It was a week of two extremes in the NPL Victoria as Bentleigh/Port Melbourne, and Melbourne Knights/Green Gully played out goal fests to bookmark the rounds action.
The Friday night game saw Bentleigh put five unanswered past their opponents, while the Melbourne Knights nearly let slip a four goal lead to end 4-3 against Gully.
Elsewhere Pascoe Vale condemned Gouburn Valley to the depths of NPL 1 after a 3-0 win saw the regional side relegated.
The other four games were split 1-0, South Melbourne, Ballarat Red Devils, Oakleigh Cannons and Northcote City all triumphing in their respective games.
Bentleigh Greens 5 defeated Port Melbourne Sharks 0 at Kingston Heath
Port Melbourne have found themselves deeply entrenched in the relegation mire after a 5-0 schlacking at the hands of a Bentleigh Greens side in good touch.
In a season that could very well see goal difference decide who goes down, the five goal loss could be a major player at the wrong end of the table.
It came about simply; Bentleigh were sublime. They had control of the game early on in the piece as a quick fire double from David Stirton – who departed the club after the Friday night clash – and Jamie De Abreu – had the Greens 2-0 up within 23 minutes.
Full-back Tom Matthews hit a home a thunderbolt outside the box on the stroke of half-time to set up a big result.
De Abreu in turn delivered, laying on two late assists for Ryan De Vries and Matthews second, to De-light (see what I did there) the home support.
Pascoe Vale 3 defeated Goulburn Valley Suns 0 at Hosken Reserve
Goulburn Valley became the first ever side to be relegated from the NPL Victoria after a 3-0 loss to Pascoe Vale condemned them to the NPL 1 for season 2015.
While it was always more than likely that the Suns would make way – such has been their poor form this season – they did make inroads towards seasons end, picking up a few results along the way.
Unfortunately for them, with a win all but necessary to keep their slim hopes of safety alive, they fell to three second-half goals.
Defender Adrian Talarico scuppered any hope of the away side mounting a second half charge at retaining their NPL status with a goal moments from the games restart.
Michael Ferrante doubled the lead in the 66th minute with a cool finish before mid-season signing Jake Nakic broke the hearts of the away fans with a third, 20 minutes from time.
Dandenong Thunder 0 defeated South Melbourne 1 at George Andrews Reserve
A flood of 1-0 results swept the NPL this round, with ladder-leaders South Melbourne getting the better of Dandenong by the narrowest of margins. In the end it was a second half Jamie Reed goal that split the two sides.
The contest was hotly contested for the most part, as they traded early blows only to end the first half as they started. The second half saw a string of chances either way, with the Englishman eventually delivering the hammer blow, as he netted just shy of the hour mark, ghosting into the box to convert at the near post.
The win was important for their title aspirations after losing ground to Oakleigh last week.
Hume City 0 defeated Ballarat Red Devils 1 at Broadmeadows Valley Park
Ballarat also triumphed by a goal margin, with the regional club securing what could be a vital three points in their race for survival. Despite still sitting in the relegation zone, the Red Devils now have two games in hand – and a superior goal difference – to chase down a three-point margin over either one of Werribee City or Port Melbourne.
The game was won off the boot of Paul Harvey – in magnificent touch since joining mid-season – who dazzled with his 17th minute effort.
Could he be the man to retain Ballarat’s top-flight status for another year?
Werribee City 0 defeated by Oakleigh Cannons 1 at Galvin Park
Perennial chasers Oakleigh Cannons continued to keep the pressure up on South Melbourne with a gutsy win over relegation threatened Werribee City.
The home side fought hard, and probably had the better of the first 45 minutes, with the club showing some improved form in the last month. When the influential Dusan Bosnjak got sent off for an errant tackle on City’s Milan Savic, one would’ve been forgiven for thinking it was Werribee’s day.
As it panned out however, Dom D’Angelo capitalised on a late opportunity to give a gallant Cannon’s side the three points, to keep them in the title hunt for another week.
Read More > Weimper: One week at a time
Northcote City 1 defeated Heidelberg United 0 at John Cain Memorial Park
Adelaide United product Liam Wooding hit a stunning curling effort from outside the area to condemn Heidelberg United to a 1-0 loss.
His effort came at the perfect time, moments before the referee drew the half to a close.
Neither side had too much to play for, with Heidelberg dropping to fourth spot, and Northcote shoring up a top six placing.
Melbourne Knights 4 defeated Green Gully 3 at Knights Stadium
It was a thriller on Sunday afternoon as the Knights just barely weathered a Green Gully storm to hold onto a nail biting 4-3 win. Many a supporter would’ve taken the early trip home after witnessing their side go 4-0 down at half-time, but those who stuck it out were treated with a spirited comeback of sorts.
