It was an NPL Victoria round for the forwards this week as a collection of players helped themselves to multiple goals.
David Stirton put three away for Bentleigh in their 4-0 rout against Werribee, whilst Dean Piemonte also scored a hat-trick; his coming in Oakleigh’s 5-1 thrashing of Green Gully. The Knights condemned more misery onto a struggling Dandenong outfit after a 4-1 result.
The final two games on the Saturday were chalk and cheese; Port Melbourne and Goulburn Valley playing out a 1-0 result while Ballarat and Heidelberg played out a 5-5 draw at the very same time.
Sunday saw Northcote City and Pascoe Vale earn a score draw before South made it 15 wins for the season after a 2-0 win against Hume.
Bentleigh Greens 4 defeated Werribee City 0 at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Bentleigh’s task was made easy after a fifth minute red card to Werribee’s Daniel Petrov gifted the home side the numerical advantage for basically the entire match. Regardless the Bee’s did well to hold on until the stroke of half-time when captain Wayne Wallace tapped home, following a Christian Cavallo free-kick.
He was again in the action as the no-fuss midfielder won a penalty in first half stoppage time. David Stirton had no problems converting from the spot, and he repeated the dose in the 68th minute, again from the spot. Stirton completed his hat-trick with a late tap in to seal a comfortable victory.
Green Gully 1 defeated by Oakleigh Cannons 5 at Green Gully Reserve
A late blitz has sealed big 5-1 victory for Oakleigh Cannons to keep pressure on South Melbourne at the top of the NPL ladder. Dean Piemonte – equally adept playing up front or on the wing – started up top and had his first goal within the first 10 minutes as he hammered home a rebound off the keeper to put the away side a goal to the good. Osagie Ederaro continued on with his form this season with a 14th minute equaliser before Dusan Bosnjak scored right on the brink of half-time.
Piemonte had to wait until the 77th minute to get his second, but needed only seven minutes more to take the match ball home after scoring a delightful chip. Goran Zoric completed the rout in injury time for the Cannons.
Port Melbourne 1 defeated Goulburn Valley Suns 0 at JL Murphy Reserve
Goulburn Valley put in a decent shift despite eventually falling to a late Port Melbourne goal.
Luka Prelevic was the hero from the bench for the Sharks as he powered home with what was basically his first touch on the pitch.
The Suns defended valiantly throughout the contest and were unlucky to not take anything from the clash. The three points will go a long way towards Port’s survival fund.
Ballarat Red Devils 5 drew with Heidelberg United 5 at Morshead Park Stadium
Surely this one goes down as the best NPL Victoria match so far. It had a bit of everything; goals, gasps, goals, multiple lead changes and most importantly goals! This one’s going to need some beating.
Paul Harvey had his first two goals for his new club, including the match’s opener in the ninth minute. Jakob Williams equalised for Heidelberg soon after before ex-Victory player Daniel Vasilevski put the Warriors in front for the first time for the afternoon.
Defender Danny O’Donnell profited from a Griffin McMaster spill to equalise for Ballarat, with the regional club going on to regain the lead through Simon Murphy, who got the final touch off a Liam Harding free-kick.
Williams completed his brace a minute later to tie things up once more for Heidelberg before the see-sawing affair – to put it lightly – saw Harvey get his second to give the home side the lead for an astounding third time.
The resilient Warriors side hit back in a seven-minute spurt through the league’s leading goal scorer Dan Heffernan, who notched up two goals to give the Bergers the lead once more.
The game rounded off in the 72nd minute as Liam Harding scored the tenth goal for the game to cap off the festival of football that was on show for a lucky Ballarat crowd.
Dandenong Thunder 1 defeated by Melbourne Knights 4 at George Andrews Reserve
Now winless in five, Dandenong continue to free fall after another morale depleting loss to Melbourne Knights. The Thunder have now conceded three or more goals in a game seven times this season.
Continue Reading > Hennessey confident of Thunder turnaround
The Knights started on fire, with Daniel Visevic pulling the strings all night. He teed up Stipo Andrijasevic for the opener before slotting the second himself from the penalty spot. By the 21st minute it was 3-0, as Visevic’s free-kick found young centre-back Ivan Grgic who leapt highest to nod home from close range.
Goals to Jarryd Barnes for Dandy and Michael Doyle for the Knights rounded off another NPL goalfest as the winners suddenly find themselves in seventh.
Things are starting to look up for the club who have both a Dockerty Cup Final and FFA cup clash to look forward to.
FFV Match Report > Clinical Knights punish Thunder
Northcote City 1 drew with Pascoe Vale 1 at John Cain Memorial Park
Two early goals shared between the two sides saw the mid table clubs earn a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon. Young forward Wade Dekker was Johnny on the spot to hit home from a Stefaan Sardelic spill.
Luca Santilli scored an equally scrappy goal to tie proceedings, converting from a goalmouth scramble.
