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PS4 NPL Victoria

By Brandon Galgano

Bentleigh Greens 3 (Webster 79’, Thurtell 85’, Holmes 90’) South Melbourne 1 (Minopoulous 27’)

The Bentleigh Greens have triumphed in the NPL Victoria ‘clash of the titans’, defeating top of the table South Melbourne in one of the matches of the season to date.

With the Greens trailing South by a single point going into the round, there was plenty at stake for both with South Melbourne having been unceremoniously knocked out of the cup by Bentleigh with the sides having already played each other three times this season.

It was the visitors who made all of the early running though, fielding a change of structure from past years as Chris Taylor looked to make up for the loss of the suspended Milos Lujic by starting Manuel Herrero alongside Leigh Minopoulos up front with Nick Epifano sitting just behind as a number 10.

It was Minopoulous who struck home the opener just before the half hour mark, getting on the end of some fantastic work down the left from Marcus Schroen, who beat a man before his low cross was almost deflected into his own net by Webster but for a great save from Ryan Scott.

They couldn't keep out the rebound though as Minopoulous strode in to slot home, giving the visitors a deserved lead.

With Bentleigh seemingly unable to deal with the high press which South were applying they were dealt a major lifeline in the 41st minute with South Melbourne defender Luke Adams getting on the wrong side of the energetic Chris Lucas, bringing the striker down before being shown his marching orders after being deemed as the last man.

The decision seemed harsh at the time with South Melbourne players and coaches up in arms along with a vocal away support who all felt that a red card was not necessary.

Remarkably, South Melbourne continued to dominate the match early in the second period, despite being down to ten men and almost doubled their lead midway through the second half but for another great save from Scott who atoned for his error which cost the Greens an equaliser against the Melbourne Victory last weekend, keeping his side in the match.

Things seemed to go from bad to worse for the Greens in the 65th minute though as substitute Kamal Ibrahim was shown a straight red card for what seemed to be a stray elbow on Matthew Millar, sparking a coming together of both players on the half way line with even both goalkeepers facing off eye to eye on the half way line.

The red seemed to finally spark the Greens into life and they scored the equaliser in the 79th minute though centre back Jack Webster who powerfully headed home from a free kick to get Bentleigh back into the match as South begun  to look vulnerable for the first time in the match.

That vulnerability was shown again just six minutes later as substitute Matt Thurtell latched onto a brilliant pass from former South man Tyson Holmes before lashing the ball home into the bottom corner past Nikola Roganovic to give Bentleigh a sensational lead with just five minutes to play.

With the visitors throwing numbers forward it seemed like more late drama was on the cards with South desperate to find an equaliser but Bentleigh struck the knockout blow in stoppage time with Holmes stepping up again to rifle home from the edge of the area with one of the strikes of the season to make it 3-1, securing top spot for the Greens on the NPL Victoria table.

Richmond SC 0 Defeated by Pascoe Vale 1 (Prelevic 59’)

Pascoe Vale have secured a vital three points, defeating relegation threatened Richmond by a goal to nil at Kevin Bartlett Reserve on Friday night.

With both sides in desperate need of a win, Richmond went into the match missing key defenders Bryan Bran and Kris Kioussis meaning Jacob Williams had to drop from midfield to central defence in a makeshift back four.

Goalkeeper Tony Foglia was in fine form for the hosts, with the new signing making a number of critical saves to keep the sides level as Pascoe Vale dominated the match from the outset.

There was nothing he could do about the winning goal though as newly capped New Zealand international Luca Prelevic found space on the edge of the area before curling the ball into the corner past Foglia to make it 1-0 Pascoe Vale.

Despite having chances to kill off the match for good, Pascoe Vale were denied by some desperate defending from the hosts but a second goal wasn't needed with the final score finishing at 1-0 for the visitors.

Port Melbourne Sharks 0 Defeated by Heidelberg United 1 (Ellis pen 44’)

Heidelberg United did their best to keep up with the top two sides in NPL Victoria, recording a 1-0 victory against an out of form Port Melbourne outfit at JL Murphy Reserve on Friday night.

With the hosts coming into the game on the back of five consecutive defeats, having failed to score in all five of those, it seemed almost a formality that Heidelberg would record another victory.

