Image: David Mullins
NPL2 action took a decisive turn on the weekend as Thunder took the outright lead by three points (and a significant goal difference) after their win against Werribee City was coupled with main rivals’ Kingston City’s defeat to St Albans Saints. That win kept the Saints on top but followed closely by North Geelong Warriors and Whittlesea Ranges, with the likes of Moreland Zebras and Melbourne City falling further behind after dropping more points.
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Brunswick City stretched their undefeated run to 11 matches as another Andrew Le Page free-kick helped seal a 2-0 triumph over Sunshine George Cross at Dunstan Reserve. Both sides exchanged early chances on goal as in-form pair Yusei Kitade and Le Page latched onto scoring opportunities to no avail.
Spartans captain Frank Serratore then tested his opposing counterpart Robert Santilli with a header which the Georges skipper did well to keep out as the sides went into the break deadlocked. However, the scoring was opened five minutes following the re-start when Le Page buried home his third free-kick in seven days and his sixth goal in nine games for the club following his mid-season move from State League 4 outfit Northern Falcons.
Sunshine’s hopes of finding an equaliser were ended with 20 minutes to go when Jose Portillo received the ball from the corner kick before squeezing the ball home from an acute angle for his fifth goal of the campaign as City consolidated their position in fourth place on the NPL2 East standings.
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A last minute strike from substitute Anthony Cassar helped Dandenong City earn a share of the spoils in a thrilling six-goal draw which has all but ended Melbourne City’s promotion hopes. The hosts opened the scoring inside the opening two minutes when forward Chris Antoniadis netted his seventh goal of the campaign.
The visitors were back on level terms on the half hour as Leo Athanasiou successfully converted his spot-kick despite Hajduk goalkeeper Damir Salcin guessing the right way. Opposition goalkeeper Yaren Sozer fared much better when he saved Dario Matkovic’s penalty minutes later, as defender Jordon Hall gave Joe Palatsides’ side the lead heading into the break. Matkovic redeemed himself mid-way through the second half when the veteran’s delightful lob from outside had the home side back on level terms.
Winger Luke Gallo then helped the away side regain the lead with his fourth goal of the season, but any hopes the youngsters had of taking home three points was snatched away from them at the death as Cassar propped up to restore parity on an action-packed day of football at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex.
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The Eastern Lions’ late-season good run of form continued as a late Philip Ajao goal handed them a 1-0 home victory over Moreland City. Chances were exchanged at either end of the pitch with City striker Trent Rixon failing to convert Apai Ukuno’s cutback into the back of the net, while Welshman Casey Thomas also saw his shot well saved.
Just as the game looked to be heading for a scoreless stalemate, a searching through ball over the top from William Ellis picked out Ajao, who tucked the ball past City goalkeeper Kieran McDowell for the winner, with the Nigerian-born forward scoring in consecutive matches after an injury-plagued campaign so far this year.
That strike was his third in 15 league games and helped propel the Lions to their fourth win from their last games as they look ahead to next week’s road trip to the state border where they will face Murray United.
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Two late goals from the St Albans Saints saw the NPL2 West league leaders earn a precious 3-1 away victory over Kingston City whose own automatic promotion hopes took a massive dint. A cagey opening half hour saw clear-cut chances few and far between before the deficit was broken minutes before the break when Dinamo midfielder Michael Grgic was allowed enough time and space to place the ball into the bottom corner of the net with a well hit shot from outside the area.
City were back on level terms mid-way through the second half when substitute Mouad Zwed popped up at the back post to tuck in the equaliser, before a terrible back pass presented Kingston forward Damian Iaconis the perfect opportunity to equalise, only for the teenager to sky his effort over the bar when one-on-one with goalkeeper Alex Baird.
The miss proved costly as Saints substitute striker Goran Jozeljic emphatically headed home from the corner before youngster Joseph Monek netted goal number nine of his season, after a wonderful run from inside the centre circle saw him outpace two Kingston opposing defenders before slotting home to provoke jubilant scenes between Dinamo players, bench and supporters.
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Ten-man Whittlesea ended a three game winless run with a hard fought Atilla Ofli-inspired 2-1 win over the league struggles Murray United at Epping Stadium to keep pressure on St Albans and North Geelong as the race for promotion in the West heats up. The Ranges opened the scoring early on in the contest as Ofli scored from distance for the second time in successive games as his free-kick beat United goalkeeper Rohan Peace.
The visitors were on level terms shortly after the 20 minute mark when striker Geoffrey Lino pounced upon a defensive error from the Whittlesea backline to tuck home the equaliser. Lino was played through on goal for a second only to be brought down by Ranges captain Naum Sekulovski, who was shown a straight red for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity and leaving the hosts a man down for the remainder of the clash.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, a handball in the box presented Ofli with an opportunity to restore the Ranges lead, which he did for his 32nd league goals in 25 starts this season. Zac Walker did his best in search for an equaliser only to be denied by Ranges shot-stopper Luke Gallo, while his opposite number did his best to prevent Whittlesea adding to their advantage as Ofli went in search of a hat-trick. Vinko Buljubasic’s side held on for the three points to get their promotion aspirations back on track heading into the final three rounds of the season.
