By Kieran Yap 10/7/23 (Kieran84@live.com.au)
Above: Heidelberg United’s Katrina Nikpour (right) and Preston Lions’ Ella Mastrantonio battle for possession. Photo: Jack Dilks
Maja Markovski and Kurea Okino scored hatricks, Kaitlyn Torpey and Ella Mastrantonio gave Preston Lions’ season some hope, and Box Hill United climb into the top four. With five games to go, this season remains wide open.
Box Hill United 1-1 South Melbourne
There was late heartbreak for Box Hill, but jubilation for South Melbourne as the visitors kept their title hopes alive with a 94th minute equaliser from skipper Danielle Wise.
Box Hill United had only lost one game since Round 10 coming into this week, and although South Melbourne had been in strong form, it was unlikely that the hosts would make the same errors that Bayside United did in Round 16. This would be a test.
Box Hill returned Sienna Techera to the starting line up, and the young playmaker had an immediate impact.
Melinda Barbieri’s quick feet in traffic provided Techera with an opening to shoot, and the ball struck the hand of a South Melbourne defender. It was a harsh call, but technically correct and Barbieri took the spot kick to score her fourth goal in three games.
The goal came in the ninth minute, so South had plenty of time to respond. Although frustrated by some dedicated Box Hill defending, they had depth to turn to on the bench. Francesca Iermano, Caitlin Pickett and Georgia Kandilas were all introduced to claw back an equaliser.
Although Box Hill boasted June’s player of the month in Sofia Sakalis, the absence of Anais Josefski shows. The pace of the striker keeps the opposition on their toes, and makes the threat of a lighting counter attack ever present.
The closer the game felt to the final whistle, the more tense Box Hill appeared. The 94th minute equaliser came after a sustained patch of pressure in which the home side survived several good shots on target.
It was the poise of Leticia McKenna that created the decisive chance. After shaping up to fire another effort on goal, she cut it back cleverly to the goal face. The irrepressible Danielle Wise was on hand to hook the ball across her body and into the net.
The draw could be vital in a close season, but it means that South now lag behind Boroondara and Bulleen, although with one game in hand over the league leaders. It was a huge point for Box Hill. The result put them into fourth on goal difference, but they will still feel like this was an opportunity missed.
FV Emerging 1-3 Alamein FC
Patricia Charalambous set Alamein on their way to an important win against FV Emerging. After an encouraging opening half hour, FV Emerging made one error in defence and the Alamein attacker pounced to score in the 37th minute.
The visitors attacking press caused a turnover on the edge of the box, and Charalambous skipped free of the last defender to sweep the ball across goal for the opener.
On the balance of play it was a tough way for FV Emerging to concede but they continued to test Alamein, with the pace of Cortellino causing the usual problems for the visiting defence.
Charalambous was central to Alamein’s second goal. she stayed forward as Emerging attacked and the gamble paid off. In space and on the counter attack, Charalambous had time to measure the cross and find Sidney Allen unmarked at the back post. The Alamein star hit home the second of the game with a 51st minute volley.
FV Emerging gave themselves a lifeline in the 78th minute, Anika Dovaston collected the ball centrally and found Cortellino in space on the right. The winger sent in a dangerous looking cross that somehow found the back of the net to make it 2-1.
There was a touch of luck about the finish, but not the move itself. Emerging battled physically to win the ball back and moved it purposefully. Cortellino has scored from similar position previously this season, and leaving her in any amount of space on the wing is asking for trouble.
Molly Burke sealed the result for the visitors with a stunning effort in the 86th minute. The long range goal put an end to Emerging’s hopes of a comeback, and means that Alamein are only two points off a finals place, with a game in hand over Box Hill and Bayside United.
Every goal is having a potentially huge impact on the ladder. Alamein are in the chasing pack, but can still go one step further from last season.
Calder United 3-4 Boroondara-Carey Eagles
This game had everything. Class, controversy, two of the leagues best individual strikers and seven goals in an encounter where a defensive game plan was simply not an option after 15 minutes.
Kurea Okino has been unstoppable so far this season. the only two games she has not scored is was one where she did not come off the bench due to injury, and another where she registered a couple of assists.
Going into this game, there was a question of how she would perform against a centre back pairing from the A-League Women, featuring one of 2022’s best players in the NPLW. Alana Cerne and Natasha Dakic were tasked with stopping the runaway golden boot leader, but Okino had a brace in the opening stages of the match.
The first was a close range header from a well-directed corner. Hayley Guerts’s ball in was low and flat across the six yard box, a nightmare for any defence and Okino made the most of it.
The second was a moment of magic. In the 13th minute, Okino turned on a bouncing ball outside of the area and sent a missile into the net on her left foot. It was an unstoppable effort from the in-form striker.
Maria Patrickis headed home Boroondara’s third in the 22nd minute. Another Guerts corner caused a scramble at the goal mouth and the Calder home support might have started to worry about a thrashing.
