By Emma Burke 10/4/25
Above : Alana Burn celebrates her first goal since joining South Melbourne.
Round 4 of the NPLW Victoria saw South Melbourne FC take all the points against their traditional rivals in Heidelberg United FC, defeating them 5-1 at the Olympic Village.
In a decisive performance made up of two penalties, two goals scored as a result of corners, and an open play goal, Hellas worked a clinic over Heidelberg United.
Canadian import Nikki Furukawa, who had previously been playing in New Zealand, scored the first and last of South’s five goals for the afternoon.
Furukawa opened the scoring early, nutmegging Heidelberg keeper and captain Mia Bailey, after being played in through an excellent pass from Raquel Deralas.
South Melbourne found the back of the net again only minutes later through defender Alana Burn. The former Bulleen Lions player made great contact on a corner delivery with her head, putting the visitors up 2-0 with less than 15 minutes played.
Only minutes later would Hellas win their first penalty of the afternoon. Meisha Westland was brought to ground just inside the box, leading the referee to point to the spot. Taken expertly by former Melbourne Victory player Tiffany Elliadis, South Melbourne took a definitive 3-0 lead against the Bergers.
Heidelberg managed to stem the bleeding for the rest of the first half, but the struggle continued for them almost immediately in the second.
South Melbourne won and converted, this time by Westland, their second penalty of the game when Bergers’ keeper Bailey took out Furukawa who was in one-on-one with her.
The final goal for South was Furukawa sealing her brace by making an unmarked run on a corner play, allowing her to volley the ball home.
Heidelberg secured their solitary consolation goal through Keely Lockhart, her first for the season, who came up on the end of a corner clearance and slammed it across the line.
This game marks last year’s league Champions’ first loss of the season, and sees South Melbourne put the rest of the league officially on notice.
In other games, Bulleen succumbed to a second successive defeat due to a 1-0 loss to Alamein.
The Preston Lions won their tie against Essendon Royals 3-1 and Brunswick Juventus scored three against The FV Academy.
In other games, Boroondara-Carey Eagles took full points against Spring Hills FC with a 2-0 win and Box Hill defeated Bentleigh Greens with a 1-0 result.
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