NPL Vic Round 1 Wrap and Rd 2 Preview

The first of NPL Victoria’s 26 rounds is officially in the books, with new faces, old faces and returning faces all having major impacts as Australia’s premier NPL competition renewed hostilities for 2020. 

The season, in picture-perfect conditions, kicked off on Thursday night when title contenders Oakleigh Cannons and Avondale locked horns at Jack Edwards Reserve.  

With the physical nature of the contest betraying the desire of both sides to lay down an early season marker, it was the Cannons that fired first when Ryan Paczkowski struck true in the sixth minute of play.

That early advantage was then reinforced for the hosts when Stefan Zinni received a red card in the 17th minute for a high boot on Cannon Tom Mathews.

“A decision like that, I thought the send-off was a bit stiff,” Cannons’ boss Chris Taylor said post-game. “That kind of plays into your hands, a goal up and they go down to ten. We controlled the game after that.”

Joe Knowles and Joe Guest added two extras for the Cannons in the 42nd and 70th minute to put the game to bed, with Avondale securing a late consolation Scott Robertson own goal in the 83rd.  

On Friday night, traditional foes South Melbourne and Heidelberg locked horns once again at Lakeside Stadium, with both three points and bragging rights on the line.

Despite being expected to experience some growing pains thanks to upheaval in their ranks during the off-season, George Katsakis’ group recorded a 3-0 win over their rivals that evening thanks to a Lucas Derrick brace and a strike from new-signing Dusan Bosnjak.

The Bergers lifted the NPL Victoria Premier’s Plate on the Lakeside surface just six months prior to Friday after defeating Hellas 3-0 on the final day of the 2019 regular season and, for South fans, the final score may have brought about some unwelcome déjà vu.

In Friday night’s other contest, Port Melbourne Sharks and Melbourne Knights shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at JL Murphy Reserve.

Despite going a man-down after Mathew Breeze was sent off for a horrific tackle on Port’s Lochlan Reus close to halftime, the Knights’ took the lead in the 69th minute thanks to some hustling and bustling individual work from Hamish Watson.

The Sharks, though, were not to be denied with their one-man advantage and equalised in the 83rd minute when Francesco Stella fired an attempted punch clear by Harry Cakarun straight back past him from the penalty spot.

Brandon Barnes was the hero for the Thunder in a dramatic Dandenong Derby on Saturday night, the Thunder talisman heading home a 94th minute winner to send the Thunder contingent of the 2000+ fans in attendance at George Andrews Reserve into raptures.

Newly signed Giuseppe Marafioti – a late, late addition in the offseason – opened the scoring for the hosts in the 14th minute, before the Thunder’s resident Englishman made it 2-0 four minutes later.

Nonetheless, the well-worn cliché is that 2-0 is the most dangerous lead in football, and Hajduk added more evidence to that claim as they fired back to tie things heading into the final twenty minutes thanks to a strike from Brayden Mann in the 29th minute and a nice goal to Luke Eyles in the 69th.

Barnes, however, had the final say. 

Hume triumphed in Melbourne’s northwest in the night’s other fixture, recording a 2-0 win over Altona Magic in a game that featured three players – Hume’s Daniel Dixon and Altona’s Maarten Hemmen and Nicholas Sette – sent for early baths by referee Andrew Meimarakis.

Steven Hewitt – with a healthy assist from a James Brown feint – put his side ahead with a free kick in the 26th minute at ABD Stadium, before then putting the game to bed in the 87th minute when he got in behind the Magic defence at fired beyond Shane Viitakangas.

NPL Victoria’s newly promoted sides finally got their first taste of the big leagues on Sunday afternoon, with mixed results.

At Churchill Reserve, St Albans sprung a minor surprise when they took advantage of a third minute goal from Michael Grgic to eventually secure a 4-2 win over 2019 finalists Green Gully.

With Jonathan Bounas earning a silly red card after pushing referee Alejandro Azcurra in the 20th minute, Anthony Poljak made it 2-0 to Dinamo in the 22nd before the prolific Alex Salmon got one back for the visitors from the spot just before half time.

Taking advantage of their one-man buffer, however, St Albans put the game bed through goals to Oliver Bassett and Matthew Cundari and rendered Salmon’s 87th minute penalty little more than window dressing as they made a winning return to the top-flight.

Eastern Lions’ NPL bow, however, didn’t go as smoothly as Dinamo’s.

The game moved from Gardiners Creek Reserve to Kingston Heath Reserve very late in the process, the Lions were able to maintain the contest’s equilibrium throughout the first 45 minutes, only for former Socceroo Brent McGrath to open the scoring in the 47th minute.

Less than a minute after missing a penalty, the 28-year-old then made it two to the defending NPL Victoria Champions in the 66th minute and Finn Beakhurst made it 3-0 when he fired an effort across Keegan Coulter and into the net in the 70th minute.

The Week Ahead

Coming off the highs of their Dandenong Derby win, the Thunder will open round two on the road when they head to Sunshine to face off with a Knights side looking to secure their first win of the season on Friday night – one of five fixtures that evening.

The Knights week one opponents Port Melbourne will play hosts for the second week in a row when Bentleigh Greens come to JL Murphy Reserve looking to make it two wins from two.

2019’s vanquished Elimination Final sides Green Gully and Hume City will collide at Green Gully Reserve, while Dandy City will host St Albans at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex.

In Friday night’s final contest, Oakleigh Cannons will look to reinforce their credentials against Heidelberg when the 2019’s Premiers head to Jack Edwards Reserve.

Altona Magic and Avondale will look to get their first points on the board when the two meet at Stead Park on Saturday evening, as will South Melbourne and Eastern Lions when the two clash at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon.