Above: Grace Taranto of Bulleen Lions. Photo: Instagram
The top four teams on the ladder faced off in Round 12, and while the order remains the same, the games showed that momentum may be shifting in the Victorian NPLW.
Preston Lions 3-3 Alamein FC
Friday night’s game saw Alamein FC travel to face the Preston Lions in what turned out to be a thriller.
After strong starts to the season, both sides needed a win to keep in touch with the top four. Neither team was in the mood to be overly cautious though, and what transpired was a high-scoring, drama-filled encounter.
Patricia Charalambous put the visitors ahead in the 12th minute. She ran onto to a perfectly weighted through ball and chipped the keeper from outside the box. The timing of the run and the quality of the pass beat the offside trap.
Preston had had the better of the opening exchanges, and the goal came slightly against the run of play, but it was well deserved after a slick build-up and confident finish.
The home side struggled to gain momentum after the goal, but in the 32nd minute, they found an equaliser. Miri Nishimura poked home after a Lev Edwards free-kick created a goal-mouth scramble that the Japanese midfielder reacted fastest to.
That gave Preston a bit of a spark, and Delaney Lindahl had them in the lead just a minute later. The winger cruised into the box from the left side and smashed home a shot off her right boot at full pace.
Preston had regained control on the scoreboard, but Alamein were able to regroup at the break.
Sidney Allen looked dangerous as the second half kicked off, she created one chance that was disallowed for a goal-mouth foul, and a surging run helped set up Alamein’s second of the night.
The attempted through ball was blocked, but Molly Bourke’s vision picked out Charalambous in a pocket of space. The former Heidelberg United striker stepped into the penalty box and fired her effort low into the net to make it 2-2 in the 64th minute.
Preston re-took the lead yet again from another set piece. Paula Mitchell’s volley at the back post was directed well enough to squirm in despite the goalkeeper’s best efforts. Preston looked set to hold onto that lead as the clock ticked down toward the 90th minute.
Alamein continued to attack and in the 94th minute they got their reward. A series of late corner kicks dialled up the pressure on the Preston defence and a final effort caused havoc in the six-yard box. It was eventually scrambled in, with the final finish credited to Molly Bourke.
The draw does neither team any real favours, they sit in sixth and seventh after the round completed, but it was an exciting match, even if it was an opportunity missed by the Preston Lions.
Calder United 1-3 Box Hill United
Box Hill’s recent turnaround in form continued with their third win in a row. The club’s upswing has coincided with the arrivals of Sofia Sakalis, Melinda Barbieri, and Rosie Curtis in midfield along with Emily Kos in defence. However, these players have allowed others to shine with less responsibility to determine the result.
The match against Calder United would be a strong test for visitors, with the home side coming off a 6-2 thrashing of Bayside United in Round 11.
Box Hill opened the scoring late in the first half. Kanna Moriya’s clever flick found Asuka Doi unmarked at the back post to head them into the lead. Calder drew level early in the second half through Alexis Mitchell scoring a penalty that she had earned.
Sofia Saklis scored for the third successive game when a cross from the right side bounced off the woodwork. The 2022 League Gold Medal winner was on hand to bury the rebound and restore Box Hill’s lead.
Sakalis was once again at the centre of the action for the game sealer. Calder United had been pushing for an equaliser, but Box Hill remained resolute. It took a well-worked move to unlock the Calder defence one last time and make it 3-0 in the 92nd minute.
Laura Pickett’s long ball from defence was brilliantly controlled by Anais Josefski. The Box Hill winger cruised inboard from the flank and switched play to Sakalis. Her deep cross in was met by Doi who bookended the scoring for the afternoon with the final goal of the match.
The result brings up Box Hill’s third consecutive win, and helped them climb above Southern United and FV Emerging. With half the season still to play, the distance between them and the top four is unlikely but not impossible.
Calder needed to win this game, and the loss keeps them in eighth position. Their best is good enough to challenge any team, but they need to find it consistently.
Southern United 2-3 Bayside United
Typical of this season so far, it was another shootout with some late goals on Saturday night. Bayside United arrived needing a response from their big loss last week, but with Kayla Deaver and Julia Budiongo in attack, they are always dangerous.
Southern United found that out in the first half. Deaver was able to find herself one on one with the fullback and dribbled along the by-line before the cross was forced in by Budiongo for a 38th-minute goal.
Deaver added one of her own in the 43rd minute. After her far post tap-in was somehow kept off the line, she was given a second chance. The Southern United defenders backed off, expecting another cross into the middle, but Deaver steadied and slammed in Bayside’s second.
Isabella Fernandez added a third goal before halftime. She finished off a swift move by outpacing the defence and finishing emphatically from just inside the box on the stroke of halftime.
That third goal would prove crucial. Southern United had looked defeated on the scoreboard but kept pushing and trying to find ways into the contest.