The first half saw few chances for both sides though as Port Melbourne restricted the visitors in front of goal.

It was the hosts in fact who did most of the attacking with Adrain Zahra proving dangerous in the final third along with wingers Erhan Yalaz and Jamie De Abreau but all three were lacking composure in the final third, a story which has summarised Ports season to date so far.

The Bergers did strike just before half time though courtesy of a penalty kick which was well taken by Sean Ellis, who slotted home past Luke Gavalas in the Port Melbourne goal.

The second half saw both sides come out looking to lift the tempo of the match with Ken Atihu proving a threat with his size and strength.

And despite some late pressure from the hosts, no equaliser could be found with Heidelberg United confirming a critical result with the hosts having now lost six matches in a row.

Oakleigh Cannons 1 (Bosnjak 48’) defeated Melbourne Victory 0

The Oakleigh Cannons continued their charge into finals football this season with a solid 1-0 win over the Melbourne Victory on Friday night.

Coming off the back of an incredible 6-0 victory over Avondale FC last weekend, the Cannons were looking to continue their hot goal scoring form against the bottom side in the league who were coming off a spirited 2-1 defeat against Bentleigh.

After last weekends improved performance against one of the premier sides in the comp, the Victory showed they were no easy beats, moving the ball around well on a flat surface at Jack Edwards Reserve as Oakleigh were forced to work hard when not in possession.

The Cannons finally took the lead though just after half time as Dusan Bosnjak continued to strengthen his own NPLV Gold Medal hopes with a well taken opening goal, slotting home past Lucas Spinella to make it 1-0.

The visitors didn't lie down though, with skipper John McLean working tirelessly up front alongside fellow youngster Josh Hope but there was no equaliser to be found with the final whistle singling a second straight Victory for the Cannons.

Hume City FC 3 (Cahill 59' 87' Markelis 73') Melbourne Knights 0

A second half double from Tom Cahill and goal for Theo Markelis delivered Hume City three points and put a major dent in Melbourne Knights' top six ambitions.

Cahill opened the scoring when Nick Hegarty's tricky run through the right ended with a square ball to the unmarked Hume marksman at the top of the area.

Hume doubled their advantage when Kristian Trajceski's run through the middle found Hegarty on the right flank again, this time teeing up Theo Markelis for a side-foot finish from the penalty spot.

Chill completed the scoring when a Trajceski tackle in the forward third deflected perfectly to play through the striker and catch the Knights defence flat-footed.

FC Bulleen Lions 0 Green Gully 1 (Taseski 33')

Kliment Taseski's quick reaction to a bouncing cross into the area provided the only goal of the match at the Veneto Club on Monday night.

Green Gully goalkeeper Rani Dowisha had to be sharp between the posts as he denied Bulleen's best chance for an equaliser, a close-range shot from Ersin Kaya.

PS4 NPL Victoria Women's

Alamein FC 6 (Runnalls 26' Cordner 35' 90' Ayres 33' Cardaci 87' Kotsikas 90+1')

Bulleen's ambitions for top spot may have been dealt a fatal blow after a 6-0 defeat to Alamein.

With three goals coming after the 87 minute mark the scoreline may have masked how well Alamein goalkeeper Melissa Maizels had to play to keep Bulleen from mounting a comeback.

Maizels made a string of saves, the best of which denied Em Coppock with a close-range header.

Emma Runnalls and Melina Ayres both scored from crosses in from the right in the first half, while both Harriet Cordner's goals came from headers at corners. A defensive error allowed Cristina Cardaci to score Alamein's fifth, while Jesse Kotsikas' long strike for the sixth finished the scoring.

Geelong Galaxy United 0 Calder United 3 (Meyer 5' Vlajnic 32' Au 43')

Calder United reclaimed first place on the table after a strong first half set up a victory away at Torquay.

American defender Kasha Meyer headed in the game's opening goal after five minutes. A number of Calder chances followed, the visitors eventually capitalising when Tyla-Jay Vlajnic headed in a corner at the near post.

Jess Au set up a three-goal buffer before half time when her cross from the right caught out Geelong goalkeeper Katie Neville.

Heidelberg United 3 (Gray, Barnes, Nicolaci) Box Hill United 0

Heidelberg United kept its top four hopes alive with a one-sided win against Box Hill United at Knox Regional Football Centre.