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North Geelong condemned Box Hill to another home defeat as they secured their fourth consecutive win with a 2-0 triumph at Wembley Park to keep the pressure on sister side St Albans at the top of the West standings. In-form forward Kene Eze had the first real major opportunity at goal only to be denied by an alert Keegan Coulter as towering Warriors defender Anthony Banovac had his shot cleared off the line as the score remained deadlocked at the break.
North came out of the break the better of the two sides and immediately applied pressure onto the United defence in search of an opener. They were rewarded minutes into the second half when Englishman Matthew Thorne netted a fantastic header. One quickly became two when Eze pounced and finished well for his 12th league goal of the season and sixth from the last four matches as the Warriors held onto second place on the ladder ahead of Whittlesea on goal difference, one point adrift from the top of the conference ladder.
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A nine-goal thriller at Epsom Huntly Recreation Reserve was settled by birthday boy Damir Stoilovic, whose late winner saw Springvale defeat Bendigo City 5-4 in one of the games of the season. The home side opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes of the match when attacker David Younan finished well to hand City the early lead. However, the visitors took control of proceedings for the remainder of the half as teenager Isaiah Joseph netted a brace either side of a goal from White Eagles right-back Jeremy Min Fa.
The hosts came out of the half time interval fired up and pulled a goal back from Spaniard Sergio Castel-Martinez inside the opening minutes of the half, before the same player stepped up to convert a penalty which had City level five minutes after the restart. Things got better for Jose Santamarta’s side just past the hour mark when young defender Lachlan Beever handed them a lead to complete a remarkable turnaround for the regional outfit.
Springvale sprung into life after falling behind and levelled proceedings when winger Vojislav Milojevic netted his first goal in 10 matches with a little over 10 minutes on the clock remaining. The road trip back down the Calder was made easier for Springvale when Stoilovic stepped up and scored goal number 14 of the season two minutes from time to kick start a night of wild celebrations for player and club alike.
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A hat-trick to teenage striker Dejan Mitrovic helped Ballarat dispatch Nunawading 4-1 at Morshead Park on Saturday evening for their third straight win to consolidate their position in sixth place in the West standings. The Red Devils opened their account not long after the 10-minute mark when a well-worked team move was finished off by Mitrovic from close range. Chances were then exchanged at either end of the park as City went in search of a response and were duly rewarded just after the hour mark when Dan Gathercole netted goal number three of his campaign after pouncing on a defensive mistake to toe-poke the ball past Aaron Romein.
Mitrovic then had an opportunity to restore Ballarat’s advantage only to hit the side netting, although that miss proved irrelevant as he immediately made amends by turning his marker and finishing home to hand James Robinson’s side the edge heading into the break. The hosts ended any possibility of a Nunawading comeback when David King’s long ball was met by star man Michael Trigger who then teed up Nelson Salvatore to add a third via a deflection. Mitrovic then sealed the victory and his own personal career highlight by rounding off his hat-trick after being set-up by substitute Isaac Ellis for another comprehensive victory.
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A stoppage-time strike from Daniel Heffernan saw the Goulburn Valley Suns end the Moreland Zebras promotion hopes with a 2-1 win over their opponents at McEwen Reserve on Sunday afternoon. With Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou in attendance to watch his former side in action, the visitors had the bulk of the early chances on goal to little avail. Moreland shot-stopper Stefaan Sardelic was called into action on the half hour mark to make a tremendous one-handed save to deny the Suns an opener as the hosts finished the first half the stronger of the two sides.
The deadlock was broken two minutes into the second period when from the former Heidelberg and Central Coast forward Heffernan chipped Sardelic for the opener. Danny Gnjidic’s side responded well to the setback and were back on level terms when Joel Nikolic beat the offside trap to level scores on the hour mark as the veteran forward bundled the ball home. With both teams chasing all three points, Zebras defender Milos Tosic was shown his second yellow late on with the Suns capitalising on their numerical advantage immediately, with Heffernan slamming home the winner for his eighth goal of the campaign after joining the club in June.
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Dandenong Thunder took full advantage of Kingston’s slip-up with an important 1-0 away win over Werribee City at Galvin Park, with Samuel Catherine’s goal on the stroke of half time proving to be the difference between the two sides. The visitors entered the clash without the services of former Bees defender Simon Colosimo, who was missing the game through suspension, and were dealt another blow as Afghan international defender left the field with a suspected broken arm. With the two teams seemingly destined to head to half time on level terms, Catherine drifted into the box and sent his shot on target to break the deadlock.
Thunder striker Brandon Barnes almost doubled the lead following the restart of play, only for his shot to strike the post. Not to be outdone, City struck the woodwork themselves on two separate occasions as they were making Thunder custodian Fraser Maclaren work hard to keep his clean sheet. Barnes was then played through late on but failed to take full advantage of the opportunity presented to him when he blasted his shot off target when one-on-one against Werribee goalkeeper Marko Stevanja. However, that miss proved insignificant in the end as the visitors jumped three points ahead of Kingston City on top of the NPL2 East standing heading into next week’s clash between the two.