Alexandros is finally here! After three defeats and one draw, the Heidelberg team tasted the joy of victory in a match where winning had much more value than just three points.
It was a night that will remain etched in the mind and heart of Alexandros’s coach, George Katsakis, who now counts 350 games on the bench of his beloved team.
The visitors travelled to Albert Park with a few players out of action due to injuries but that did not seem to affect their performance on the pitch.
The experienced United coach set up his team perfectly and gave a recital from the bench, “stealing the wallet” of Esteban Quintas, who proved unable to change his team’s image during the match. The friends of Hellas who were at the stadium on Friday night saw the “Yellows” open the scoring in just the 7th minute with Kaine Sheppard’s diagonal shot from inside the box.
The hosts tried to fight back but seemed extremely affected by the absence of the team’s international Sudanese striker, Ajak Riak, as a result of which they could not find lanes toward the “yellow and black” goal.
The second half of the match started with the “Blues” missing a huge opportunity with Alun Webb to level the match. From then on, the hosts picked up the pace, they “charged” their offensive line but apart from a few long shots they did not manage to threaten the “Bergers” goalkeeper.
Alexandros players remained calm under pressure and finally doubled their goals thanks to a beautiful finish by Sean Ellis in the 79th minute.
Alexandros had a great win that seemed to deeply disappoint the few home fans who visited Albert Park on Friday afternoon. Amongst them was the club’s veteran striker, Jimmy Armstrong, who was recognised by the Hellas administration for his overall contribution to the team.
Oakleigh Cannons held to a draw
Cannons missed the chance to overtake Hellas in the standings after being held to a 1-1 draw against St. Albans, who were playing with 10 men from the 33rd minute due to Michael Grgic being sent off.
The visitors were fortunate to open the scoring first in the 59th minute with Stefan Valentini, who took advantage of Emlyn Wellsmore’s beautiful cross and scored with a precise header. However, the hosts did not give up and eventually managed to level the match in the 76th minute with Christopher Dib.
Sharks tormented
Over in Port Melbourne supporters witnessed a nerve-wracking match in between Nea Hellas and the Melbourne Knights.
The “Croats” came into the game very strongly, taking a 0-2 lead before the half-time break, looking very keen on the “double” that would keep them in the upper echelons of the table. It seems that the words of the Sharks coach, Adam Piddick, at half-time had an effect, as his players entered the field for the second half with an obvious desire to chase the score with all their strength.
The home side first reduced the score in the 67th minute with Luca Tevere’s powerful shot from close range and then levelled the match thanks to a well-placed Chris Duggan penalty in the 76th minute.
The home team then opened up, leaving corridors towards their own goal, which the Knights took advantage of, scoring a third goal in the 87th minute with Ben Cahn’s golden substitution, Mohammed Sumaoro. It was a hard defeat for the Greek team, which dropped them to ninth place in the standings.
Bentleigh losses continue
Pancyprios suffered another heavy defeat. This time at their home ground against Dandenong Thunder. The visitors started the match strongly, scoring in the 13th minute with Harry Ascroft. The ‘Reds and Blacks’ doubled their goals in the 34th minute with Geoffrey Lino, and finally Joshua Karantz put the icing on the cake with a beautiful finish in the 70th minute.
There were boos and whistles of disapproval from Pancyprios supporters at the end of the match, as they are starting to lose patience with the poor quality of football they are seeing their team play.
Wrap
Avondale’s impressive 7-0 victory over Moreland in the NPL schedule was certainly a highlight and Hume City’s 0-4 away victory against the Warriors further demonstrated the strength of this year’s competition.
On the NPL2 League, Hercules achieved a fantastic 0-1 victory in Werribee, while Leonidas players had a much closer match at home against Langwarrin, having to settle for a 3-3 draw. Unfortunately, Pythagoras was not quite as fortunate, starting their NPL3 season with a 1-0 defeat against Caroline Springs.
NPL RESULTS
South Melbourne – Heidelberg 0 – 2 (7′ K. Sheppard, 79′ S. Ellis)
Bentleigh Greens – Dandenong Thunder 0 – 3 (13′ H. Ascroft, 34′ G. Lino, 70′ J. Karantz)
Port Melbourne Sharks – Melbourne Knights 2 – 3 (67′ L. Tevere, 76′ C. Duggan [P] – 23′ M. Hore, 31′ C. De Godoy [A], 87′ M. Sumaoro)
Avondale – Moreland City 7 – 0 (12′ + 41′ L. Boland, 29′ J. Katebian, 35′ Z. Guy, 38′ + 95′ S. Zinni, 52′ D. Zakupi)
Altona Magic – Green Gully (63′ J. Markovski – 14′ P. Waring, 82′ N. Bonada)
North Geelong – Hume City 0 – 4 (2′ + 39′ B. Lauton, 16′ Z. Maltby, 74′ B. Elibol)
St Albans Saints – Oakleigh Cannons 1 – 1 (76′ C. Dib – 59′ S. Valentini)
NPL – Ladder
1. Avondale 5 13
2. South Melbourne 5 12
3. Oakleigh Cannons 5 11
4. Green Gully 5 9
5. Melbourne Knights 5 8
6. Dandenong Thunder 5 7
7. St Albans Saints 5 7
8. Hume City 5 6
9. Port Melbourne 5 5
10. Altona Magic 5 5
11. Moreland City 5 5
12. Heidelberg United 5 4
13. North Geelong 5 3
14. Bentleigh Greens 5 0
NPL2 RESULTS
Werribee – Northcote City 0 – 1
Brunswick City – Langwarrin 3 – 3
Melbourne City (Y) – Pascoe Vale 1 – 2
Manningham United Blues – Preston Lions 2 – 2
Brunswick Juventus – Eastern Lions 0 – 1
Western United (Y) – Dandenong City 1 – 0
Kingston City – Bulleen Lions*
*The match will be held on Monday (20/03) afternoon
NPL2 – Ladder
1. Pascoe Vale 5 12
2. Preston Lion 5 10
3. Langwarrin 5 10
4. Eastern Lions 5 9
5. Western United (Y) 5 9
6. Brunswick City 5 7
7. Manningham 5 7
8. Melbourne City (Y) 5 6
9. Northcote City 5 6
10. Kingston City 4 6
11. Werribee 5 5
12. Dandenong 5 4
13. Brunswick Juventus 5 4
14. Bulleen 4 3
NPL3 RESULTS
North Sunshine Eagles – Essendon Royals 1 – 0
Nunawading City – Ballarat City 2 – 1
Goulburn Valley Suns – Boroondara Carey Eagles 4 – 0
Caroline Springs George Cross – Box Hill United 1 – 0
Geelong – Doveton 1 – 0
Melbourne Victory (Y) – Beaumaris 3 – 1
NPL3 – Ladder
1. Geelong 1 3
2. North Sunshine 1 3
3. Caroline Springs 1 3
4. Nunawading 1 3
5. Goulburn Suns 1 3
6. Melbourne Victory (Y) 1 3
7. Beaumaris 1 0
8. Essendon 1 0
9. Ballarat 1 0
10. Boroondara 1 0
11. Box Hill 1 0
12. Doveton 1 0