short as he netted a brace for City to deny Brunswick some much needed points.
Springvale White Eagles 0 defeated by Richmond SC 3 at White Eagles Stadium
Richmond did it easy with a 3-0 win over Springvale White Eagles to do their promotion chances no harm. A well taken volley by Hamlet Armenian preceded captain Tom Cahill’s second half brace.
Box Hill United 0 defeated by North Geelong Warriors 2 at Wembley Park
It could be a case of missed opportunities as Box Hill united succumbed to a shock 2-0 loss to regional club North Geelong Warriors.
Juso Julardzija placed the ball over the Box Hill custodian to open the scoring for the match. Mark Paleka made the points safe in the second half to put a real spanner in the works of United’s season.
FC Bendigo 1 defeated by Whittlesea Ranges 2 at Tom Flood Sports Centre
Kingston City 1 defeated by Moreland Zebras 2 at The Grange Reserve
A relatively dull match saw Moreland steal a march on their opponent with a 2-1 win. A defensive mistake saw Nick Symeoy slip through unmarked to open the scoring 10 minutes from the restart.
With the game heading towards a 1-0 score line, late goals to Scott Robson for the Zebras and Velibor Mitrovic for Kingston provided some excitement for the expectant crowd.
FC Bulleen Lions 1 drew with St Alban Saints 1 at Veneto Club
St Albans Saints fought hard to take a point from second place FC Bulleen Lions after going a goal behind in the first half. Alex Dao headed home to put the home side in front before Saints defender Barry Devlin got one of his own to restore parity late on to earn his side a share of the spoils.
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The Women’s Premier League week started in promising fashion as Casey Comets’ returning forward Brittany Dudley-Smith netted a hat-trick to help her side to a 4-1 win over Cairnlea on Friday night. Heidelberg United also notched up a resounding win, beating bottom placed Monbulk Rangers 4-0 at Olympic Village.
Bundoora United got the better of fourth placed Boroondara Eagles on Saturday to the tune of 2-1. Box Hill did it harder as they came from behind to beat a spirited Ashburton Women’s 3-2.
The biggest result of the round saw the NTC girls put on a master class to beat Sandringham 2-0. The biggest game of the round however produced a 1-1 score line; South Melbourne and FC Bulleen Lions unable to be split in the 90 minutes.
Casey Comets 4 defeated Cairnlea FC 1 at Comets Stadium
It was a case of as you were for returning striker Brittany Dudley-Smith as she netted a hat-trick in the Comets 4-1 routing of Cairnlea to all but assure their safety from the drop. Dudley-Smith contributed the last three goals of the game, with Jade Barnden opening the scoring from close range before Cairnlea’s Zoe Stamatopolous slotted home past the keeper equalise.
Up stepped Dudley-Smith who netted two in quick fashion in an exciting first half before stepping up to take the match ball in the 90th minute after nodding home at the back post.
Bundoora United 2 defeated Boroondara Eagles 1 at Hillsview Recreational Reserve
A dominant Bundoora United outfit well accounted for a lacklustre Boroondara side as the home side prevailed 2-1. With the front three of Rachel Alonso, Enza Barilla and Padiki Dade all firing, it was a matter of time before the deadlock broke.
Continue Reading > Bundy pair delighted with dominant display
It gave way in the 35th minute as Enza Barilla collected from a Gulcan Koca through ball before firing home from inside the area. Louisa Bisby made it 2-0 with her fortunate strike from 30-yards before Alex Gummer scored the visitors late consolation with an extraordinary free-kick.
Bundy push up to second place while the Eagles have to settle for fourth, two games adrift of third.
Read More > Simao: We’re not going to change
Heidelberg United 4 defeated Monbulk Rangers 0 at Olympic Village
A rampant first half blitz set up a resounding 4-0 victory for the home side, with four different goal scorers breaking the Rangers defence. Winger Maggie Eudes opened the scoring in the fifth minute before American Michelle Verzi made it two soon after.
Laura Di Clemente scored her first in United colours on the stroke of half-time before Demi Kallianis continued her outstanding form by tapping in early in the second half to put the game beyond doubt.
Read More > Kyrgios delight at Di Clemente strike
Monbulk Rangers now sit perilously close to going down, and will be aiming to earn maximum points against Cairnlea this week to keep their hope alive.
Continue Reading > The crucial run ahead for Monbulk
FFV U17 Girls 2 defeated Sandringham SC 0 at State Football Centre
The NTC girls pulled off the shock of the round after overcoming reigning champions Sandringham SC 2-0 to push themselves closer towards mid-table. Two goals in quick succession had the FFV team overjoyed as they made a real statement to the rest of the competition.
Melissa Taranto opened the scoring in the 36th minute after a Jess Pitts free-kick cannoned off the crossbar and into the patch of the midfielder, who read the ball well to tap home. Janna Lawson made the points safe five minutes after being teed up by Annabel Martin.
Ashburton Womens 2 defeated by Box Hill United 3 at Knox Regional Football Centre
Ashburton fought valiantly but were unable to prevent Box Hill United running out eventual 3-2 winners at Knox Regional Football Centre. Despite having the lead not once but twice, Ashburton eventually succumbed to a Natalie Exon strike in the 77th minute to head towards the spirited loss.
Christine Pfeiffer gave the hosts the lead after she hammered her first time shot into the roof of the net. United’s reply was swift however as Jasmina Pedic struck in the 13th minute. The crowd had to wait until the second half for a third goal, but it was worth the wait as Melina Ayres weaved through the Box Hill defence before launching a rocket from distance.
Ruby Foottit equalised for the away side for a second time before Exon’s winner.
South Melbourne 1 drew with FC Bulleen Lions 1 at State Football Centre
Billed as the game of the round, South Melbourne and Bulleen Lions were unable to be separated as they cancelled each other out on their way to a 1-1 draw.
South had the better of the play early but both set’s of defences stood up to the challenge. The opener came against the run of play as Emily Coppock lofted the ball over the keeper in the 34th minute. Chances were wasted at either end and it took a well-struck free-kick from the leagues leading goal scorer Tiffany Eliadis to tie proceedings.
The dropped points saw Bundoora United leapfrog Bulleen into second as well as cut South’s lead at the top to two points.