NPL Victoria: Knights on board, Cannons, Avengers pile on goals, Goal of the Week
Oakleigh and Avondale piled on the goals, while Melbourne Knights secured its first win and we name our Goal of the Week to wrap up NPL Round 4.
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The NPL season rolls on with the competition frontrunners starting to announce themselves.
Oakleigh Cannons and Avondale piled on the goals while South Melbourne continued its perfect start to the campaign.
Melbourne Knights snatches its first win of the season but Heidelberg United’s struggles continue.
A stunning long-range goal claims our Goal of the Week while penalty kicks again make major talking points.
Meanwhile, Preston Lions are on top of the pile in NPL2 and we look ahead to the start of the NPL3 and NPL Women’s competitions.
All that and more in this week’s talking points.
KNIGHTS GET ON THE BOARD
A red card to Bentleigh Greens and penalty proved the pivotal moment as Melbourne Knights secured its first win of the NPL season in a closely contested match at Somers St on Sunday. Knights striker Ciaran Bramwell won the penalty after being pulled in the box and denied a chance of running on to a tap in. Gian Albano converted from the spot. It was the first win for the Knights in their 70th anniversary season and after a loss and two draws. The victory was a relief for new coach Ben Cahn and his players and saw the team jump from 12th to eighth.
GOAL OF THE WEEK
Avondale forward Stefan Zinni claims the honours in Round 4 with a superb finish from distance against North Geelong. A horror turnover by the Warriors saw Manyluak Aguek pounce on the loose ball and release Zinni down the left wing. The Avengers gun then stepped back inside before curling a shot into the far corner from outside box. Zinni’s first goal of the season could well be his finest. Oakleigh’s Chris Lucas bagged a remarkable, if a little lucky goal. The Cannons sub almost bombed a certain goal, miss-hitting an attempted shot but quick-thinking headed the ball over the top of the oncoming goalkeeper and into the net.
31:26: GOAL! Avondale FC Melbourne scores to make it NGW 0 : AVFC 2
— NPL Victoria (@nplvictoria) March 11, 2023
Watch live and free on https://t.co/bOA3JNp71S#NPLVIC#NGWAVFCpic.twitter.com/PWuN6GhU5P
WARRIORS STRUGGLES CONTINUE
Heidelberg United’s horror start to the season continued with a 5-nil loss to champions Oakleigh Cannons. Olympic Village has not been a happy hunting ground in the early rounds with a 1-nil loss to Dandenong Thunder in the opening round followed by Friday night’s drubbing. The club has only scored one goal this season as well. Deion Nikolaidis’ red card in the 54th minute put further pressure on United and three late goals put unnecessary damage to the for-and-against.
GREENS REMAIN WINLESS
While Sunday’s match against the Knights didn’t bring the result they may have liked, the Greens put up a good fight away from home. In fact, when Christian Cavallo hit a powerful shot which thundered into the crossbar in the dying stages, the Greens could have come away with a point. And before conceding a red card and goal in the 33rd minute, the Greens arguably looked the better of the two teams with multiple chances to score in the 1-0 game. The Greens can take away positives from the fact they didn’t concede another goal with 10-men and continued to threaten and score an equaliser in the second half. The Greens take on Dandenong Thunder at home next week.
OAKLEIGH ARE THE REAL DEAL
Despite losing star playmaker Joe Guest to a straight red card in the 23rd minute, Oakleigh still found a way to score two goals against Heidelberg United. The Cannons added another three after Bergers midfielder Deion Nikolaidis received his marching orders to level the numbers at 10-a-side. Oakleigh didn’t give its rivals a chance with coach Chris Taylor’s men revealing a real want to succeed regardless of the situation. It poses a threat to the whole competition.
AVONDALE FIND MORE GOALS
The Avengers certainly haven’t had an issue finding the back of the net so far this season. Avondale hit another four goals in Round 4 to hammer North Geelong and lead the league with 12 goals. Kristian Trajceski scored a brace, opening the scoring in the 18th minute and then completed the rout in the 94th. Stef Zinni scored a blinder from outside the box and Gavin De Niese opened his season account. It’s the third game in a row the club has scored three or more goals and host promotion winner Moreland City in Round 5.
