Image: Bendigo City
Bendigo City nearly broke through for their first win of the season but Moreland City had other ideas with a big turnaround to run out 4-3 winners. Brunswick got back on the winners list, the Zebras pounced on a sluggish Victory, while Sunshine and Werribee split the points. Northcote were on their way to a comfortable win at Ballarat before Mother Nature had other ideas.
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Brunswick City ended a lean patch and moved to fifth, sitting on equal points with Whittlesea after defeating the Ranges 2-1.
Whittlesea looked to have struck first however when Danny Charalambous had the ball in the back of the net early, but was called offside.
Just minutes later however Brunswick had the opener as Jason Principato’s strike took a deflection off Pavle Durkic and found the back of the net.
Whittlesea looked to hit back but were thwarted by offside calls and misses from the likes of Jacob Colosimo and Ross Frame.
It got better for the Spartans after the break when Juan Portillo smashed in a stunning free-kick to extend his side’s lead.
But the deficit was back to one moments later as a penalty was given and Ross Frame made no mistake from the spot.
From then on the Ranges looked determined to equalise but Frame struck the woodwork and Brunswick eventually held on for the 2-1 win having missed a few chances of their own at the other end.
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An early blitz wrapped up the contest early between Moreland Zebras and Melbourne Victory, with the former running out 4-0 winners eventually.
Amir Osmancevic was in dreamland early, netted twice as Victory’s defensive structures were completely exposed by the visitors early.
By the ninth minute Daniel Petrov added another with a 20-yard effort that beat Victory goalkeeper Majak Mawith.
Pierce Waring almost pegged one back in the 35th minute with a strong solo effort that ended in a shot from range that struck the crossbar.
Despite an improved display from Victory, Regsan Watkins added a fourth early in the second half, with the Zebras cruising to a 4-0 win.
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It was close but no cigar for Bendigo City as Moreland City avoided a massive upset to maintain third on the ladder with a comeback win on the road.
The match looked like it was going to be a formality for Moreland when Apai Ukuno got the scoring underway in the 19th minute.
But the tide turned just moments later. Anthony Marafioti had been in decent goalscoring form lately for his side and added his third of the season in the 22nd minute, followed up by Lachlan Beever who had his second for the campaign.
Kevin Walker, a recent visa signing who had played for the likes of Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati State and South Carolina before signing for Bendigo, then had his side in raptures at half time, giving their biggest tally for the season by half time.
But it was all too good to be true as a rampant Moreland woke up and stormed home in the second half.
Rixon started the comeback in the 58th minute, with Jay Kelly coming off the bench to square things up just after the hour.
Rixon completed his brace soon after to seal the 4-3 come-from-behind win and spare the side’s blushes, leaving Bendigo still searching for their first win of the campaign.
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It was a 1-1 result between Sunshine George Cross and Werribee City which didn’t do too much to shake up the ladder, although Werribee made it a 15-point gap between them and last-placed Bendigo while the Georgies moved up above Victory on the ladder, whose downward slide continues.
It were a couple of new faces that made an instant impact for both sides, as two mid-season transfers netted their maiden goals at their new homes.
Papua New Guinea international George Slefendorfas got Werribee off to a lead after half an hour, making it a first goal in three appearances for the former Geelong SC man.
It was another SL1 signing in Yosuke Saito, a former Japanese professional who last plied his trade for Essendon Royals, who then squared the ledger in the second half and that’s the way the scores stayed until the end of the 90.
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And finally, the clash between Ballarat City and Northcote City was abandoned in the 60th minute, with rescheduling set to be announced in due course by the FFV.
Begrudgingly for the visitors, they were 3-0 up at the time. John Maclean, Alec Goodwin and Tremayne Sadler were on the scoresheet and, after a delay at half time to kick the game off, the second half got through 15 minutes before the officials deemed the conditions unsuitable.
The match has been abandoned in the 60th minute due to heavy fog pic.twitter.com/5IhOfC4NkL
— Northcote City FC (@NorthcoteCity) June 10, 2017