With 30 points and a goal difference of negative 1, Heidelberg is four points and 10 goals difference behind fourth-placed Geelong Galaxy United (34, +9) with five games to play for both sides.

Southern United 2 (Lines 70' Dudley-Smith 90+2') Bayside United 1 (Dudley 8')

Brittany Dudley-Smith's last-second strike was enough to capture Southern United its second win of the campaign, and keep the battle to avoid last place going in the NPLW's inaugural season.

With just one minute of stoppage time recommended by the fourth official in the second half, Dudley's late break through the Bayside defence came at the last possible chance for the game to be decided.

Saphri Lines' speed and strength had earlier pulled Southern level after Jaymee Dudley's opener for Bayside.

Celia Kelsall had to produce two good saves to deny Dudley and Emily Harbis a second Bayside goal.

PS4 NPL Victoria NPL 2 East

By Jordan Lim

Springvale White Eagles 2 (Erakovic 50', Stoilovic 55’) Kingston City 3 (McNamee 25’, Mitrovic 31’, Karpeh 81’)

A spirited comeback at 2-0 down wasn’t enough for the Springvale White Eagles, as they fell to a 3-2 loss to Kingston City at White Eagles Stadium.

Facing a two-goal deficit at half-time, the White Eagles fought hard to restore parity through Dejan Erakovic and Damir Stoilovic, only for Kingston’s star duo Velibor Mitrovic and Jerry Karpeh to combine to pop up for a late winner.

A flurry of early chances fell the way of the hosts, including a narrowly off-target free-kick from Englishman John Pykett and further misses from Stoilovic and Erakovic.

A Pykett ball in from the left was then brilliantly tipped away from the wanting foot of Stoilovic by Kingston ‘keeper Sermin Sardikovski, who earned his side a reprieve, with the Springvale forward odds-on to score.

Instead, it was Kingston against the run of play who opened the scoring through Rowan McNamee, who flicked an effort past keeper Lajos Hun from close range.

The Eagles were shocked into submission by the goal; their early attacking intent traded out for a more patient approach with long balls angled towards the wings their main outlet.

As such they were caught by a high-pressing Kingston who grew into the contest as the half wore on; Velibor Mitrovic capitalising in the 31st minute to make it 2-0 with a powerful effort.

Hunwas alive to the danger with Mitrovic chasing a third, as his moving effort from range was palmed down and grasped upon at the second attempt.

Jerry Karpeh looked increasingly interested as the half-time whistle approached, first helping a ball towards Slaven Vranesevic to shoot wide, then glancing a header towards goal, which was well saved by the Springvale custodian.

Similarly, Karpeh put his body about to start the second half, flicking a point blank effort towards goal from Vrancevic’s bobbling shot, which was eventually held by Hun.

Springvale halved the deficit on 50 minutes through Erakovic, who expertly dispatched a cross from Pykett, who was proving a real menace to the Kingston defence.

A scramble on the City goal line preluded the eventual equaliser on 55 minutes, as Stoilovic poked home from Marcus Holmes spilt effort.

Springvale continued to push to complete the comeback and saw a penalty cry unheeded and a Dan Westmore shot sail wide.

Kingston however enjoyed the two best chances of the half, first through a breaking Muad Zwed, who sped clean through on goals, only to strike the upright with only Oliveira to beat.

His blushes were spared in the 81^st minute as Karpeh powered a header home for the eventual winner, coming from an immaculate cross from Velibor Mitrovic.

The win breaks a two-game losing streak for Kingston, who still harbour ambitions of automatic promotion, sitting just six points off the pace of Dandenong Thunder, with a crunch match between the pair approaching next month.

Dandenong City 3 (Carroll 77’, Matkovic 81’, Morovic 90+2’) Goulburn Valley Suns 1 (Sellwood 37’)

A late flurry of goals kept alive Dandenong City’s hopes of earning promotion in 2016, after they claimed a come from behind 3-1 win over Goulburn Valley Suns.

On a surprisingly warm afternoon at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex, it was the Suns that shone early, hitting the lead on 37 minutes through skipper Cody Sellwood, who grabbed his fourth goal of the campaign.

