NPL Victoria wrap: all the major talking points from the weekend’s action

The fight to avoid relegation is heating up across the NPL, here’s how it stands, while there was plenty of controversy over a questionable goal call.

Lochie McGrath in action for North Geelong.

With eight weeks to go in the NPL Victoria season the fight for survival is fierce.

Points are becoming more and more valuable as clubs battle to avoid relegation across the league.

There was also plenty of controversy in the Dandenong Thunder-Bentleigh Greens game with a goal awarded with question marks over whether it actually crossed the line.

Meanwhile, the state transfer window opens on Wednesday, adding further spice to the campaign.

Check out all the major talking points from across the weekend below.

Lochie McGrath in action for North Geelong. Picture: Stephen Harman

NPL RELEGATION BATTLE HEATS UP

North Geelong’s stunning upset win on Saturday makes the NPL relegation battle a fascinating watch. The Warriors threw a cat among the pigeons with a stunning 2-1 win over Hume City at Valley Stadium to revive their season. Lochlann McGrath secured an invaluable three points with a brace, including one of the goals of the year. A brainfade by Hume goalkeeper Rory Brian saw McGrath equalise in the 36th minute, cancelling out Josh Bingham’s opener, and he produced arguably the club’s finest moment of the season to win the game in the 77th. Bursting onto a Luka Jurkovic flick on, McGrath took the ball from his own half into the penalty box before executing the most sublime chip to leave Brian helpless. With his club’s season on the line, it was the perfect time for McGrath to score his first goals of the season.

While it remains in 14th place, the win takes North Geelong to 10 points, level with Bentleigh Greens, and two points behind Moreland City and safety. It will have the chance to leap-frog Moreland City on Saturday when it hosts the relegation rival at Elcho Park. Moreland dropped closer to the bottom two with a 3-0 loss to Avondale at CB Smith Reserve However, it’s a vast improvement on the 7-0 hammering it copped earlier in the year from the Avengers. Meanwhile, Bentleigh Greens picked up a critical point, holding Dandenong Thunder to a draw at George Andrews Reserve. Tom Strickland’s goal cancelled out Grad Damen’s opener. The result continued Thunder’s terrible run of form at home and put a major dent in its top-six hopes. North Geelong has the worst goal difference of the three main relegation battlers with -37 for the year, trailing Moreland City with -31 and Bentleigh on -21, which could prove crucial in deciding who drops. Hume City faces a difficult task against Oakleigh Cannons this weekend and St Albans travels to premiership contender South Melbourne.

Bentleigh Greens goalkeeper Bon Scott. Picture: Valeriu Campan

NO ONE SAFE IN NPL2

While the bottom five loom as the most likely to be fighting for survival come the end of the season, just eight points separates sixth from 13th. The likes of Pascoe Vale and Langwarrin were on top of the table earlier in the year but are now struggling, while Brunswick City and Australia Cup Round of 32 representative Northcote City are far from safe. Brunswick Juventus is currently on the bottom of the ladder but has found form in recent weeks and held promotion-contender Eastern Lions to a nil-all draw on Saturday. The Zebras have taken at least a point in five of their last six matches. They are now just a point behind Bulleen Lions and two points away from safety behind Pascoe Vale. After three wins on the trot, the Lions have now dropped their last two to remain in relegation danger. Positively for Bulleen it has the best goal difference of the relegation battlers with -2, which is better than four teams in NPL2. Meanwhile, Pascoe Vale continued its slide down the ladder with a 4-2 loss to Melbourne City on Friday night. A change of coach saw improved performances, including a stunning upset win over Western United, but it’s the club’s only positive result in its last eight. A goal difference of -13 is the worst in the competition. Round 19 sees some key games with massive relegation consequences. Brunswick Juventus faces 11th placed Brunswick City, 10th-placed Northcote City takes on Bulleen Lions and ninth-placed Langwarrin hosts Pascoe Vale. If the bottom three teams can find a way to win it would further tighten the race for survival.

FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL IN NPL3

The fight to avoid a return to state league is over for Ballarat City, the NPL3 struggler has just two points from its 14 matches and looks highly unlikely to make up the 13 points it needs to draw level with its nearest rival. That means there’s one more club to face the drop. Beaumaris is currently in the drop zone after a 3-0 loss to Boroondara-Carey on the weekend. A Conor McDonald brace and Hamraz Zenoozi red card early in the second half, condemned the Sharks. They’re now level on points with Geelong but one goal behind on goal difference.

With its Australia Cup campaign coming to an end in mid-week, Geelong couldn’t back up on Saturday and suffered a 3-1 loss to relegation rival Essendon Royals at Cross Keys Reserve. Matteo Ballan opened the scoring in just the fourth minute to send the Royals on their way and Graham Kelly added a brace to secure an invaluable three points and move them out of the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Box Hill United has found form at a crucial time and a second straight win sees it move two points clear of the bottom two. The Mustangs secured a massive 2-1 upset victory over third-placed Nunawading City at Wembley Park thanks to a Nick Weller winner in the 81st minute. They knocked off North Sunshine the week before in a strong mid-season purple patch. While the bottom five are the most in-danger of relegation, even the likes of Boroondara-Carey and Doveton in sixth and seventh respectively are far from safe. The pair are on 20 points, just five above the drop zone, and a fourth loss in five games sees North Sunshine just two points further ahead.

GOAL OF THE WEEK

Hard to go past Lochlann McGrath’s gut-busting run and sublime finish for North Geelong … so we’re not. It was a match-winning goal deserving of the highest recognition and could be in the running for Goal of the Year. McGrath took the ball from his own half, burning off his Hume City marker, and charged into the penalty box. He then produced a sublime chip to leave goalkeeper Rory Brian rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but watch the ball sail over his head and into the net. After such a run, to finish with that kind of style was something special, not to mention it secured an invaluable three points in the Warriors fight for survival. Green Gully striker Chris Duggan’s audacious scissor kick and Altona Magic talent Cian Cuba’s long-range rocket were on the podium.

SIGNING NEWS

With the NPL Victoria transfer window opening on Wednesday, South Melbourne made an early announcement with the addition of Luka Ninkovic. The veteran forward crosses from relegation-threatened Bentleigh Greens. Ninkovic only made two appearances this season, scoring one goal, but if fit will add depth to South’s offence. Ninkovic was a key player in Heidelberg United’s premiership season in 2019. He replaces Danny Kim at Lakeside after the midfielder switched to Green Gully. Kim made nine appearances for South Melbourne this season and hopes to get more game time in green.

SIGNING

We're looking forward to Luka Ninkovic finding the back of the net as he did on numerous occasions with our rivals Heidelberg United.

Here are some of his goals over the past few years. pic.twitter.com/wvsPbwOh4N

— South Melbourne FC (@smfc) June 16, 2023

SHARKS SIX-POINT WIN

In a potentially finals shaping clash, Port Melbourne snared a thrilling 1-0 win over Melbourne Knights at Somers Street. Star striker Chris Duggan pulled out the party tricks to score the match-winner in the 87th minute. Defender Dylan Edwards intercepted the ball in Port’s attacking third and the ball found its way out to the opposite where Luca Tevere lofted in a cross. All alone in the box, Duggan produced an acrobatic scissor kick to put the ball in the back of the net and spark wild celebrations. It was an important response for the Sharks after losing to Green Gully the previous week. The result likely locks in a finals spot as they move seven points clear of Dandenong in seventh and draws them within four points of Melbourne Knights in fourth place and a potential home elimination final.

