After a week off thanks to the Women’s State Knockout Cup, the Women’s Premier League returned with a bang as Saturday brought 27 goals in the four games played, with huge victories to Bundoora, South Melbourne and Heidelberg.
The NTC played out an entertaining draw with Casey, while the draw between Boroondara and Bulleen was more a battle of attrition.
Finally Box Hill returned to winning ways with an important away win against Sandringham, ensuring they stay in touch with the leading pack.
Bundoora United 8-1 Ashburton at Hillview Recreation Reserve
It was a comprehensive victory for the home side over league strugglers Ashburton, and they put to bed any hopes of an upset for the visitors when Gulcan Koca opened the scoring in the seventh minute. Then after having to wait half an hour before their next goal, Rachel Alonso doubled the lead with a strike direct from a corner kick.
The forward then secured her hat trick after the break, before Jesse Kotsikas scored a penalty to pull the score back to 4-1. But it failed to stop Bundoora’s momentum as Louisa Bisby and Enza Barilla netted soon after. Adelyn Ayton and Maika Ruyter-Hooley added some gloss to the scoreline, capping off one of Bundoora’s better performances for the season.
READ MORE > Bundoora only getting stronger
South Melbourne 6-0 Monbulk Rangers at Lakeside Stadium
A 25-minute-six-goal blitz that was briefly separated by half-time proved to be match winning for South Melbourne, who had their fair share of scares against Monbulk.
Laura Spiranovic opened the scoring in the 23th minute, before Jess Au added a second eight minutes later. Spiranovic then notched up her second shortly before Tiffany Eliadis made it 4-0 with a long range strike. Spiranovic really only had a handful of minutes to grab a hat trick, as she was in a rush to head to Sydney to see her brother play for the Socceroos, and she got was she was after in the 44th minute after finishing a flick on from Au. Natalie Brajanovski then finished the scoring two minutes after the break from a corner.
Monbulk did have chances before and after the rush to grab a goal, but ultimately just couldn’t find the finishing touch to their good play.
Heidelberg United 7-1 Cairnlea at Olympic Village
Heidelberg produced a dominant display from start to finish as they routed Cairnlea at home on Saturday. Teenager Holly Tsalikidis continued her impressive form by scoring a pearler in the opening minute of the game, before Melanie Camilleri began her deadly assault on goal with her first in the second minute.
The striker then scored her second before the break, and didn’t waste much time in getting her third and fourth goals just past the hour mark, after Zoe Stamatopoulos had briefly pulled one back for Cairnlea. Kendra Jones then got the goal she thoroughly deserved in the 68th minute, while Camilleri sealed the 7-1 win with eight minutes remaining.
FFV U17s 2-2 Casey Comets at State Football Centre
It was an entertaining draw between the National Training Centre’s Under 17s outfit and Casey Comets on Saturday, with the home side probably unlucky not to have come away with all the points.
Laura Croft had put Casey ahead with a header from a corner mid-way through the first half, but a speculative goal from left winger Emily Harris helped the hosts draw level before the break. The NTC were keeping Casey’s defence busy, and Steph Dwyer had to made several important stops throughout the match.
They eventually took the lead on the hour when Jess Pitts’ free-kick sailed over Dwyer and into the top corner, and probably should have extended their advantage when Beattie Goad and Adriana Taranto missed great chances. In the end, an unfortunate handball to Jaimee Williams resulted in a penalty which Croft converted to ensure both sides had to share the spoils.
READ MORE > Frost: NTC girls can be really proud
Boroondara Eagles 1-1 Bulleen Lions at Knox Regional Football Centre
Boroondara missed their chance to leapfrog Bulleen after conceding a late goal to Olivia Edwards. Ellen Turner had given the Eagles a fantastic start, cutting in off the wing, leaving Bella Scott for dead before unleashing a dipping shot into the back of the net.
Bulleen weren’t to be outdone however and fought back strongly, only to see themselves miss plenty of opportunities to score. They did eventually equalise in the 80th minute though, when Cindy Lay split the Eagles’ defence to find Dani Gudelj who squared the ball across the goal for Edwards to tap in.
Sandringham 0-3 Box Hill United at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
It wasn’t Sandringham’s night on Monday as they were beaten by Box Hill on their home turf. Despite having much of the early running in the game, Box Hill struck first thanks to a penalty by Jasmina Pedic. Sandringham tried to hit back through Elaina Vatcky, but her best effort only struck the post.
Ellie Brush then extended the lead for Box Hill with a penalty of her own before the break. Sandringham looked disjointed in the second half as they searched desperately for a goal to get back into the contest but in the end Natalie Exon turned on the afterburners and put a goal on a plate for Pedic, with the attacking midfielder securing her brace.
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Round 10 threw up some massive results as some NPL strugglers picked up some all important points. Melbourne Knights snapped their losing streak by overcoming Port Melbourne 3-1 whilst Green Gully also picked up some valuable points as they beat Hume 3-0. The biggest surprise however came in the first game of the round as second last placed Pascoe Vale fought valiantly to end Oakleigh Cannons undefeated streak as they won 2-0 at home.
It was a case of as you were for South Melbourne who extended their winning streak into double digits, whilst Dandenong Thunder also returned to winning ways. Northcote’s 3-0 result against Goulburn Valley rounded off proceedings, ensuring that a maximum 21 points were won across the seven games around Victoria.
Pascoe Vale 2 defeated Oakleigh Cannons 0 at Hosken Reserve
Undoubtedly the biggest surprise result of the round, and possibly the season so far, as Pascoe Vale stunned the previously undefeated Oakleigh Cannons 2-0 to lift themselves to within a game of the mid-table pack.
Joseph Youssef put the home side ahead early with the easiest of headers, with Davey Van’t Schip supplying the second after his fantastic solo effort.
Cannons boss Miron Bleiberg was at his eccentric best post game.
“The inferior team football-wise and strength-wise get the lead, then they fight like Kamikazes, they gave everything – blocking with the body and play with seven or eight people in the penalty area, and we were not good enough on the day.”
Bentleigh Greens 1 defeated by Heidelberg United 3 at Kingston Heath
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Ok, so maybe that’s a bit of a stretch but there’s no doubting the fact that Bentleigh are but a shadow of their early season selves.
Their 3-1 loss to Heidelberg makes it four games without a win and with only the solitary point coming against bottom club Goulburn Valley Suns, the Greens are in a mini crisis. Their form has seen them slide from title contenders to fifth place, with tenth place Green Gully only a win behind.
Friday night at Kingston Heath saw Bentleigh take the lead through Socceroo Brent McGrath, before the Bergers equalised after goalkeeper Stuart Webster booted a clearance into the derriere of NPL leading goal scorer Dan Heffernan who is truly proving his natural ability to put the ball into the back of the net.
Kaine Sheppard and James Goulopoulos rounded off the 3-1 result to put United into third place.
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Dandenong Thunder 3 defeated Ballarat Red Devils 1 at George Andrews Reserve
The Thunder have had a dour month, which has put a damper on any early title ambitions. A 3-1 loss to Bentleigh and a massive 6-0 result against Oakleigh was matched by the clubs first home loss for the season, a 3-0 loss to Werribee last week.
With the chance for redemption at George Andrews Reserve, Dandenong took their opportunity with aplomb, putting three past Ballarat to get back onto the winners sheet.
Matt Millar came off the bench to lay on a pair of assists for Jake Nakic who tapped home twice to consolidate David King’s opener on the hour mark.
Danny O’Donnell had earlier equalised for Ballarat with a volleyed effort, setting up an interesting finish to the match, which didn’t fail to deliver.
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Hume City 0 defeated by Green Gully 3 at Broadmeadows Valley Park
Green Gully have leapt into 10th place following a resounding 3-0 win over Hume City who continue to frustrate the supporters with their inconsistent form.
Keeping their first clean sheet in nine games, Gully were just as effective at the other end of the pitch with Mathew Sanders and Jason Hayne both scoring in the second half before a Petar Franjic own goal in injury time put the game well beyond doubt.
Werribee City 0 defeated by South Melbourne 1 at Galvin Park
South Melbourne have done it gritty once again, with yet another one goal buffer enough to earn the three points for the ladder leaders. Big man Milos Lujic strengthened his golden boot credentials with a goal on the stroke of half-time, losing his man before beating the keeper one-on-one to make it nine goals for the season.
Werribee toiled hard all day but weren’t able to make the breakthrough as South made it 10 straight with the title theirs to lose.
Northcote City 3 defeated Goulburn Valley Suns 0 at John Cain Memorial Park
Northcote did it easy at home against cellar dwellers Goulburn Valley Suns as last seasons champions put three into the back of the net and were perhaps unfortunate not to have scored more.
Adrian Chiappetta made it 1-0 from the corner, before James Kalifatidis’s deflected free kick doubled City’s lead heading into the break. Trent Rixon hammered home late to seal the points in a contest that was for the majority, a one sided contest.