However, the visitor’s good work was undone as three goals in the final 13 minutes of the tie saw City run away with the three points.

In an intense finale, skipper and man-of-the-match John Carroll netted a 77^th minute equaliser, before Dario Matkovic stepped up to convert from the penalty spot, giving Dandy the lead with nine minutes to play.

David Morovic turned in one more goal in injury time to seal the result and an important three points in the hunt for a promotion play-off spot, currently sitting 13 points off the pace of Kingston in second place on the PS4 NPL 2 East ladder.

Murray United 0 Dandenong Thunder 5 (Benjamin 4’ 28’, Barnes 6’ 85’ 90+2’)

While there was yet another hat-trick scored by Brandon Barnes, it was another Dandenong Thunder goal scorer that stole the headlines in the 5-0 rout of regional outfit Murray United.

16-year-old Godwill Benjamin netted a first half brace in just his second ever NPL Victoria start for the Thunder, taking just four minutes to open the scoring by poking home from a goal mouth scramble.

Barnes had his first of the afternoon with a beautiful curling effort to beat Dylan Nikolovski in goals for Murray on six minutes, before Benjamin extended the lead to three by latching onto a lofted ball and finishing.

Skipper Ashley Dunn enjoyed the best chances in the second half for Murray, but was well held by Fraser Maclaren who helped retain a clean sheet for the Thunder.

Barnes steered two late goals in to complete his hat-trick and complete a five-nil scoreline, their third win by five or more goals so far this season.

Box Hill United 1 (Gow 59’) Eastern Lions 0

Box Hill United broke their six-game winless streak, notching up a narrow 1-0 win over eighth-placed Eastern Lions at Wembley Park.

The deciding goal came courtesy of Jack Gow just before the hour mark, who was allowed to connect onto a cross from Alex Schroen, forcing Eastern Lions keeper Rob Havercroft into a scrambling save.

He then followed up his initial effort to give Box Hill an important victory in restoring the confidence of the mid-table outfit.

Nunawading City 0 Brunswick City 3 (Wright 17’, Dalla Via 18’, Murphy 60’)

Brunswick City did it easy as they strolled to a 3-0 victory over bottom-placed Nunawading City, who were consigned to their 19^th loss of the season.

The visitors stole a march at Mahoney’s Reserve with two early goals within a minute of each other.

Welshman Adam Wright was on hand to profit from a soft turnover of possession from Nunawading, with Jack Dalla Via scoring directly from the resulting kick-off to double the lead.

A light spray fell across the state’s South-East - a stark contrast to the picturesque setting the Saturday afternoon kick-off’s enjoyed – however it failed aid the speed of ball movement as the game lulled to a training pace.

Matt Murphy rounded off the result on the hour mark with a strong finish, to extend Brunswick’s seven-game unbeaten run.

PS4 NPL Victoria NPL 2 West

By Ahmed Yussuf

Moreland Zebras 2 (Muriqi 28’ 36’) Werribee City FC 0

Moreland Zebras’ grabbed a vital 2-0 win, after a three game losing spell, against strugglers Werribee City on Friday night at CB Smith Reserve.

New recruit Rinor Muriqi played a critical role scoring two goals for the home side in the latter stages of the first half to seal the victory for Moreland Zebras.

However, Zebras began the game shaky gifting a chance on goal to City striker Shaun Weaver after an air kick from defender Dean Campelj. Weaver run in behind the Zebras back line, however, wasn’t able to beat Zebras shot-stopper Stefaan Sardelic.

Moreland got their feet wet in attack when new acquisition Rinor Muriqimade his presence felt immediately. Muriqi stepped up from a set piece, curling the ball into the corner beating the keeper to only be denied by the upright.

The home side continued their pressure on the City defence. This time Baggio Yousif would get involved, turning on his preferred foot to get a shot on goal but a last ditch City block deflected the effort away from danger.

The two sides started to trade blows. City utilising crosses to find big man Weaver in the area. Damien Peters on the left curled in a ball to find Weaver who’s header falls just wide of the target.

On the counter Zebras surged forward after a comical deflection between two City players in midfield gift the ball out wide to Joshua Sabidussi who finds Muriqi inside the area. The attacker takes time to place his shot and puts it into the back of the net with ease.

