By Kieran Yap 12/8/26

Above: Aleks Sinclair of Spring Hills FC (left) and Melbourne Victory’s Aeryn Tarrant battle for possession Photo: Passion Creations

Box Hill take a major step towards the premiership, Essendon show no signs of Nike Cup hangover and Victory win again.

Friday night saw Preston Lions win 2-0 over Melbourne City. Valentine Pursey opened the scoring in the third minute to give Preston the best possible start. Fiorina Iaria won the ball just inside the attacking half and surged toward goal. A quick change of pace as she approached the box created space and the cross made for an easy finish for a player of Pursey’s quality.

Iaria’s electric pace set up Preston’s second. The winger ran more than half the length of the pitch down the right and cut the ball back for Eva Harrington to complete a nearly identical goal in the 34^th minute.

The result makes for Preston’s second win in a row, and that good form will continue if they are to get a result in next weekend’s game against Essendon.

Essendon Royals hosted Bentleigh Greens in an entertaining, high scoring encounter that ended 5-2 to the hosts. Even without one of the heroes of the Cup Final win Maggie Jenkins away playing against Chelsea, Essendon still packed plenty of firepower.

Grace Maher started in an attacking role, joined by Bronte Peel and Bella Sewards. Kelli McGroarty led the line as usual and essentially sealed the golden boot with another two goals to take her tally to 29 in the league.

Essendon were on the front foot early. Kendrah Smith’s free kick from near halfway bounced off the head of Bentleigh midfielder Yuka Sato to deliver the opener via own goal.

Bentleigh hit back quickly. Mia Otero’s rocket from the wing caught everybody by surprise and dipped over Zara Board to level the scores.

Although Essendon were creating the better chances, neither team had control over the pace of the game on a bobbly Cross Keys Reserve. The ball seemed to ping-pong between midfields and it made for a fast paced and unpredictable half.

Maher helped deliver Essendon’s second with a classy run through the middle before setting up Peel out wide. The winger’s cross bounced back to Maher. Her volleyed effort was blocked, but Sewards was on hand to direct the ball past Melissa Barbieri from close range.

Some Otero magic was the force behind Bentleigh equalizing again. The American striker robbed Mikaela Jurcic of possession deep in attack and although Board did well to save, Christina Sousa reacted quickest to force the ball into the net.

It felt like Essendon had more goals in them after the break, principally because McGroarty had not yet scored, and she always scores.

She had her first when she control Peel’s cutback, turned the defender inside-out to make space and finished on her left.

Amy Parkinson’s ball in set up Essendon’s fourth as the floodgates threatened to open. McGroarty’s back post header was spectacularly saved by Barbieri, but the Matildas legend could do nothing to stop Maher pouncing on the rebound to make it 4-2.

McGroarty scored her 29^th goal of the season with a bullet header to finish off Akeisha Sandhu’s well-delivered corner. With two games left in the campaign, it would take a miracle for anybody to catch her at the top of the scoring charts.

Essendon’s win keeps them in the hunt for the premiership. They will depend on Box Hill dropping points in the next two games and on paper that is possible, but their game in this round makes them look hard to beat.

Bulleen Lions and Box Hill faced off at the Veneto Club in another high scoring match. A late goal secured all three points in a 3-2 win for the table topping visitors but they were made to earn it by a very exciting if unlucky Lions display.

Despite Box Hill dominating general play for large periods, Bulleen had their chances. Sarah Cain came close in the fifth minute, and that was answered by attempts by Juri Kawana and Rhianna Pollicina.

The home side struck first with a goal of real quality. Claudia Mihocic launched a perfect ball from defence into the path of speedster Alana Cortellino. The Bulleen winger tore into the space behind Box Hill’s defenders and hit the far top corner of the net with a beautiful strike at full pace.

The visitors were rewarded for their persistence with a 36^th minute equalizer. Holly Murray rose highest to score from Pollicina’s dangerously placed corner.

Bulleen re-took the lead minutes after kickoff in the second half. Olivia Bomford’s quick feet put Cortellino in space again, and her cross was finished by Nia Salleh on the 47^th minute.

Pollicina’s set pieces continued to be a problem for Bulleen when her free kick from deep and wide somehow evaded everyone to level the scores again in the 79^th minute.

The star playmaker sealed the three points with an excellent half volley from the top of the box. Gabrielle Simpson crossed the ball and it bounced kindly for Pollicina who delivered a goal worthy of winning any match.

Ava Briedis and Nikki Furukawa both had chances to claw pack a point for Bulleen but Box Hill held onto the lead and maintain their grip on top spot. Bulleen fall back to fourth behind Avondale FC.