South Melbourne 2 defeated Hume City 0 at Lakeside Stadium
A scrappy game saw South Melbourne run out eventual 2-0 winners, despite Hume City creating a wealth of chances. The crossbar was South’s best friend as it saved their bacon a whopping three times.
The breakthrough did come through a Hume player, unfortunately it was at the wrong end as Isyan Erdogan failed to deal with a cross before hacking past teammate Chris Oldfield.
Nick Epifano brightened up a low-key affair with his neat goal to seal the points.
NPL Ladder
NPL Top Scorers
NPL Team of the Week
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Not accustomed to seeing too many draws in the NPL 1 Victoria season to date but Round 16 threw up three stalemates in six games. Whittlesea Ranges and Sunshine George Cross shared the points in in their 1-1 result, as did St Albans Saints and Kingston City with an identical score line. Dandy City and Box Hill United shared the spoils after a scoreless result.
Elsewhere it was a Tom Cahill led Richmond, which dismantled second placed FC Bulleen Lions to the tune of 5-2. A big win was on the cards for North Geelong Warriors too as they raced to a three goal over Springvale only to see the White Eagles pull it back to 3-2.
The other result saw first versus last in a much closer contest than anyone could’ve predicted as Avondale Heights eventually prevailed 2-1 over Brunswick City.
Whittlesea Ranges 1 drew Sunshine George Cross 1 at Epping Stadium
Whittlesea and Sunshine kicked off the round with a 1-1 draw on the Friday night. Sunshine would’ve been the more disappointed of the two sides as they missed an opportunity to temporarily jump into fourth place.
The Ranges have belied their lowly position on the NPL 1 ladder in recent weeks, notching up two wins previous and they looked a good chance of making it three in a row after Kiwi Tomislav Trbuhovich scored in the 16th minute.
It wasn’t to be however as a 73rd minute strike to Manuell Sadik capped off an entertaining afternoon’s football.
Richmond SC 5 defeated FC Bulleen Lions 2 at Kevin Bartlett Reserve
Captain Tom Cahill was the star of the show as he nabbed four goals en route to a convincing three goal win for Richmond who are now looking like favourites for promotion. They’ve turned things around amazingly in the last couple of months after a poor start to the season.
Cahill scored the first three goals of the game, and he notched up the hat-trick with a bit of everything. He scored a header, rounded the keeper and placed the ball in for his first.
Substitute Alistair Quinn made it 4-0 before Bulleen Lions tested their opponents resolve by nabbing two quick ones in a row through Joey Katebian.
The game was sealed moments later as Cahill slotted home his fourth
Brunswick City 1 defeated by Avondale Heights 2 at Dunstan Reserve
It was a little less comfortable than a lot of people would’ve predicted as Brunswick City made a good account of themselves in a narrow 2-1 loss against ladder leaders Avondale Heights, who’ve now won a staggering 14 games on the trot.
A four minute spell in the first half laid the foundation for an away win as current NPL 1 player of the month Andrew Le Page added to his season tally of seven with a deflected strike from the corner that was officially marked down as the wingers goal, despite it taking a deflection of Brunswick’s Denis Sadik.
Le Page then turned provider from the next corner, picking out Dean Campelj to put Avondale into a 2-0 half-time lead.
Dimitri Vithoulka’s header gave the lowly Brunswick some hope but ultimately they couldn’t get a second to steal a point.
North Geelong Warriors 3 defeated Springvale White Eagles 2 at Elcho Park
So nearly for Springvale, who clawed back a 3-0 lead to eventually succumb to regional outfit North Geelong by a solitary goal. Juso Julardzija had a brace for the home side with Mark Paleka also slotting one in between.
Vojislav Milojevic was the inspiration for the Eagles in their second half domination. He scored one before winning a late penalty – which he himself converted – to set up a tense finish. He however wasn’t able to drag his team across the line as the Warriors held on for three points.
Dandenong City 0 drew Box Hill United 0 at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex
There are scoreless draws that could put a person to sleep; fortunately this one didn’t fall into that category. Despite the score line, the 0-0 was full of actions at both ends of the pitch as Box Hill United’s Alexander Pavlidis and Dandenong City’s Marko Stevanja both had stellar afternoons in goal.
Continue Reading > Steely defence pleases City’s Duzel
Dandenong would’ve been the happier of the two sides with the point, with Box Hill letting a second place finish to the round slip by.
FFV Match Report > Keepers sparkle in scoreless draw
St Albans Saints 1 drew Kingston City 1 at Churchill Reserve
It’s been the story of St Albans season to date; one of missed chances and dropped points. This was all so prevalent in their 1-1 draw with Kingston in which saw them fail to capitalise on their sea of chances.
In spite of that, it was Kingston who did the scoring for both sides with marksman Max Etheridge adding to his impressive tally this year with a 21st minute strike. The equaliser also came off a Kingston boot, this time George Stavridis deflecting into his own net.