WARING GOES BANANAS

Pierce Waring rocketed to the top of the NPL goalscoring charts on Friday night with an incredible four-goal performance. The striker’s heroics propelled Green Gully to a 5-2 romp over Altona Magic at Gully Reserve. Waring opened his account in the 20th minute, added a penalty in the 45th, secured the hat-trick in the 76th and completed the rout in the 82nd. He joins Magic young gun Jonas Markovski at the top of the tree. Markovski scored the first goal of the game in the 13th minute before it all went pear-shaped for the Magic. The pair are four goals ahead of Avondale trio Liam Boland, Stef Zinni and Zander Guy.

DID IT CROSS THE LINE?

There was plenty of controversy about Bentleigh Greens’ equaliser on Saturday. As the ball bobbled around the penalty area Tom Strickland threw a foot at the ball but it appeared to be caught by Thunder goalkeeper Majok Mawith before fully crossing the line. However, referee Michael Mammis awarded the goal. Match footage showed no signal from the linesman, who had an excellent view of the play. The decision left Dandenong players stunned. It proved decisive as the teams finished 1-all, putting a major dent in the Thunder’s top-six hopes while keeping the Greens in the hunt to avoid relegation.

NORTHCOTE CAN’T BACK UP

Forced to back up just three days after an exhausting extra-time Australia Cup tie, Northcote City could be forgiven for being a little off the pace on Saturday. Having booked its place in the national Round of 32 stage, City fell to Werribee City 2-1 on Friday night. Perhaps seeing an advantage, Werribee declined to move the game and Stephen Lawless scored the winner in the 73rd minute. Northcote City will hope for a kinder draw when it plays its next Cup match next month.

BLUES HOLD LIONS

Manningham United held Preston Lions goalless for just the second time this season as the NPL2 premiership and promotion race tightens again. Despite dropping points at home for the second match in a row, the Lions remain on top of the ladder, a point ahead of Western United, which defeated Dandenong City 2-0, and two points in front of Kingston City, which beat Bulleen Lions 3-0. Manningham United remains in promotion contention, sitting sixth. The Blues are just three points behind United in the automatic promotion berth and tackle fellow contender Dandenong City on Saturday. Preston travels to Melbourne City, Western United hosts Werribee City and Kingston City faces Eastern Lions.

WHITELEY HATTY FUELS GEORGE CROSS

A Josh Whiteley hat-trick propelled Caroline Springs George Cross to a romping 6-3 victory over North Sunshine at City Vista and into the box seat for automatic promotion. Whiteley scored in the 25th, 45+1 and 46th minute to take his season tally to eight and joint third in the competition. Otman Benhaddou kicked it off for Caroline Springs in the 15th minute and Daniel Bramall wrapped it up in the 92nd. George Cross is now three points clear of Nunawading, which lost to Box Hill, and Goulburn Valley, which was held to a 2-2 draw with Doveton. A blockbuster clash against Nunawading at Mahoneys Reserve looms on Saturday.

LOCALS IN THE GREEN AND GOLD

It’s been a big couple of weeks for Victorian football products. Three young guns were selected in the Olyroos squad for the prestigious Maurice Revello Tournament in France. Exciting brothers Alou and Garang from Shepparton and Goulburn Valley Suns and Endeavour United junior Nishan Velupillay featured in the squad and all made an impact as the Olyroos finished third. Vellupillay scored a brace in the 3-2 win over a Mediterranean Select team, while Alou Kuol had a pair of assists. Meanwhile, five Vics were selected in the Joeys squad for the Under-17 Asian Cup. Bulleen Lions pair Peter Antoniou and Jordan Hoey, East Bentleigh junior Campbell Dovison, Northcote City keeper and Glen Eira junior Daniel Graskoski and Michael Vonja of Caroline Springs made the trip to Thailand. Antoniou and Hoey both came on as substitutes in the loss to Saudi Arabia, while Antoniou made a start against China with Dovison coming on as a late sub. Finally, with the Women’s World Cup fast approaching, two locals were named in the Matilda’s provisional squad. Star midfielder Steph Catley, currently at Arsenal, is a product of East Bentleigh, while Kyra Cooney-Cross hails from Ballarat.