The season’s awakening giant climbed to third on the table with a 1-0 win over South Melbourne.

South Melbourne enjoyed a numerical advantage for most of this game after Gulcan Genitsaris was sent off in the 25^th minute. But an Elise Kellond-Knight olimpico gave Avondale the lead in the 35^th.

South tried to make the most of being a player and had more shots on goal. Unfortunately most were blocked and only three efforts were on target.

Avondale’s defence held strong and mostly limited South Melbourne to long range efforts or one through a block of players and the equalizer never arrived.

This feels like a missed opportunity for South, but also a turning point for Avondale. So far they have been climbing the ladder, scoring goals and getting wins, but most of these games have been on their terms. This win showed that they can dig deep and win in a gritty contest. It was convincing ahead of finals.

It was probably not the way they planned for the afternoon to go, but it was perhaps a test that they needed and they passed.

A fairly even game between Alamein FC and Boroondara Eagles ended in a 1-0 win to Boroondara. Emily Lewis scored the only goal of the game immediately after kicking off the second half. Emma Vane’s ball over the top found Lewis on the wing and her lofted finish carried into the net despite Anna Liacopoulos’s lunging effort to clear.

Savannah Anastasopoulos and Anais Josefski both had attempts to equalize but could not beat Mia Mossman, while Genevieve Fontes responded for Boroondara, coming close to doubling the lead only to be foiled by Mirinda Templeman.

Melbourne Victory secured an impressive win 3-1 win over Spring Hills FC in Sunday’s only game. Leyla Hussein, Ella O’Grady and Jasmine Millar all scored for the home side, with Aleks Sinclair scoring a typically excellent solo goal for the visitors.

Victory dominated possession early, and were rewarded with a goal in 10^th minute through Hussein. Poppy O’Keeffe won the ball back in the attacking half with a well-timed interception and cut the ball in-board for Sienna Saveska to try from distance.

Ayana Aoyagi made a good save from the dipping effort, by Hussein was able to stay composed and score from the rebound.

Sienna Techera’s cross from the right set up the second before half an hour of play. Saveska was once again the target and although she miss-hit the volley, the ball fell to O’Grady to score from point blank range.

A work of art from Sinclair pulled one back for Spring Hills. The star forward gathered the ball at halfway, took one touch to beat the first defender and surged clear  of another to finish from an improbable angle at the corner of the box to make it 2-1.

Some confusion surrounded the third goal. Hussein’s cross from the right was met by Millar, but it looked at first as though Aoyagi made the save on the line. Some goalmouth scrambling followed before Saveska made sure of things, but then the whistle blew. After some discussion among the officials, the referee rewarded a goal to Victory. Millar’s first effort was the one that counted.

In Appreciation of Isabella Accardo

The game between Avondale FC and South Melbourne was one of the blockbusters of the round, and despite the scoreline it was dramatic. Both sides are capable of scoring goals, and both can boast some of the best individual defenders in the state.

One of those defenders is Avondale’s Isabella Accardo. The 20 year old centre back has been excellent all season for her new side since arriving at The Calabria Club from Bulleen and Melbourne City. She has played in all 23 games for Avondale and has often been among the best players in a star studded lineup.

Accardo is a centre back with composure beyond her years, and that was on full display in the 1-0 win over South Melbourne. When Gulcan Genitsaris was sent off for a foul on Alexis Pantazopoulos in the 24th minute, Accardo became the senior defender for her side.

Avondale shifted only slightly in formation and barely at all in tactics. Cameron Barriero moved to central defence, Beattie Goad dropped to left back and Ellie Wilson remained at right back. Barriero is better known for her dangerous left-footed curling crosses, but struck up an immediate partnership with Accardo, allowing Avondale the foundation they needed to defend the lead and launch counter attacks.

Writing about defenders can be comparatively difficult. Sometimes if they play the perfect game it means that not much happens at all, which is essentially what goalkeepers, coaches and defenders want in a situation like this. South tried to make things happen, they had the players to do so, and created plenty of chances, but Avdondale’s makeshift back four, led by Accardo mopped up, and blocked attacks throughout the remaining 75 minutes of play.

Accardo was well positioned against every attack, handled the pressure of defending the lead, and was calm on the ball as Avondale passed their way into midfield.

Her positioning and reading of the game made it difficult for South Melbourne’s speedy attackers to get behind, and when dealing with one ball over the top and under significant pressure, she had the presence of mind and technique to carefully nod the ball back for Brooke Bennett to pick up.

There was no room for error as Avondale maintained their slim advantage, and the Avondale back four handled that pressure admirably. Accardo was a key reason for that clean sheet. It was not a performance that makes the highlight reels, but it was definitely a match-winning one.