Image: Drazen Jurina
Dandenong City earned a late win against a difficult Moreland City side to maintain their grip on top of the East, with Dandenong Thunder trailing closely behind after a straightforward 4-0 win over Bendigo which dooms the regional outfit to relegation. Northcote City however slipped up again to draw 2-2 away to Goulburn Valley Suns, allowing Moreland Zebras to close the gap further after defeating Eastern Lions.
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After a scoreless first half between Dandenong City and Moreland City, the contest burst to life in the second. Shaun Filipovic added his 17th goal of the campaign before Trent Rixon piled on his seventh for the month to equalise just moments later. However, with time running out it was a penalty and red card to Milos Tosic which allowed Nick Kalmar to step up from the penalty spot and ensure Dandy City added a three points to their tally, ensuring Thunder couldn’t close the gap at the top.
Eastern Lions’ woes continue, sitting outright last and three points behind Richmond after a defeat to Moreland Zebras. It was a tough assignment for the lowly Lions against the West’s second-placed side but both went into the sheds equal with neither able to break the deadlock. However Josh Sabidussi broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, before Nic Niagioran lobbed home the advantage in the 71st.
NPL2 round 21 Eastern Lions v Moreland Zebras from Eastern Lions Soccer Club on Vimeo.
Northcote’s lead now just sits at five after picking up just one point in their last two games. A frantic second half saw a quick exchange of goals as Northcote came back twice to salvage a 2-2 draw on the road to Goulburn Valley Suns. A Cody Sellwood header got proceedings going before Alec Goodwin equalised. Craig Carley again got the go-ahead goal soon after but Josh Knight was able to peg one back from the penalty spot. City soon had a numerical advantage as livewire Rob Hughes was sent off with 10 minutes remaining but the scores remained level until the end.
Dandenong Thunder sunk Bendigo City 4-0 to ensure the regional outfit is the first to mathematically be relegated from NPL2 in 2017. The Thunder started strongly as Veton Korcari got proceedings going while Brandon Barnes added to his season tally with a quickfire double by the 20th minute. The scoring slowed thereafter but another milestone came when Jordan Seeto netted his first goal for the club in the second half.
Ballarat City triumphed 3-1 in a regional battle over Murray United. Josh Dorron made a second penalty save in recent times, but Murray still struck first as youngster Lewis Greenwood netted another goal in his breakout season. But Ballarat hit their straps in the second half as David King hit back, young visa import Courtney Austin’s continued his good first impressions for the club with the second goal in the 65th minute, while Pat Karras sealed all three points minutes later.
Melbourne City’s grip on promotion hopes continues to slip, now nine points behind Dandenong Thunder after losing out to Sunshine George Cross. Japanese import Yosuke Saito headed Sunshine the lead, before Austin Wong latched onto Lucas Portelli’s long ball to apply a clinical finish. Sunshine re-took the lead when David Younan’s fantastic strike – and second goal in a fortnight – sailed into the back of the net, which was a worthy winner for his side.
Richmond secured a crucial three points to break away from bottom-placed Eastern Lions by defeating an out-of-sorts Whittlesea Ranges 3-1. A mid-season coaching change in Brian Vanega and some mid-season additions have contributed to some crucial wins recently. Dion Paola was first on the scoreboard via a one-on-one in 25th minute, while Valli Cesnik finished off the side’s second to double the lead. Ross Frame’s deflected header gave the visitors a lifeline in the 40th minute, but Rowan McNamee ensured the Ranges had little hope of a comeback by netting in the 80th minute.
Another West outfit in freefall at the moment is Melbourne Victory, who suffered defeat to Springvale White Eagles and moved down to second last on the ladder. The hosts were on the back foot early after Isaiah Joseph’s opener, but Callum Goulding’s second-half penalty won by Brandon Jansz – an ex-Eagle – had drawn Victory level. However, a late double by Jerry Karpeh secured the 3-1 win which has Springvale in sixth and a fairly comfortable mid-table existence.
Brunswick City came crashing back down to earth after defeating Northcote last week, put away by a five-star Box Hill. Todd Dekker continued his fine form in the 34th minute, while a Nathan Fox own goal doubled the advantage just before the break. Andre Mcnamara had a second-half double either side of Lachlan Cho’s 56th minute goal. Yusuf Yusuf pegged one back in the 72nd minute but it was merely a consolation for the outclassed Brunswick outfit.
Nunawading City had no answer for Werribee City’s three goals in a comeback win as the Bees continue to buzz late in the season. Buoyed by last week’s win over Richmond had them clear of relegation for now, after 22 minutes a rocket Patrick Gerhardt free kick was saved onto the crossbar before James Brown tapped in the opener. But that’s as good as it got as a quality equaliser from George Slefendorfas had the score at 1-1. Jordan Franken saved a penalty before the break, but Werribee weren’t to be denied the lead much longer when Cameron Davies scored a header from a corner. Brad Murray sealed the three points after a penalty was called against Gerhardt, with Franken unable to replicate his earlier exploits.