In less than ten minutes Zebras doubled their lead. Another breakaway attack this time a lovely cutting ball from deep by fullback Daniel Petrov released Muriqi who run in behind the City defence. The Zebras man didn’t hesitate with the finish striking it in City keeper Marko Stevanja’s near post.

City attempted to rally themselves back into the game with wayward strikes from distance. Zachariah Ahmad tried his luck from distance shooting outside of the area but couldn’t trouble Zebra gloveman Sardelic.

Late on in the latter stages of the game Peters slides through Weaver on goal with space to run into but the striker isn’t able to get the shot on target. Seeing his effort fly high and wide of the crossbar.

Frustration grew for the away side and they almost conceded again when Muriqi wanted to cap off his hat-trick with the final kick of the game. Zebras were awarded a set piece, Muriqi look set to grab his third but his free kick hits the crossbar and out.

Moreland City 3 FC (Ukuno 55’ 61’, Thomas 68’) Bendigo City FC 0

Moreland City took all three points in a 3-0 win against bottom side Bendigo City at Clifton Park on Saturday afternoon.

Apai Ukuno opened the scoring midway through the second half after a ball from deep. The South-Sudanese international attacked the cross beating keeper’ Robert Munday to give his side the lead. Ukuno would double the lead and grabbed his brace not long after.

The game was rounded out by captain Corey Thomas who’s rising shot on goal beat Bendigo keeper’ Munday with ease.

North Geelong Warriors 2 (Jurcic 4’ 83’) Melbourne City FC 0

North Geelong Warriors defeated Melbourne City 2-0 at Elcho Park on Saturday afternoon to keep their promotion hopes alive.

The game started immediately with the Warriors on the front foot. Nicholas Jurcic took his chance on goal after being placed in behind the City defense, finishing with aplomb beating City keeper’ James Delianov.

Not long after the Warriors tried to double their lead. This time goal scorer Jurcic turned provider finding Kene Eze who was unable to direct the header towards goal.

Warriors were let down after a defensive error from captain Matthew Townley puts City player one on one with Warriors keeper’ Zilic, but the shot-stopper came out big to deny the shot on goal.

Jurcic capped off the win late on after a mazy run he took on a shot from a difficult angle and finished with brilliant goal.

Whittlesea Ranges 2 (Slefendorfas 15’ 26’) Sunshine George Cross 2 (Gonzalez 24’, Arrendondo 74’)

Whittlesea Ranges share the spoils with Sunshine George Cross in a 2-2 draw at Epping Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Ranges opened the lead early in the first half after a ball into the box found attacker Slefendorfas who headed on goal beating Georgies keeper’ Robert Santili.

Georgies fought to get back into the lead and in less than ten minutes found themselves equalizing through Nicolas Gonzalez.

However in a matter of minutes the Georgies were again behind after Slefendorfas grabbed his brace before the break.

Georgies were pressing to find their second equalizer throughout the second half, but finally found some joy when Hernán Arredondo grabbed the equalizer.

Ballarat Red Devils 2 (Barresi 2’, Yaw 38’ 69’) St Albans Saints 3 (George 77’, King 80’)

St Albans Saints defeated a spirited Ballarat Red Devils 3-2 away from home at Morshead Park Saturday evening.

The Saints started the game on fire after Adrian Barresi scored within the first few minutes of the game beating Ballarat keeper’ Aaron Romein with a striking effort.

After conceding Ballarat looked to get back in the game, and were helped with Simon Murphy’s header from a short corner but the attacker wasn’t able to direct it on goal.

Ballarat were looking like they were getting back into the game butjust as they were the Saints spring Nana Yaw on them. The attacker hammered from the edge of the area to double his side’s lead.

Yaw grabbed his brace midway through the second half to push back the Ballarat’s momentum making the result look out of reach.

However, youngster Brandon Launton wasn’t having any of it, he made a superb run and playedin Jake Francis.But Launton was let down with Francis who hit his shot wide.

But Ballarat’s pressure was rewarded as within minutes Paul George got one back for the home side.

The come back was on when Dave King headed on goal to bring the game back within reach of Ballarat at 3-2.

But the come back came to late for the home side; the Saints run out victors to keep their promotion hopes alive.