By Chris Hearn (@_ChrisHearn)

Moreland Zebras have recorded a hard-fought win, defeating Whittlesea Zebras 2-0 at Epping Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

James Papadimitriou opened the scoring after a fast Moreland opening, before substitute Joshua Sabidussi made sure of the result with 10 minutes to play, despite Whittlesea dominating for most of the game.

The win solidifies Moreland's spot near the top of the PlayStation 4 NPL 1 West standings, mirroring the 2-0 result at home to Sunshine George Cross last Saturday.

The match was set up excellently for the visitors by a crucial early goal.

Papadimitriou carried on his blistering form of late, scoring from Baggio Yousif's cleverly disguised pass from Moreland's right side. Whittlesea's direct style was easily countered by their opponents in the early stages, and were able to camp inside the hosts' defensive half.

Despite the dominance through midfield, Danny Gnjidic's side weren't able to find the usual fluency in attack. Whittlesea's pressure improved as the home side started to mount a series of attacks before the break.

Attila Ofli began to find space away from Moreland veteran Steve Martin to give the hosts a renewed threat.

However, the best chance fell to central defender Andrew Taylor whose shot was cleared off the line following a scramble from a corner.

The hosts continued their resurgence after the break, with lone forward Ofli creating space inside the area but didn't trouble Nikola Kostadinovski in the Moreland goal.

A series of dangerous set-piece opportunities followed for Whittlesea, as Moreland's creative flow had completely stopped.

On 81 minutes, Sabidussi gave his side the two-goal cushion it desired.

Yousif's sparkling wing-play created the chance, and the midfielder was on hand to poke home past Gian Tapia.



The result was tough on Whittlesea, who worked extremely hard after going behind but the lack of a cutting edge in attack was ultimately telling.

 

MATCH DETAILS

Whittlesea Ranges 0 defeated by Moreland Zebras 2 (Papadimitriou 8', Sabidussi 81') at Epping Stadium [HT 0-1]

Whittlesea Ranges: 1. Gian TAPIA, 4. Mario PIRAINO, 5. Daniel SOTIROPOULOS, 6. Andrew TAYLOR, 7. Matthew CUNDARI, 10. Matthew IULIANO, 17. Stefan BARICEVIC, 19. Adem MASTADANAGIC, 20. Tobias HAEGELE, 23. Giosue TOLOMEO (9. Daniel PELUSO 62'), 25. Attila OFLI

Unused substitutes: 2. Pavle DURKIC, 21. Andreos BACHOS, 26. Jarrod HILL, 15. Matthew KUNDEVSKI

Yellow cards: Andrew Taylor 19', Stefan Baricevic 56', Daniel Sotiropoulos 78'



Red cards: None

Moreland Zebras: 1. Nikola KOSTADINOVSKI, 2. Simon SYMEOY, 16. Mile MEDJEDOVIC , 3. Johnny CRIVELLI, 4. Steve MARTIN, 5. Daniel PETROV, 23. Josh BERRIOS, 8. Josh McMONAGLE-IHASZ (24. Joshua SABIDUSSI 56'), 10. Danny CHARALAMBOUS, 11. Baggio YOUSIF, 14. James PAPADIMITRIOU (22. Ryan MURRAY 90')

Unused substitutes: 13. Lucas RUFFINO, 21. Alex STOJANOVSKI, 17. Chris TRIANTAFILOPOULOS

Yellow cards: James Papadimitriou 77', Danny Charalambous 90'



Red cards: None