Richmond SC has prevailed over Melbourne Victory in a relegation six pointer in Round 17 of PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria.
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Pascoe Vale 3 (van’t Schip 2’ 30’, A. Nakic 51’) Northcote City 1 (Papadimitriou 73’)
Pascoe Vale made it two on the trot to distance themselves from relegation with a 3-1 win over 13th-placed Northcote.
It took just two minutes for Davey van’t Schip to slot the ball under Anthony Bouzanis for the lead.
Braedyn Crowley was coming off a five goal match against the Melbourne Knights, and Paco custodian Alex Pavlidis had to be on his guard to deny the front man from continuing his good form.
Yet it was van’t Schip who struck again after half an hour to double Pascoe Vale’s lead.
It was essentially game, set and match in the 51st when Adam Nakic rose to head Matt Lazarides’ corner into the goal to make it 3-1
While there was a glimmer of hope for Northcote after a James Papadimitriou goal in the 73rd minute, a second yellow card to Greg Lombardo minutes later dashed those hopes, and Pascoe Vale walked away 3-1 winners.
Bentleigh Greens 3 (Thurtell 25’, Lucas 47’, Paczkowski 71’) Avondale FC 1 (Germano 23’)
At Kingston Heath, the Greens looked to be struggling early from their midweek Westfield FFA Cup encounter against South Melbourne when Jonatan Germano struck in the 23rd minute.
However, going behind almost seemed to be the spark to light Bentleigh into life, with Matt Thurtell hitting back to equalise just moments later.
Lambros Honos was fresh from his break due to being cup tied, and he was a constant threat in attacking midfield playing in the likes of Ryan Paczkowski and Chris Lucas.
But it was Paczkowski who delivered to Lucas for a fantastic volleyed finish to then swing the pendulum in the hosts’ favour early in the second half.
Lucas then turned provider to Paczkowski, who finished home to seal the 3-1 victory.
Germano had the opportunity to give the hosts some late nerves, but his spot kick was saved and the follow up was missed.
Melbourne Victory 1 (Maclean [p] 42’) Richmond SC 3 (Caniglia 2’, Msahli 14’, Barker-Daish 45’)
In a relegation six-pointer, Richmond got off to a flyer, with winger Alex Caniglia netting the opener for his side after just two minutes.
Sergio Msahli doubled the visitors’ advantage by poking home from close range – his first goal for his new club.
A reckless tackle from Bryan Bran – who was involved in Azagane’s goal – saw Victory go to the spot, with John Maclean making no mistake from the spot.
However, Jake Barker-Daish – captain on the day – was able to restore the two goal buffer with a curling free-kick on the stroke of half time.
Despite a few more opportunities at either end, the scores remained locked at 3-1, seeing Richmond consolidate the half-safety spot, while keeping Victory anchored to the bottom of the table.
Hume City 3 (Carley 17’ 75’, Trajceski 29’) Oakleigh Cannons 1 (Bosnjak 7’)
Oakleigh also looked fresh as they hit the front early against Hume City, however they were overrun by their opponents’ attacking outlets in a 3-1 loss at ABD Stadium.
It was Dusan Bosnjak who hit home his sixth goal in five games to give Oakleigh the lead within just eight minutes, having seen an earlier chance saved by Chris Oldfield.
Craig Carley found the back of the net for a third consecutive game in Hume colours to restore parity, putting home the rebound from Nick Hegarty’s initial shot.
Kristian Trajceski put Hume into the lead just before the half hour mark, while the Cannons hit back just before half-time, only for their goal to be scrapped after an offside flag.
Plenty of chances flowed at either end, however it was Carley at it again to seal the contest with just over 15 minutes remaining, put Hume temporarily over Heidelberg United and Green Gully into third place.
South Melbourne 1 (Schroen 16’) Bulleen Lions 0
South Melbourne bounced back from the mid-week heartbreak of an Westfield FFA Cup thrashing with an assured 1-0 win over Bulleen Lions.
It was Marcus Schroen who struck the only goal of the contest, netting in the 15th minute from close range following a corner, after his initial effort was blocked.
A hamstring injury to the far linesman, prompting a switch of officials proved a rare talking point in the first half, and so it proved for the full 90 minutes.
The result ensured South nabbed top spot back off Bentleigh, who were sitting on equal points with a superior goal difference.
Melbourne Knights 1 (Glavan 69’) Port Melbourne 0
Eric Vassiliadis’ men came to Somers Street seeking revenge after their opponents finished their Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 hopes merely five days earlier.
Yet after a mostly uneventful first half, their task became all the more difficult when the referee drew red in the 56th minute after David Stirton’s late and reckless slide tackle through the legs of Robbie Zadworny – who has recently been back from a long-term injury.
Nick Glavan slotted the much deserved goal 13 minutes later, as the fullback cut inside the box and faked his shot multiple times before driving a low hit through the near post of Luke Gavalas.
Desperate efforts from the travellers late in the fixture saw countless free kicks and crosses swung into the box, but the 10 men could not find the equaliser, while the hosts weren’t able to land the killer blow either, settling for the one-goal win.
Heidelberg United 1 (Vargas [OG] 8’) Green Gully 1 (Boland 52’)
With Heidelberg and Green Gully facing each other, the opportunity came for one to pull ahead of the other and leapfrog Hume into third while keeping pace with the top two.
In the end, neither side could be separated in a result that ultimately favoured neither side.
The hosts hit the lead courtesy of an own goal to Roddy Vargas just eight minutes into the opening half, with Sean Ellis’ set pieces from the right causing all sorts of headaches early on.
While neither side could add to the scoreboard in the first half, the second largely paralleled that of the first.
The early goal came through Liam Boland in the 52nd minute, tapping home from close range after a corner situation was not dealt with by the hosts.
A rash challenge from Jay Davies on Les Doumbalis raised the ire of coach George Katsakis, whose frustration only rose when substitute Reuben Way was sent off late in the tie, as the game petered out to a draw.
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