With the opening month of the 2021 NPL Victoria season in the books, it’s probably too early to declare that pretenders have emerged - but not to say that a number of sides have begun to establish the foundations of well and truly contending for glory this campaign.
One of the latter sides is Melbourne Knights, who bounced back from their first defeat of the season in round three to down predicted title challengers Hume City 3-0 in Sunshine in the opening game of what was a busy Friday night in the Victorian top-flight - five games were staged across the city of Melbourne on weekend’s eve.
Coming into the fixture still undefeated - but not as lethal as they were during their five-game winning run start to the abandoned 2020 season - the visitors found themselves placed behind the eight-ball just before the hour mark at Knights’ Stadium when Ben Bowler received his second yellow card of the evening after arriving late to a 50/50 ball by the halfway line.
Caleb Mikulic and the Knights’ promptly took advantage of their one-man buffer to fire the opening goal of the game home three minutes later, before the home side made it 2-0 in the 74th minute through Gian Albano.
Mohammed Sumaoro then continued his fine start to the season when he sealed the contest at the House that Dukes built with a strike in the 83rd minute and sent Croatia back to the top of the NPL Victoria table.
Red cards were also on the menu in the Port Phillip Bay Derby between Port Melbourne and South Melbourne at JL Murphy Reserve; Sharks’ keeper Andrew Withers sent off late in the contest after he brought down Harrison Sawyer as he broke into space in behind the defence.
It was a foul that threatened to turn the custodian from hero to villain - as earlier that night Withers had saved a penalty won by Gerrie Sylaidos and taken by Sawyer; the big Hellas number nine unable to get enough power on his spot-kick and the Sharks’ number one getting down low to his left to keep it out.
Fortunately for the Kiwi shot-stopper, his side, led by captain Michael Eager was able to stage a valiant rear-guard in the contest’s closing stages to deny the visitors and ensure the contest ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
On the plus side for South, they now stand as NPL Victoria’s only undefeated team after Green Gully joining Hume City in tasting defeat after surrendering a one-goal advantage to lose 2-1 to Heidelberg United at Green Gully Reserve.
Alex Salmon had been able to put the hosts up just before halftime when he met an out-swinging free-kick from Luc Jeggo and sent a well-directed header into the bottom corner but the scores were promptly tied back up in the 58th minute when Justin Micallef followed up a saved effort from Josh Wilkins and stabbed a shot home.
Coach George Katsakis’ side then completed their comeback in the 77th frame when Wilkins and Micallef combined with some slick interplay down the right flank to allow the latter to send in a driven cross that Luka Ninkovic met at close range to give the Bergers a 2-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
But while it was party time for Heidelberg as they secured their first win of the season, it was (another) Friday night to forget for Dandenong City, who crashed to their third straight defeat in a 4-1 loss to Avondale FC.
Converting a penalty he himself had won, Liam Boland had the Avengers up 1-0 in just the fifth minute at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex, with Yusuf Ahmed making it 2-0 when he neatly deposited a cut-back into the back of the host’s net from close range in the 50th minute.
Cutting inside from the right flank on the hour mark, Avondale’s Stefan Valentini then did his best to go viral when he walloped a long, long-range effort that swerved inside then out before nestling in the top corner of the Hadjuk goal to make it 3-0.
It wasn’t quite (anywhere near) as spectacular, but Kristian Trajceski’s low, dribbling effort from outside the area then made it four goals for the visitors five minutes later, with coach Sasa Ognenovski’s side only able to muster a late consolation goal via a Nick Kalmar penalty.
Elsewhere in Melbourne’s Southeast, St Albans continued their strong start to the 2021 campaign by travelling to Kingston Heath and taking a valuable point back with them to Churchill Reserve: playing out a 0-0 draw with Bentleigh Greens in Friday night’s final contest.
Despite being forced to play a number of players out of position, coach Kruni Razov’s side was disciplined and well organised against their more highly-fancied Greens’ opponents, with the point earned by either side keeping them locked into fourth and fifth position on the NPL Victoria table.
On Saturday evening, coach Chris Taylor’s Oakleigh Cannons got their first three points of the season - and rose up to eighth place on the table in doing so - by downing Altona Magic 1-0 at Paisley Park.
Highly fancied coming into the campaign, it was Joe Knowles’ that finally fired the Cannons to their first win in 2021; latching onto a wayward attempt to bring down a cross from the right by a teammate and thundering an unstoppable, first-time effort inside the left-hand post.
Despite only being their first defeat of 2021, Altona’s inability to take anything from draws from their proceeding fixtures means that the result sees them fall into the relegation zone after four rounds - only Dandenong City and their one point from four games lying lower.
Coming in riding the highs of their first-ever win in the Victorian top-flight, Eastern Lions gave themselves a perfect start in their quest to make it two from two on Sunday afternoon when Shaun Kenny launched himself forward to meet a ball floated into the penalty area from Sevdim Ismaili and nod into the goal in just the tenth minute of play.
Desperate to drag themselves away from the foot of the table, however, the Thunder came hard looking for an equaliser and, after having a goal disallowed in the 58th minute, found one when Nahuel Bonada directed a shot into the hand of Will Ellis inside the Lions’ box to win a penalty that was promptly dispatched by Thunder man in the 61st minute.
Six minutes later the visitors then hit the front when Ali Sulemani teed up a squaring ball from Giuseppe Marafioti on the edge of the Lions’ penalty area and directed a perfectly placed lobbed effort that dipped into the inch of space between Lions’ keeper Keagan Coulter and the crossbar to make it 2-1.