SAINTS BIGGEST TEST TO COME
Three draws and a win has St Albans in fourth spot on the NPL ladder under new coach Ryan McGuffie but its biggest test is now upon them. The Saints face champions Oakleigh Cannons and then premier South Melbourne in the next two rounds. Both games are at home, which is a positive, in a challenging fortnight ahead. Churchill Reserve will be a place to be over the next two Sundays.
PENALTY SAVES MORELAND AGAIN
For the second week in a row, Moreland City secured a late draw from the penalty spot. Christos Theodorakopoulos scored in the 72nd minute against Port Melbourne and stepped up again in the 82nd minute on Saturday against Altona Magic. The Magic had opened the scoring through Jonas Markovski in the 60th minute at CB Smith Reserve before the home team found an equaliser to continue a three-game point streak.
GULLY DROWN SHARKS WITH LATE STUNNER
An inch-perfect ball from Luc Jeggo found Pierce Waring for a last-gasp 85th minute winner for the Cavaliers against Port Melbourne. It capped off a stunning performance for the team in green who came from 2-1 down to win a thrilling encounter at Gully Reserve. The win sees the Cavaliers leap-frog the Sharks into fifth position.
LANGLOIS HITS SOUTH’S WINNER AGAIN
After two weeks of streaking forward and scoring, opposition sides may want to mark up South Melbourne midfielder Patrick Langlois. Particularly on fast breaks, where Langlois thrives and has proven in the last two weeks that he has the pace and instinct to get into scoring areas. South are the only side with four wins from four games to start the season after Langlois’ 27th minute winner against Dandenong Thunder at George Andrews Reserve.
RAMS, LIONS STREAKS END
The last two undefeated teams in NPL2 are undefeated no longer. Pascoe Vale suffered a shock 3-nil loss to Manningham United at home on Friday night, while Langwarrin went down 3-2 away to Eastern Lions. A Seb Hernando brace secured the Blues a commanding win at CB Smith Reserve, while two goals just before half-time set up Eastern Lions win at Gardiners Creek.
LATE DRAMA
Who doesn’t love a bit of injury-time drama? There was plenty of it in the 3-all draw between Werribee City and Dandenong City at Galvin Park on Saturday. With the scores locked at 2-2, Cooper Legrand looked to have won the game for Dandenong with a 91st minute strike but the Bees would not be denied and won a penalty in the final seconds. Lars Kinnander converted from the spot, his second goal of the game, and share the points in a thrilling finish.
PRESTON ON TOP
After winning the NPL3 premiership last season, Preston Lions are now top of NPL2. The Lions secured an impressive 1-nil win over Western United at Caroline Springs. Jamie Forrester scored the winner in the 39th minute and Preston’s defence did the rest. The Lions have conceded just three goals this season, fewest in the competition, and have the best goal-difference, which puts them on top of Pascoe Vale and Langwarrin all on nine points.
ZEBRAS ON THE BOARD
Brunswick Juventus claimed its first win of the NPL2 season to jump off the bottom of the ladder. A Christian Inglese goal in the 28th minute was enough to secure the three points against Bulleen Lions at the Veneto Club. It was also the club’s first clean sheet of the season and they’ll look to continue their winning form when they host Eastern Lions at CB Smith Reserve on Saturday.
NPL WOMEN’S, NPL 3 SET TO BEGIN
The NPL will return in full this weekend with some exciting match ups to look out for in the opening round of NPL Women’s and NPL 3. See the Round 1 fixtures below and stay tuned for weekly talking points to be included from these competitions.
NPL Women’s
Box Hill United vs. Calder United
Alamein vs. Preston Lions
Bayside United vs. Southern United
South Melbourne vs. Heidelberg United
Bulleen Lions vs. Boroondara Eagles
NPL 3
North Sunshine Eagles vs. Essendon Royals
Nunawading City vs. Ballarat City
Goulburn Valley Suns vs. Boroondara Eagles
Caroline Springs George Cross vs. Box Hill United
Geelong vs. Doveton
Melbourne Victory vs. Beaumaris
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