Image: Natasha Morello
Northcote City continue to rack up the wins, with Melbourne Victory their next victim in what’s increasingly looking like a season that will end up with City bouncing back up straight away. Both Morelands remain in touch in second and third, while also on the weekend Werribee had a strong win over Brunswick who just can’t take a trick at the moment. Plus there was also the exciting draw between Whittlesea and Ballarat.
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Last beaten by Dandenong Thunder in Round 6, Northcote City increased their unbeaten run since March 11 with a 4-2 win over Melbourne Victory.
Alec Goodwin ended his drought, netting his sixth of the campaign to open the scoring within 10 minutes. Baggio Youssif then also got in on the action, doubling the scoring in the 22nd minute.
Nicholas Sette pulled one back for Victory five minutes later, and by the end of the half victory had completed their comeback via Pierce Waring, who took his season tally to double figures.
However, similar to the first half Northcote had a quick double early to resore the two-goal lead.
And it were two defenders who did the trick via headers, with Tomislav Fadljevic netting his first for the club while Matt Whatley continued his good goalscoring form for a centre-back with his fifth of the campaign.
This time there’d be no comeback for Victory as City held out for the 4-2 win, maintaining a 10-point lead at the top.
Full time! #NorthcoteCity 4-2 @gomvfc #PS4NPLVIC pic.twitter.com/7f09w1nS74
— Northcote City FC (@NorthcoteCity) June 3, 2017
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Werribee City continued their resurgence dating back to May with a 2-0 win over a Brunswick City.
Yusuf Yusuf had a chance to net for his new club early but shot over the bar after Brunswick looked to have gotten into a good goalscoring position.
Instead it was Darcey Den Ouden with a good finish after rounding the keeper from George Slefendorfas’ ball that gave the hosts the lead before half an hour.
Those two were linking well and again it was the latter who assisted for former for his double either side of the break.
The 2-0 result saw the Bees to move to 15 points, in touch with the mid table, while Brunswick’s season isn’t quite reaching the same success as last, now sitting in seventh. And it won’t get easier following the departures of Adam Wright and Andrew Le Page.
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It was business as usual for Moreland Zebras who, like most teams this season, profited from an outing against Bendigo City to claim a 6-1 win.
The contest was essentially done and dusted as the trio of Regsan Watkins, Amir Osmancevic and Nic Niagioran were all on the scoresheet by the 26th minute.
Anthony Marafioti pulled one back for the visitors after the break following a mistake by the hosts at the back to take his season tally to two, in the process becoming Bendigo’s highest scorer for the season.
Nejc Kolman then netted a 73rd minute penalty while Osmancevic finished off two late goals – and 12 overall for the season, outright second behind Wright – in the 89th and 90th minute to seal his hat trick and the 6-1 scoreline, remaining in second with a four-point gap on crosstown rivals Moreland City.
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An entertaining contest at Epping saw Whittlesea and Ballarat play out a 3-3 thriller.
Nelson Salvatore got the scoring off to a start netting his second for the season and in consecutive weeks, and just seven minutes later City were in dreamland as Charlie King added his side’s second.
But just a minute later Tom Barforosh headed one back into the top corner to reduce the deficit and get the hosts back into it with his 11th goal of the season.
The scores could have been levelled just before the break when Barforosh had an opportunity from the spot but Josh Dorron produced a save to preserve the visitors’ lead at the break.
But it took just four minutes into the second half for Whittlesea to build on their momentum when Ross Frame netted a deflected free kick.
Jacob Colosimo then completed the comeback in the 81st minute, netting his first for the club since his mid-season move.
But the game took one more turn as skipper Josh Romein headed in the equaliser, ending the game at an incredible 3-3.
Due to other results the Ranges and City head into next week in fourth and fifth respectively.
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Trent Rixon was the hero as Moreland City kept touch with the top two via a 4-1 win over Sunshine George Cross, whose recent run of results have seen them drop to eighth after not long ago pushing as high as the top three.
Instead it was the third-placed City that kept in touch with the Zebras and Northcote, and they got off to the ideal start when captain Corey Thomas got the ball rolling in the 11th minute with a deflected strike.
Then it was the Rixon show as he netted two before the break – rising highest from a set-piece and tapping in the second – to send the hosts into the shed up 3-0.
Chris Dib pulled one back from the penalty spot just after the restart, but with time ticking down it was Rixon who completed his hat-trick against his old club from Apai Ukuno’s cutback.
It’s a second win in a row for third-placed Moreland who get their campaign back on track after a recent barren run.