Antoonia Niteros scored what looked like a consolation goal in the 80th minute. She directed a corner in at the back post that somehow writhed over the line.
The final few minutes of the game were sparked into life when Zarli Vandenberg ended a Southern United counterattack with an excellent finish from the edge of the penalty area.
Despite the scare, Bayside United managed to hold on for the three points. They sit just outside of the top four, two points behind Heidelberg but anticipating a tough game against Boroondara-Carey Eagles next week.
Boroondara-Carey Eagles 2-3 Bulleen Lions
This was a very high-quality match between two sides with similarly matched attacks.
Boroondara-Carey can boast the league’s in-form striker and Kurea Okino did not disappoint again. Bulleen have Alana Jancevski. While not an out an out nine, she has scored in her last three games including the Nike FC Cup, with every expectation of adding another in this match.
Rebbecca Lim found the net first for the Eagles with one of the goals of the season. She received the ball wide on the right and sped toward goal on a direct but swerving run inboard. With a final burst of pace, she cut through the central defenders and slid the ball across goal and into the net. Six minutes had passed.
Bulleen responded quickly. In the 13th minute. Beattie Goad cruised through the middle and tried her luck from long range. Deanna Bottalico did well to parry it away, but Maja Markovski was on hand to calmly cut the ball back across goal for Tyla Jay Vlajnic to equalise.
Markovski brought up her second assist in an impressive outing for the former Melbourne Victory striker. Her long pass found Jancevski in attack. Bulleen’s in-form gun muscled past one defender then shimmied beyond the second before slotting the ball past the goalkeeper from close range.
The goal was a mix of balance, physicality, and control. It was a masterful effort and put Bulleen in the lead in the 34th minute.
It would not be a Boroondara match without an Okino goal and as halftime approached she drew the sides level again. Okino is clinical in the penalty box and did not need much time or space to bring up her 16th on the campaign. A hard left-footed shot meant that the sides went into halftime at 2-2.
Bulleen’s victory would come from one of its long-time stars. Tiffany Eliadis’ 54th-minute goal proved to be the winner. Vlajnic played her behind the defence, but the Bulleen number 10 still had plenry to do.
Eliadis skipped around the keeper but had tightened the angle. She slowed down, composed herself, and curled in what would eventually be the winning goal.
The win keeps Bulleen in third spot, and Boroondara do not drop from first, but including the Nike FC Cup win, this is Bulleen’s second win against the league leaders in a month.
Is the balance of power shifting in the league or is Boroondara just going through a slight dip? In any case, the Eagles’ game against Box Hill will be very intriguing.
Heidelberg United 2-0 South Melbourne
This was set up to be one of the best games of the round. Heidelberg has been growing into their best form but were without Tijan McKenna and Ava Brieids who were both on Young Matildas duty. They had also lost star defender Bella Wallhead to an ACL injury last week. Impetus wishes Bella all the best in her recovery.
South Melbourne has been in strong form recently, much of that has been on the back of Danielle Wise. The striker won the 2022 Golden Boot with Heidelberg and was a top priority for South’s recruiters. Wise wore the armband against her former side.
In the absence of the star striker, Heidelberg have found other solutions, Steph Galea has been consistently menacing, and Katrina Nikpour joined from Alamein. Nicole Blackett has been in stellar form recently. A hattrick against Southern United was backed up by another brilliant goal against FV Emerging. Blackett had four goals in three games coming into the derby and added another in the first half.
The chance was created by the skill of Kathryn Vlahopoulos. The Heidelberg midfielder flicked the ball over a defender with one touch, then her second put Blackett within range. The half volley flew past Zara Board in goal to make it 1-0.
Nikpour added a second goal before halftime. A speculative effort from the wing slipped through the hands of Board and into the net. It was an unfortunate way to concede, but Heidelberg deserved the lead and looked in control of the match for most of the afternoon.
South Melbourne introduced young Melbourne Victory goalkeeper Miranda Templeman in the second half. The chances were few for either side, but when she was called upon, she delivered at her own personal cost.
Templeman came off her line, got down low, and made herself big with a huge save late in the game. Unfortunately, the force of the ball at close range looked to have injured her shoulder. She was in visible distress as play stopped.
With no other goalkeeper on the bench, South turned to striker Betti Michael. She looked slightly nervous but provided one of the few highlights for South Melbourne on a day when nothing else was working for them.
When Heidelberg earned a penalty, they looked likely to add a third. But Michael pulled off a miraculous double save to deny the spot kick and then the follow-up.
Heidelberg were rarely troubled up the other end, and Melissa Maizels commanded her penalty area behind a strong organized defence.
The win was important for Heidelberg to keep a gap between them and Bayside United. With an upcoming match against Bulleen in Round 13, this was a huge result.
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