By Bryce Clayton

FC Bulleen Lions overcame a slow first half to thrash Whittlesea Ranges 6-2 in the final round of the NPL 1 season at David Barro Stadium on Sunday.

A hat-trick to Joshua Sabidussi and singles to Bardhi Hysoli, Takanori Nishimoto and Dean Lorenzi were enough for the home side, with Daniel Peluso and Kliment Dimitrieski securing consolation goals for the Ranges

The Lions started with the momentum, and didn’t have to wait long for their first chance with Kristian Sarkies testing Jarrod Hill from long range in the third minute.

Whittlesea found itself through on goal in the 12th minute, but a perfectly timed challenge by Dylan Bresolin denied it a clear scoring opportunity.

And Bresolin showed his defensive skills aren’t his only asset, with his long-range shot missing by mere centimetres over the crossbar.

But despite Bulleen’s pressure, it found itself behind when a penetrating run by Peluso saw him storm through the Lions’ defence and slot the ball into the bottom left-hand corner to give Whittlesea an unlikely read.

A goalkeeping howler almost saw the home side draw level, but Hill was able to recover after some excellent pressure by Sabidussi.

And the Lions continual pressure paid dividends, as a perfect cross by Samual Borghesi found Sabidussi at the back post who finished well, despite a deflection off a desperate Hill.

The Lions then had a host of chances, with a Matteo Ballan wonder strike the highlight - hitting the post from 25 yards.

But the Ranges again looked dangerous on the counter, as Girolamo Costanza’s shot went just wide from outside the box.

It was Sarkies in behind again right on the stroke of halftime, but his chip for the far post went just wide to keep the scores level heading into the break.

It was an open start to the second half, and Peluso almost had a brace with his powerful shot saved well by Matt Banovic.

But it was Bulleen which doubled its tally to take the lead, with Sabidussi finding himself one-on-one with Hill and chipping the ‘keeper with absolute precision in the 52nd minute.

Bulleen added another goal just two minutes later, with Hill coming out of his goal and Hysoli calmly chipping for goal from outside the box to double the Lions’ lead.

And if that wasn’t bad enough for the Ranges, Nishimoto added another just two minutes after the third with a calm finish into the bottom-left corner to cap off four minutes of capitulation for the Ranges’ defence.

Peluso found himself in behind in the 61st minute, but his shot fired wide as the Ranges tried to salvage something from the game.

It was almost five at the other end, with Hysoli finding himself one-on-one with Hill but unable to capitalise on a golden opportunity to end the game.

But the game was eventually put beyond doubt in the 74th minute, with a Sabidussi cross finding Lorenzi alone inside the box, who finished first time into the bottom left-hand corner to extend the Lions’ lead.

Dimitrieski did pull one back for the Ranges in the 76th minute, but it was to be merely a consolation.

And Sabidussi put the icing on the cake in the 83rd minute, heading home from close range and securing both his hat-trick and a big win for Bulleen to end the season.

Bulleen coach Fabrizio Soncin commented on an excellent win for his side.

“We changed a couple of things at halftime, trying to create chances to get in behind them and we did that,” Soncin said.

“It’s just things that we’ve worked on all year that they didn’t implement in the first half and once we corrected that, goals came.

“It was a great way to end the season.”

Whittlesea was unavailable for comment.

MATCH DETAILS

FC Bulleen Lions (Sabidussi 33’, 52’, 83’ Hysoli 54’, Nishimoto 56’, Lorenri 74’) defeated Whittlesea Ranges (Peluso 20’, Dimitrieski 76’) at David Barro Stadium [HT: 1-1]

FC Bulleen Lions: Matt BANOVIC (GK), Dean ROMAS, Samual BORGHESI, Matteo BALLAN, Bardhi HYSOLI, Takanori NISHIMOTO (Billy ROMAS 58’), Dean LORENZI, Edison PONARI, Joshua SABIDUSSI, Kristian SARKIES, Dylan BRESOLIN

Unused subs: Alexander TOMASELLI, Jack GOW, Gian TAPIA

Cards: Nil

Whittlesea Ranges: Jarrod HILL (GK), Daniel SOTIROPOULOS, John REALE, Berkan YURDAKUL, Daniel PELUSO, Mile RISTOV (Christopher STOJCEVSKI 58’), Matthew IULIANO, Matthew KONDEVSKI, Girolamo COSTANZA (Kliment DIMITRIESKI 78’), Adem MUSTADANAGIC, Rami MUSTAFOSKI

Unused subs: James RIZZARDO, Matthew SIMJANOSKI