By Kieran Yap 24/6/26
Above: Chloe Mckenzie of Melbourne Victory. Photo: Passion Creations
NPLW action resumed in Victoria this weekend, and in most games all of the excitement happened in the second half. Victory snatched a point away to South Melbourne, Tiffany Eliadis scored three against Melbourne City, while Essendon and Box Hill stay neck and neck at the top of the table.
Friday night saw Bentleigh Greens travel to face Spring Hills FC. New signing Mia Otero looked to have made the perfect start for the visitors with a long range shot in the third minute. Unfortunately for the Bentleigh, it crashed off the woodwork, but the strike combined with the mazy run from deep signal exciting things for the club as the American settles in.
The game itself was tightly contested and ended 1-0 to Spring Hills. Substitute Nao Kawasaki scored the winner in the 85th minute, converting a low cross to beat Melissa Barbieri at the near post.
Despite the low scoreline, or maybe because of it, this was an intriguing contest. Bella Stringfellow was excellent out wide for Spring Hills, and Bentleigh had their chances. Ayana Aoyagi was excellent in goal the home side, with the usual suspects of Natasha Dakic and Aubrie Labno both solid in defence once again.
After getting their first win in R16, Bentleigh’s momentum has momentarily been stalled, but it was a strong performance from the revamped side.
Goals from Sidney Allen and Hannah Wilkinson secured Avondale FC three points at home against Keilor Park in a 2-0 result.
Keilor have become a side that is hard to beat and even though the visitors were missing Caitlin Karic and Grace Johnston, it took until the second half for the home side to break through.
By that time, Elise Kellond-Knight had ben brought on, and she played a part in the buildup to the opening goal. Allen traded passes and buzzed around the box until the opening arrived, and found just enough space to curl the ball in from 18 yards.
On a slippery pitch, and against a packed defence it was going to take something special to break the deadlock and the Avondale playmaker delivered in the 66th minute.
The points were secure until late in the game. Sloane Young’s darting run into the box ended with a shot from close range. It was saved but turned in on the rebound by Wilkinson for her ninth of the season.
The win sees Avondale jump to fifth in the table, and despite it not being their biggest result of the season it was a very comfortable performance. Isabella Accardo was a wall in defence, while Taylor Ray was dominant in midfield.
The signing from Melbourne Victory appears to be the missing piece for Avondale. She links the defence and attack with expertly and knits the team together. Isabella Accardo was also superb in defence, consistently winning the ball and keeping possession, preventing any counter attacks.
South Melbourne and Melbourne Victory played out a 1-1 draw at Lakeside stadium on Saturday afternoon. Meisha Westland was in fine form for the home side who created more of the attacking chances despite the draw.
South’s opening goal was a moment of class. Westland traded passes with Clancy Westaway in midfield before spreading the ball wide to Heidi Dalton on the wing. Westland’s run continued to the near post where she met Dalton’s cross to direct it beyond and otherwise impassable Chloe Mckenzie.
South enjoyed the majority of possession, although Victory’s defence was well set up to force them to be patient. The visitors found a late equaliser through Jasmine Millar. Her towering header from a free kick flew past Geo Candy, forcing the home side to share the points. Sienna Techera supplied the assist.
Essendon Royals defeated Alamein FC 2-0 to remain at the top of the table ahead of a chasing Box Hill United. Kelli McGroarty scored her 20th of the season with an emphatic finish following a long ball from Kendrah Smith deep in defence.
Essendon had the better of the chances, but Alamein held on with Miranda Templeman strong between the sticks for the visitors. The points were eventually secured by Emma Langley in the 90th minute. McGroarty’s sixth assist of the season was a cutback for Langley, who had two chances to score against a tired Alamein backline and buried the sealer at the second time of asking.
Alamein are a tough opponent for most sides in this league, so to some extent, a win over them is a sign of a teams development. What made this impressive is that Essendon were prevented from scoring in their usual free-wheeling, fast passing style but still found solutions. They are on top of the table for a reason, and look to be still improving.
Bulleen Lions defeated Melbourne City 5-0 in torrential rain at The Veneto Club on Saturday night. It was a fairly even first half, and City were composed while Bulleen had the majority of possession and forward momentum.
City looked comfortable in defence, and dangerous on the counter-attack and even after an unfortunate goalkeeping error gifted Maja Markovski with the opening goal, they still went into the break with a chance of a result.
Bulleen have depth, and different gears that they can go to, and brought on Danella Butrus at half time. The star winger had a near immediate impact, her crossing and dribbling causes issues for City, but Dali Gorr-Burchmore recovered from the earlier fumble to make several crucial saves.
The floodgates eventually opened when Butrus’s shot from the wing was forced over the line by Tiff Eliadis. Sarah Cain made it 3-0 with a stylish half-volley after flicking the ball up to herself in the area to finish.
Eliadis scored her second when she got on the end of a low Butrus cross at the near post. She competed her hatrick and the evening’s scoring with an excellent finish to a an end-to end move started by Claudia Mihocic. Eliadis lofted the ball over the onrushing Gorr-Burchmore to make it 5-0, pushing Bulleen back up to third on the table.
With both Essendon and Bulleen winning, the pressure was on Box Hill United as they travelled to face Heidelberg United at Olympic Village.
Things looked good for the home side in the Grand Final rematch. A perfectly worked set play set up Minori Akiyama to cross into the box. Mischa Anderson rose to meet the ball and turned it into the net from close range. Heidelberg took the 1-0 lead into the break, but Box Hill took the chance to reset and came out guns blazing.
Nicolina Bucalo levelled the scores with a low drive in the 55th minute. Holly Murray gave the defending champions the lead in the 68th minute with a towering header from an in swinging corner kick.
A slightly fortuitous goal to Rhianna Pollicina settled the game late and gave Box Hill a 3-1 win. The number 10 strode through midfield purposefully and scored at the second time of asking with a deflected effort that left Mia Bailey stranded under a looping ball.
The result keeps Box Hill United tight on Essendon’s tail, only one point behind The Royals and setting up an interesting trip to face South Melbourne next weekend.
In Appreciation of Chloe Mckenzie
Melbourne Victory U23 goalkeeper Chloe Mckenzie has been excellent this season, after spending the A-League season with the senior team as an understudy to Coutney Newbon and Payton Woodward, she has been one of the club’s best players this NPLW season.
Mckenzie’s stats are solid, 38 saves over 10 games, stopping 68% of shots per game on average, but they do not really tell the whole story. The Victory stopper is decisive and strong in the air, reads the opposition attack well and comes off her line quickly. She’s as tough as a coconut and has sure enough hands to catch a falling one.
That Victory were able to secure a draw against South Melbourne was largely due to Mckenzie’s goalkeeping. Her one on one stop in the first half when Emily Roach looked certain to score was a game turning moment. McKenzie was a composed presence in the face of South Melbourne’s versatile and persistent attacks.
Mckenzie looks ready to step into the A-League Women side next season, and she will provide the NPLW side with confidence for the rest of this one.
Follow Impetus on social media –
Twitter (X): @impetusfootball TikTok: @impetusfootball
Instagram: @impetusfootball
impetusfootball.org 