The first goal of the contest came courtesy of Stipo Andrijasevic via a wayward back pass in the second minute. Marijan Cvitkovic added a further two with Jordan O’Doherty scoring the other goal in a resounding first half.
Cue the Green Gully revival, lead by their star man Matthew Sanders. The forward netted a five-minute double to give his side real hope. 13 minutes – and a red card – split that goal and their third as substitute Matthew Reid netted in the 82nd minute to set up a tense final few moments, which unfortunately never came to fruition.
Read More > Stojcevski: We need to become consistent
NPL fixtures wrapped up by Jordan Lim (@JordanLim24)
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This NPL 1 round saw many teams come close to cementing their final ladder position for the season. Crucially, North Geelong all but wrapped up that coveted second promotion spot with a vital victory over ladder leaders Avondale Heights, while Box Hill dropped vital points after drawing with Bendigo. Whittlesea pulled off a remarkable 4-3 win over in-form Richmond, while Moreland again continue to fade away after a strong second half to the season, going down to St Albans, who are also enjoying a late season purple patch.
Whittlesea Ranges 4 defeated Richmond 3 at Whittlesea Stadium
A topsy-turvy thriller saw Whittlesea pull off a massive upset, defeating Richmond 4-3 and denting their slim promotion hopes. Girolamo Constanza opened the scoring before Kliment Dimitrieski doubled the advantage in only the 15th minute to sting the shellshocked visitors.
However, the class of Richmond, coupled with Whittlesea’s youthful inexperience meant a comeback was always on the cards, and Ryan Oppermann scored the first response in the 40th minute. Whittlesea extended their lead again after the break through a Daniel Sotiropoulos header, before a crazy period of play saw three penalties awarded to Richmond for needless challenges.
Tom Cahill scored the first two to square the ledger, but it was third time lucky for Dianoush Rasoulzaden-Syesan, denying Cahill the hat-trick of penalties and Richmond the lead. In response, Tomislav Trbuhovich scored the winner in the 87th minute, nodding home a Costanza cross.
Avondale Heights 0 defeated by North Geelong Warriors 3 at Avondale Heights Reserve
The Warriors took a huge step in its promotion push, knocking off ladder leaders Avondale 3-0 in a fiery contest, which also marked Avondale’s first home loss for over three years. 10 cards were distributed throughout the game, including two reds to Avondale, leaving them with nine men.
In just the sixth minute, a cliche Rory Delap-like phrase described the long throw in by Juso Julardzija to set up Mark Paleka’s headed goal. The first red card to Dean Campelj seemed to spark the hosts, with Avondale looking threatening, but a long ball the other way found Robert Zadworny who struck the second goal.
Oleksiy Khrapko got another red card for headbutting, with Julardzija making the most of the numerical advantage to slot the third.
Sunshine George Cross 2 defeated Dandenong City 0 at Chaplin Reserve
Headline makers would have been salivating at the prospect of the ‘double-dib’ quip, as Christopher Dib scored a goal in each half to secure a comfortable 2-0 win for the hosts. A 35th minute penalty and a close-range header from an Anthony Cassar corner was enough for Sunshine to put away a lacklustre city. The hosts were buoyed by the return of first choice keeper Robert Santilli, whose reflexes and communication helped his side keep a clean sheet.
Bendigo FC 1 drew with Box Hill United 1 at Tom Flood Sports Centre
Box Hill dropped a two vital points late in the contest against Bendigo, gifting North Geelong the ascendency in the promotion race. Box Hill looked to be cruising to a standard 1-0 victory thanks to a Rinor Muriqi goal from a free kick in the 12th minute, but with just two minutes left in regulation time, Matthew Breeze tucked home a George Slefendorfas cross to snatch a draw.
Moreland Zebras 0 defeated by St Albans Saints 2 at Clifton Park
St Albans Saints scored late in each half to register a comfortable 2-0 win over Moreland, extending their unbeaten run to 10 games. Meanwhile, the hosts’ late season surge seems to have come to an abrupt end, losing twice in a row after last week’s late defeat to lowly Brunswick.
Moreland could feel unlucky that it didn’t get anything out this close and open game, with their opponents able to make the most of their chances.. Nick Cullen opened the scoring just before half-time, before Tedros Yabio put away Yusef Yusef’s cross in the 85th minute to seal the game
Kingston City 4 defeated Springvale White Eagles 1 at The Grange Reserve
Kingston had to withstand an early barrage against Springvale, before snapping its three game losing streak with a 4-1 victory.
Despite opening up their opponents, an Andrew Doig brace put them two goals behind, before Slaven Vranesevic pulled one back before half-time with a free-kick.