Melbourne Knights 3 defeated Port Melbourne Sharks 1 at Knights Stadium
The Knights snapped an astonishing seven game losing streak in style to restore some pride to the club. They did it by coming from behind to topple mid-table Port Melbourne who could’ve been sitting in fifth place had they held their lead.
Nick Tzoulis opened the scoring for Port Melbourne in the first half in fortuitous fashion, with the goal coming straight from a corner into the far post. Anthony Colosimo’s well taken late brace capitalised on Daniel Visevic equaliser for the Knights who finally gave the longing home fans a reason to celebrate.
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NPL 1 teams seem to have a disdain for draws, as each game this week resulted in elation for one side, and heartbreak for their opponents. St Albans, North Geelong and Springvale each scored four goals in their victories, while Sunshine, Richmond, Avondale and Bulleen were more modest, getting the job done via one-goal margins.
Sunshine George Cross 1 defeated Box Hill United 0 at Chaplin Reserve
Sunshine won 1-0 to leapfrog Box Hill on the table after Manuell Sadik tapped home from close range in the 82nd minute.
But if you believe the scoreline suggests a standard, ‘bread and butter’ victory to Sunshine, think again. I’ll leave it to the words of match reporter David Manuca: “[Box Hill] had been denied by the crossbar on three occasions, twice by the assistant referee and once by a George Cross defender on the line and knew it just was not their day.”
Avondale Heights 2 defeated Dandenong City 1 at Avondale Heights Reserve
Avondale like to win gritty. Now notching up their 7th consecutive victory to lead the competition by five points, many of their wins have been by a margin of one goal.
Not to take away anything from the league leaders, as once again they got the job done here, this time against strugglers Dandenong City. Dandenong would be ruing Jason Principato’s and Zoran Pajic’s first half goals for Avondale, because despite their dominance in the second half and a late Anthony Jerez goal, it was not enough to salvage a result for the visitors.
Whittlesea Ranges 0 defeated by North Geelong Warriors 4 at Epping Stadium
North Geelong snapped a four game losing streak with an apt, 4-0 scoreline. Reardo Luka earned the match ball for his well-earned hat-trick, while strike partner Mark Paleka popped up with a goal of his own.
Whittlesea might not quite agree with the 4-0 scoreline due to their array of chances throughout the game, many of which fell to New Zealand youth striker Tomislav Trbuhovich, who had a hat-trick of point blank shots saved by Warriors custodian Frano Saric.
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FC Bendigo 1 defeated by Springvale White Eagles 4 at Tom Flood Sports Centre
Despite a contest that yielded no yellow cards, Springvale were not in a friendly mood, travelling to Bendigo and smashing in four goals past the home side.
George Slefendorfas’s 25th minute opener was as good as the game got for Bendigo, as Abel Fesseha’s equalizer just before half time was accompanied by two more goals to the striker to complete his hat-trick, and another to Hamish Millar. The scoreline perhaps ballooned out a bit as Bendigo pushed higher to restore parity, with Springvale often striking on the counter.
Moreland Zebras 0 lost to Richmond 1 at De Chene Reserve
A solitary Tom Cahill goal was all that Richmond needed to see off fellow strugglers Moreland Zebras away at De Chene Reserve.
The game was played out mostly in midfield, an arm-wrestle due to both sides’ lowly ladder positions and lack of confidence to stray forward. However, it would be Cahill to slot home his own saved penalty and earn Richmond a much-needed, hard fought win.
St Albans Saints 4 defeated Brunswick City 0 at Churchill Reserve
A rather predictable result, four goals in the opening 50 minutes allowed St Albans to ease off for the remainder of the contest, consolidating a clean sheet. Defender Barry Devlin opened proceedings with two headed goals, his fourth and fifth for the season, a tally comparable to some of the best strikers in the league. Ryan McGuffie and Juso Julardzija added two more to put the result beyond doubt.
In what is becoming a common theme for Brunswick, goalkeeper Mason Interlandi prevented a bigger losing margin with a string of top saves.
Kingston City 2 defeated by FC Bulleen Lions 3 at the Grange Reserve
Both teams have been susceptible to relinquishing a number of winning positions this season, so it was fitting that this game also saw many ebbs, flows, and lead changes.
It was Bulleen that took the lead through Paul Harvey, despite protests of a handball in the lead-up. A powerful strike by George Stavridis and a penalty to Velibor Mitrovic saw the hosts wrestle back the ascendency. Yet two late goals to Matthew Dimech and Joshua Sabidussi swung the pendulum back in Bulleen’s favour, meaning they actually can win games even when Joseph Katebian doesn’t score.
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