By Chris Hearn (@_ChrisHearn)

Goals either side of halftime were enough to earn FC Bulleen Lions a 2-1 win against Whittlesea Ranges on Friday night.


Joshua Sabidussi opened the scoring before striker Joseph Katebian doubled the lead at the beginning of the second half.

Substitute Tomislav Trbuhovic netted what was ultimately a consolation strike for Whittlesea.

Slow starts have caused the Ranges to haemorrhage opening goals as of late, but they did fantastically well and dominated the first half-hour.

Intelligent pressing and incisive movement ensured that Bulleen was unable to create openings.

Kliment Dimitrieski nearly put Whittlesea ahead with controversy shrouding the incident.

The striker raced towards goal following a Bulleen corner, but hesitated too long, before dribbling around Fraser Maclaren only to be felled by the goalkeeper. The referee waved play on, however, much to the ire of the home crowd.

Bulleen was not phased and knocked the ball around with vigour shortly after. A chance was bound to come, and it did through Katebian.

The striker's dipping effort grazed the top of the bar with Whittlesea's new signing Dianoush Rasoulzaden-Seysan well beaten.

The half ended with the visitors in complete control, but an injury to Whittlesea striker Kliment Dimitrieski just before the interval meant Trbuhovic was called upon, and his introduction gave the hosts a new dimension in attack.

As dominant as Bulleen was previously, sloppy play meant the hosts were offered a route back into the contest.

Whittlesea full back Berkan Yurdakul found the substitute Trbuhovic, after good work by winger Daniel Peluso, but the striker's first-time effort hit the side netting.

But shortly after, Bulleen went two ahead through Katebian.

Sabidussi's good work on the right of the area found the striker unmarked, who made no mistake from 10 yards.

Daniel Giogha's introduction provided pace and direction to the Whittlesea attack, and he combined with fellow substitute Trbuhovic for a consolation goal.

The winger drove towards the Bulleen area and his cross-cum-shot found the striker 12 yards out to power a strike past Maclaren.

A comeback looked possible, but the midfield of Bulleen took the sting out of the contest and looked the far more likely of both sides to get on the scoresheet, but it couldn't add to its slender advantage.

Bulleen manager Fabrizio Soncin was disappointed with his side’s start, but pleased with the result and new signing Kristian Sarkies' contribution.

"It was a pretty nervy beginning by us I think, but credit to Whittlesea, they played well,” Soncin said.

"He (Sarkies) provided a real calming influence when we needed it," Soncin said.


Whittlesea manager Vinko Buljubasic was impressed at the overall performance, despite the result.

"We wanted to come back after a few heavy defeats, and slowly we're fixing a few internal issues to make sure that happens,” Buljubasic said.

"Credit to Bulleen though, they played the ball well but so did we."

Bulbuljasic also remained bullish about the prospect of continued improvement throughout the squad.

"We're going to stick with these young players, develop them, and get results in the end," he said.

Match Details

Whittlesea Ranges 1 (Trbuhovic 75') lost to FC Bulleen Lions 2 (Sabidussi 38', Katebian 52') at Epping Stadium [HT 0-1]

Whittlesea Ranges: Dianoush Rasoulzaden-Seysan (GK), Berkan Yurdakul (Daniel Giogha 59'), Andrew Taylor, Daniel Sotiropoulos, John Reale, Nicholas Sarbin, Daniel Peluso, Matthew Iuliano, Girolamo Costanza (Daniel Giogha 74'), Kliment Dimitrieski (Tomislav Trbuhovic 43'), Adam Mustadanagic.

Substitutes not used: Damian Siljanoski

Yellow cards: Daniel Sotiropoulos 87'

Red cards: None

Bulleen Lions: Fraser Maclaren (GK), Dean Romas (Davide Cardamone 89'), Sam Borghesi, Lewis Waddell, Matteo Ballan, Barohi Hysoli (Giannis De Nittis 79'), Takanori Nishimoto, Matt Dimech, Joseph Katebian, Joshua Sabidussi (Alex Dao 58'), Kristian Sarkies.

Substitutes not used: Edison PONARI, Gian TAPIA

Yellow cards: None

Red cards: None