With promotion now looking unlikely for the Saints, they’ll be refocusing their attention onto the upcoming FFA Cup fixture.
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Round 13 played host to arguably the WPL game of the season as a determined Boroondara Eagles handed South Melbourne their first defeat of the season.
That result allowed Bulleen Lions to advance to the top of the Sportsmart Women’s Premier League table with a 4-0 victory over Ashburton whilst on the same night Bundoora missed a golden opportunity to reach the summit, overwhelmed by Sandy 4-0. A third 4-0 result saw Box Hill beat Casey Comets to open the round.
Elsewhere there was a 3-1 win for Heidelberg over FFV U17 Girls and Cairnlea’s convincing 3-0 win over Monbulk Rangers.
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Box Hill United 4 defeated Casey Comets 0 at Wembley Park
Box Hill made it back-to-back victories on Friday night, defeating Casey Comets 4-0.
The hosts raced to a 3-0 lead within 20 minutes through Ellie Brush and Natalie Exon – who nabbed a brace. The opening onslaught proved to be the difference on the night with Box Hill only netting one after the main break thanks to Ruby Foottit.
Casey captain Laura Croft though was unfortunately forced into goals, with an unavailability of goalkeepers out of Comets Stadium.
Heidelberg United 3 defeated FFV U17 Girls 1 at Olympic Village
John Kyrgios’s side came from a goal down to defeat the NTC side on Saturday afternoon.
Melbourne Victory’s Beattie Goad opened the scoring ten minutes in with Laura Di Clemente cancelling out the visitors opener shortly after. Despite defeating last season’s champions 2-0 the week before, FFV U17s couldn’t hang as two late goals from Heidelberg skipper Michelle Verzi and substitute Sadie Murphy saw the hosts over the line.
Heidelberg United coach John Kyrgios was particularly delighted with his side’s performance after winning coach of the month, aside from a less than impressive first half.
Cairnlea 3 defeated Monbulk Rangers 0 at Cairnlea Park
Cairnlea jumped back up to eighth spot on the Sportsmart Women’s Premier League table with a 3-0 victory over Monbulk Ranges.
Christine Duffy, Zoe Stamatopoulos and Christie Graham all found the back of the net for Cairnlea despite a resilient performance from the visitors. Both goalkeepers also impressed after putting in a solid shift, as the pair earned nominations for the Team of the week – Cairnlea’s Diarna Cartwright grabbing a spot in the starting eleven.
Boroondara Eagles 2 defeated South Melbourne 1 at Knox Regional Football Centre
Sunday evening provided what can only be described as the game of the season as Boroondara Eagles handed South Melbourne their first defeat of the season. In a thrilling contest full of chances and packed with entertainment, Emma Hubbard opened the scoring after 28 minutes before 18-year-old Tiffany Eliadis equalised moments later.
With both sides threatening from each attack, Adelaide United’s Rachel Quigley restored her sides lead and headed in the inevitable winner straight after the break.
In a game featuring end to end action, Boroondara nevertheless held on to a famous victory aside from South’s late advances with former South Melbourne player Aliesha Newman intercepting with a 91st minute clearance.
Sandringham SC 4 defeated Bundoora United 0 at Kingston Heath
It was a result little outside of the Sandringham inner circle saw coming but the home side turned around their poor form in stunning fashion as they put four unanswered past Bundoora United in a home rout on Monday night.
Steph Tanti opened the scoring with an audacious curling effort from 30-yards; the surprise on her face said everything about her stunning goal. The second came through Nicola Prins who had a stellar night out on the wing. She cut in board and hammered home over the keepers head.
The second half saw something similar; both Tanti and Prins combining to make it 4-0. Tanti assisted for the third, putting the ball into the net from a corner kick with assistance from keeper Tori Snellekzs. Arguably the best goal of the night came right at the end as Prins’ left footed pot shot from 25-yards found it’s way into the top left corner.
Read More > Superb Sandringham surprises Nichols
FFV Match Report > Bundy thwarted by incisive Sandringham
FC Bulleen Lions 4 defeated Ashburton Women 0 at David Barro Stadium
Monday night’s fixture saw Bulleen Lions return to the top of the Sportsmart Women’s Premier League table with a 4-0 victory over Ashburton Women.
Appearing at the summit of the first time since round six, the hosts took and early lead after only 90 second with Olivia Edwards on hand to volley home a superb cross from Lia Privitelli.
Most could be forgiven for thinking the result would resemble something of a cricket score after a blistering start but Ashburton proved to frustrate Bob McGuinness’s side for the remainder of the contest.
Despite looking far from their best, Eleni Fakos and Cindy Lay extended the advantage before half time in an untidy affair.
Emily Coppock then rounded out the result in the dying minutes to assure Bulleen would conclude the weekend atop of the table.