Raquel Derales had other opinions. Calder started to work their way into the game. Kewiwa Hieda became more involved and Calder began to test the Boroondara defence.
Derales won and converted a penalty kick to bring it back to 3-1. She collected an overhit cross, and battled for possession before eventually being brought down on the turn between two defenders. Only half an hour of football had been played, and there was plenty of time for a comeback.
Alexi Mitchell did the same to make things interesting before half time. Her cross hit the hand of a Boroondara defender, and she stepped up to slot the spot kick herself and make it 3-2.
Boroondara restored their two goal cushion with an efficient counter attack. Geurts dispossessed Hieda at half way and sent in an early long ball forward. Okino’s movement and well timed run got her goal side of Cerne, and she held off the defender to score her third of the day.
Derales restored hope almost straight from the kick off. Montana Matthews’ ball into attack was controlled by the Calder number 10, and she cut inside multiple defenders to open up the angle and make it 4-3.
Calder pressed for an equaliser for the remaining 40 minutes, while Boroondara kept the pressure on the home defence. another goal would not come for either team, and The Eagles now sit first on the ladder, two points clear of Bulleen, but having played one game more. Their goal difference is by far the healthiest in the league however, and the fairytale return season remains a strong possibility.
Bulleen Lions 4-2 Bayside United
A Maja Markovski hatrick headlined Bulleen’s latest win. The versatile centre forward has been impressive for Bulleen without hitting the back of the net in the league. Her value so far has come from creating opening for others, linking play deep and winning back possession.
That is not to say she has not found herself in goalscoring opportunities, but against Bayside, she took them.
Alana Burn set the tone for the home side. Markovski and Beattie Goad combined to hang the ball up at the back post and Burn was well positioned to nod home and open the scoring in just the second minute.
Markovski doubled the lead from the penalty spot 10 minute later. After collecting the ball from a throw-in, her shot hit a Bayside defenders arm and the appeals to the referee were heeded.
Markovski scored Bulleen’s third and her second with the easiest of finishes. Tiffany Eliadis intercepted a short back pass and played it square for a tap in almost immediately after half time.
Bayside gave themselves a lifeline through Kayla Deaver. Olivia Bomford dissected the Bulleen defence with a perfect through ball and Deaver made no mistake with a well struck finish.
Bulleen responded with a brilliant move to add a fourth. Markovski controlled the ball in midfield, and played a long pass wide to Alana Jancevski. The scorer of so many Lions goals turned provider when she raced into the penalty area and slide a pass for the still running Markovski to side foot home.
It was a terrific display of movement, effort and composure and a well deserved hatrick from the former Melbourne Victory fan favourite.
Bayside gave themselves a chance of a comeback when Miwa Sasaki and Maryam Anvari combined to set up Deaver for another excellent finish. With one perfectly weighted touch, Deaver lofted the ball over Gaby Garton to make it 4-2 in the 71st minute.
Bulleen were able to maintain that lead for the remainder of the match, and sit in second behind Boroondara-Carey but with one game in hand. They face Box Hill next Monday night in what will be one of the most intriguing contests of the round. The result of that match could be definitive for both sides.
Preston Lions 3-0 Heidelberg United
Heidelberg are in a form slump. There is no way around that right now, but there are caveats. The once in a lifetime occurrence of a home World Cup has meant thay have been unable to play games at Olympic Village recently. The long term benefits of hosting Canada as a training base will outweigh any temporary setbacks, but it has made the task harder on the pitch for now.
The loss of Bella Wallhead from defence is still keenly felt, and a congested fixture along with a cancelled game when they needed to bounce back has done them no favours. However, internally, they will not be looking for any excuses, and the record will show five successive losses.
But the story from this game was Preston Lions, and in particularly the unleashing of Kaitlyn Torpey as an attacker. The Melbourne City star has always been a threat from fullback. She has been able to use her pace , momentum and technique to score some excellent goals in the A-League Women, but Preston may have reinvented her as a deadly forward.
The first goal was a long hopeful clearance from goal. the bounce of the ball fell kindly for Torpey who raced into the box and finished on her right foot from the angle.
Ella Mastrantonio’s guile created the second goal. her wonderfully struck free-kick crashed off the crossbar and was bundled in by Delaney Lindahl. The ability to get the ball over the wall and to dip in time is something very few players possess, and although it did not directly result in a goal for Mastrantonio, it was one of those moments of pure quality that she has built her reputation on.
The third goal came late. Mastrantonio slotted a well placed through ball into the path of Rachel Stirton who held off the defence and laid the ball off for Torpey to seal the win. The win was a big one for Preston, with 20 points and five games to go, finals are not out of the question. However, that is the case for many teams this season. with only four points separating fourth from ninth. There is still everything to play for in the remaining rounds.
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