With Springvale committing men forward for the equaliser, Velibor Mitrovic and Max Etheridge scored late sucker punches to balloon out the scoreline.
FC Bulleen Lions 8 defeated Brunswick City 0 at Veneto Club
Cellar-dwellers Brunswick had put on a good showing in recent weeks, beating Moreland and Whittlesea, while losing honorably to Springvale. That all came undone in extraordinary fashion at Bulleen, with four goals… in each half! Prolific striker Joey Katebian added four to his impressive season tally, and really, just read the list containing each goal with a brief description:
- Hysoli 8′ – got in behind his defenders and shot accurately
- Nishimoto 24′ – picked up an aerial ball from Dean Romas, turned and shot
- Katebian (p) 31′ – penalty after Alex Dao was fouled in the box
- Katebian 42′ – header from a Nishimoto cross
- Katebian 58′ – played in by Nishimoto
- Dao (p) 60′ – converted a penalty he won
- Nishimoto 68′ – took a touch with his right foot and shot with his left
- Katebian 71′ – received a pass from Dao and struck truly
NPL 1 fixtures wrapped up by Mark Gojszyk (@hahahamark)
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Round 18 saw South extend their lead at the top at the expense of second placed Boroondara who fought out a scoreless draw against Bulleen in third.
Ashy too picked up their third victory of the season over Bundoora, who like Bulleen are struggling with notable omissions due to injury and W-League duties.
In Wednesday’s catch-up fixture, Sandy’s finals aspirations took a slight dent, edging out the weeks second goalless draw.
Monbulk Rangers 0 defeated by South Melbourne Women’s FC 4 at Monbulk Recreation Reserve.
South have extended their lead at the top of the Sportsmart Women’s Premier League table with a comfortable victory over bottom placed Monbulk Rangers.
The result too also saw Alan Davidson’s side continue their unbeaten streak to give games.
The visitors were rarely troubled on their way to a resounding victory, piling wave upon wave on Monbulk’s back four.
Tijen Hussein was the star as she chimed in with a first half brace as Tiffany Eliadis and Jessica Au contributed with goals of their own.
Casey Comets 2 defeated NTC U17 Girls 1 at Comets Stadium
Casey were forced to earn their points on Friday night as they came from a goal down to defeat FFV U17 Girls.
Victory’s latest re-signing, Beattie Goad put the visitors ahead after 20 minutes before Kiwi Brittany Dudley-Smith did the damage with a second half brace.
It was a game of two halves as Casey coach Ian Williamson described.
“We came out of the blocks slow again, they needed a rev up, got one at half-time,” Williamson said.
“[The opposition] tired very quickly in the second half, as they really didn’t give us too many problems.
“We found another gear, kept applying the pressure and eventually got the result.”
Box Hill United 0 lost to Sandringham 3 at Wembley Park
Sandy maintained their finals aspirations with a 3-0 victory over Box Hill on Friday night.
It was a dominate display from last season’s champions, comfortably bringing home the three points.
Young gun Emma Robers opened the scoring for the visitors in the first half as Elaina Vatcky and Eliza Gleadell completed the rout.
Sandy’s midfield too got the job done with Box Hill’s star midfielder Ellie Brush a notable absentee.
Bulleen Lions 0 drew with Boroondara Eagles 0 at David Barro Stadium
The biggest and most anticipated clash of round 18 finished with both second and third placed sides cancelling out each other in a nil all draw.
One of the more tactical games of the season, neither side were able to break the deadlock across the 90 minutes.
Bulleen appeared the most likely to score despite both sides hitting the woodwork, as Boroondara maintained second spot the table.
Ashburton Womens 2 defeated Bundoora United 1 at Ashburton Park
Ashburton claimed their third victory of the season at the expense of Bundoora, defeating the battling United outfit 2-1 on Sunday afternoon.
A brace from Melina Ayres saw her side over the line, holding off a desperate Bundoora in the latter stages of the contest
Elly Curo restored parity for the visitors after the break but an 80th minute strike from Ayres sealed the points for the relegation destined Ashy.
Casey Comets 0 drew with Sandringham 0 at Comets Stadium
Wednesday night’s catch-up fixture produced the second scoreless draw of the round at Comets Stadium.
Sandy boosted their finals chances with a 3-0 victory on the weekend but took a slight setback as Casey ended their three game winning streak.
Casey are almost destined to finish outside the top five once again despite testing Sandy’s resilient defence.
“Three points would’ve been lovely but let’s be honest we’ll take the point. It’s going to be tight (to make finals). We’ve got four games left and it’s still within our control,” Sandy coach Deb Nichols said at full time.
WPL fixtures wrapped up by Sean Ellicott (@SeanEllicott)