All of the results from the latest round in PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria.
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PS4 NPL Victoria
By Brandon Galgano
Richmond 1 (Caniglia 37’) Bentleigh Greens 2 (Brindell-South 12’, Thurtell 22’)
Richmond went down fighting on Friday night against a plucky Bentleigh Greens side in a surprisingly one sided contest. Assistant coach Fausto De Amicis took charge of Richmond due to a family tragedy affecting Richmond coach Rick Mensink.
The Greens came into the contest playing for top spot on the table and they took an early lead through full back Josh Brindell-South who followed up from a good save by Gian Tapia to open the scoring before Matt Thurtell slotted a second.
Richmond then completely turned the contest around, dominating in possession and creating chances on goal with winger Alex Caniglia doing most of the damage out wide with his pace and trickery causing real problems at the back.
And it was Caniglia who struck home to get his side back in the contest with a well taken finish, making it 2-1 just before the break.
The second half was all Richmond who created a number of chances but despite having 18 shots on goal simply couldn't find a way through a resilient Bentleigh Greens outfit who were feeling the loss of midfielders Wayne Wallace and Troy Ruthvren.
Chris Lucas had the ball in the back of the net for the visitors with virtually their only attack on goal in the second half but it was correctly ruled out for offside as Richmond continued to push for an equaliser.
Bentleigh held on though with stand in skipper Jack Webster putting in an impressive performance with the final score 2-1 for the Bentleigh Greens.
Pascoe Vale 2 (Vant Schip 51’, Conversano 90’) Green Gully 3 (Christodoulou 33’, 67’, Davies 67’)
Pascoe Vale went down fighting against a sturdy Green Gully outfit, losing 3-2 on a chilly and wet Friday night in Melbourne.
The visitors took the lead through midfielder Evan Christodoulou midway through the first half before the home side leveled just after the break through Davey van't Schip.
Green Gully re took the lead just fifteen minutes later as Christodoulou struck again before new signing from Cairnlea Jay Davies capped off the perfect debut performance with a goal to give the visitors a two goal advantage.
Young striker Matt Conversano was able to get a goal off the bench for the home side in stoppage time but it wasn't enough to get them back into the contest with Gully running out 3-2 winners in a tight contest.
Oakleigh Cannons 3 (Hatzimouratis 2’, 90’, Piemonte 66’) FC Bulleen Lions 0
Oakleigh continued their surprise surge up the NPL Victoria table with a convincing 3-0 victory against Bulleen on Friday night.
The home side got off to the perfect start after just two minutes as attacking midfielder Dimitri Hatzimouratis struck home past Griffin McMaster to make it 1-0 Oakleigh.
That lead was doubled midway through the second half as Dean Piemonte found the back of the net to double their advantage in the 67th minute.
With Bulleen having struggled in recent months, the visitors were beginning to show gaps at the back with the home side finally adding a third in stoppage time through Hatzimouratis again to ensure another important victory with the Cannons moving to close the gap with the top three, sitting just a point behind Heidelberg United in fourth place on the table.
For the visitors though, the result means that Dom Barbers men sit just four points ahead of the relegation playoff place as we move into the second half of the NPL Victoria season.
South Melbourne 3 (Lujic 17’, 45’, 60’) Northcote City 1 (Kavourniaris 67’)
A Milos Lujic hat-trick guided South Melbourne to a 3-1 victory against last-placed Northcote City on Sunday afternoon.
With the visitors giving debuts to Anthony Taranto, Marcus Duncan, Sam Borbor and Steven Papadopoulous, Northcote put up a decent performance, despite going into the break two goals down.
Lujic struck his third on the hour mark as the game threatened to become a rout for the home side before Greek centre back Michalis Kavourniaris struck one back in the 67th minute to give the visitors a consolation goal with the final score 3-1 South Melbourne.
The result means that South will maintain their spot at the top of the NPL Victoria table, just a point ahead of Bentleigh with those two sides set to meet in a blockbuster final FFA Cup qualifier on the 14th of June at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex.
Hume City FC 2 (Rexhepi 89' Carley 90+2') Avondale FC 1 (Sanders 87')
By Aaron Ciavarella
For 88 minutes of this encounter both sides were playing their cards very conservatively. That was until against the run of play, the visitors opened the scoring through an outstanding finish from Mathew Sanders. Almost immediately, this goal was cancelled out when Hume City equalised through a Shane Rexhepi header. Then at the death the new signing Craig Carley completed the comeback for the home side and they went on to win it 2-1.
Melbourne Knights 0 Heidelberg United 1 (Ellis pen 22')
On a heavy and wet Knights Stadium between two of the heavy weight clubs, we would be in for a hard game played at a fast pace. However this clash was a stalemate and all it took was a Shaun Ellis spot kick for the visitors to come away with the three points.
Melbourne Victory 1 (Brown 23') Port Melbourne Sharks 2 (De Abreu 18', 78')
On a day where an upset may have been on the cards, the hosts made the worst start possible when Jamie De Abreu cut inside and finished in the 18th minute of play. This lead was short when Jordan Brown equalised for the Victory five minutes late. In the 80th minute of play Jamie De Abreu not only secured his brace, but also the three points for Port.
CLICK HERE for the match reports from PS4 NPL Victoria Women's and PS4 NPL 2 Victoria.