The threat of NPLM Victoria relegation is staring directly at Melbourne Knights, winless in the league since March and recording their ninth loss in their last 10 fixtures.
Outdone by a clinical 4-1 win by Green Gully at Tompsett Stadium, pressure is continuing to build with Knights currently seven points adrift of survival with eight games remaining.
Elsewhere, Dandy City’s Finals charge jumps back on track, Gold Coast Knights hit their goal-scoring stride, and Adelaide Croatia Raiders enjoy a new manager bounce in the fight for top-flight survival.
Vjesnik’s Jake Holub wraps up the weekend’s NPL action for Croatian clubs across the country, reviewing the notable results and previewing what’s next to come.
NPL Victoria: Round 19
Dandenong City Hajduk 2 (Atherinos 9′, 34′)
Altona Magic 1 (Moukachar 45+1′)
Winless in their last four outings, Dandenong City Hajduk needed to secure all three points at Frank Holohan against Altona Magic.
Unable to score a single goal in their last two games, young attacker Timothy Atherinos opened the scoring in the ninth minute after being found in-behind Altona’s defence by a smart ball from Brad Plant.
It would be Atherinos to double Dandy’s lead past the hour mark, rifling a powerful strike into the back of the net after combining for a smart one-two with Diego Cuba.
On the brink of halftime, Altona would get one back through a bouncing free-kick from Saad Moukachar that caught out goalkeeper Pierce Clark.
The second 45 started as poorly as possible for Hajduk after conceding a penalty within the first minute, much to the protest of the home side.
However, Pierce Clark read Bilal Habib to a tee, denying the winger’s spot kick and keeping his side in the lead.
While the visitors pushed hard for an equaliser, Clark more than made up for his blunder with a strong seven-save performance.
Dandy City held out for a 2-1 win over the Magic, a vastly important result that keeps Nick Tolios’ men in touching distance of NPLM Victoria’s top six.
Returning to the win column in Round 19, a tough away fixture against league leaders Heidelberg United is up next for Hajduk on Friday, June 27.
Melbourne Knights 1 (Bramwell 83′)
Green Gully 4 (Regague 24′, Hope 45+1′, 71′, Iannucci 58′)
Keeping their NPLM Victoria survival hopes just about alive after a 2-2 draw with Port Melbourne last week, Melbourne Knights returned to Tompsett Stadium for a big fixture against Green Gully.
Winless in the league since March, the Knights’ misfortunes would once again continue.
Amir Abdallah’s whipped free-kick caused a commotion at the back for the Knights, allowing Jalil Regague to pounce for an easy tap-in 24 minutes into the clash.
Late in the first half, a poor defensive turnover was punished by an excellent finish from range by Josh Hope, putting Gully two goals ahead.
Adding insult to injury, a stunning volley from Gianluca Iannucci and a second from Josh Hope had the visitors 4-0 ahead after 71 minutes, killing any hopes of a result for John Markovski’s side.
A penalty earned by Stephen Lawless and converted by top-scorer Ciaran Bramwell in the 83rd minute would only prove to be a consolation goal for the Knights, conceding four goals despite Gully only firing five shots on target in the full 90 minutes.
Knights’ Round 20 clash could ultimately prove the decider of their fate in Victoria’s top flight, facing Melbourne Victory in a relegation six-pointer at the Home of the Matildas on Monday, June 30.
St Albans Dinamo 3 (Charan 55′, Monek 63′, Platt 90+4′)
Oakleigh Cannons 2 (Duratovic 52′, Sinclair 75′)
Recording three straight 2-2 draws with late drama, the script was rewritten late by St Albans Dinamo this week at Churchill Reserve.
While both sides were unable to open the scoring in the first 45′, it would be Adem Duratovic for Oakleigh to break the deadlock 52 minutes in.
Dinamo would not take long to respond after youngster Jarome Charan curled a beautiful effort into the far post, scoring his first-ever Senior NPL goal.
With the game brought back level, Joey Monek’s long-range curler from a shot corner routine stunned the Cannons just past the hour mark.
Equalising not long after, Kingsley Sinclair’s smart dribble move into a bottom-corner finish for the visitors had the game set for a thrilling quarter of an hour remaining.
Reduced to a substitute appearance this week, English striker Mickel Platt netted his sixth goal of the season in the fourth minute of additional time to snatch all three points at the death for Dinamo.
Undefeated in the last four rounds, St Albans remain narrowly outside of the drop zone with three massive relegation six-pointers to come consecutively, starting with Port Melbourne Sharks on Friday, June 27.
NPL New South Wales: Round 20
Central Coast Mariners 3 (Elhelou 35′, Rose 55′
Sydney United 58 1 (Lacalandra 67′)
In flying form across both league and cup competitions, Sydney United 58’s strong run was put to an end by the Central Coast Mariners.
Despite some promising early moments coming in the form of a Carlos De Oliveira long-range strike that tested the goalkeeper, it would be the Mariners to take the lead in the 35th minute through Ahmad Elhelou.
Aidan Miličević was denied his first of the NPL New South Wales season early in the second half, while Jai Rose would fire in a second for the Mariners minutes later.
While United 58 would get one back after an excellent set-up from Mason Wells helped substitute Alessandro Lacalandra score his first of the season, their late push to bring the game level was unsuccessful.
Goalkeeper Josip Orlović was sent off after lashing out in the 90th minute, gifting the Mariners a penalty kick.
Substitute goalkeeper Adrian-Jamie Bazina did well to match Elhelou’s effort from the spot, but the Mariners’ forward followed up on the rebound to grab a 3-1 win for the league’s bottom-placed side.
While dropping points in disappointing fashion, Ante Jurić’s men will ultimately need to keep their heads held high with third-placed North West Sydney Spirit next on Sunday, June 29, followed by the Waratah Cup Final against Northern Tigers on July 2.
NPL Queensland: Round 15
Gold Coast Knights 5 (Walters 13′, 48′, 78′, Cobb 20′, Inman 33′)
Brisbane City 2 (Brown 11′, Docherty 59′)
Cementing their position in the Australia Cup Round of 32 midweek after an emphatic 4-1 win over Rochedale Rovers, Gold Coast Knights had to quickly recover and host Brisbane City in Round 15 of an interrupted NPL Queensland season.
Despite falling a goal behind early to City thanks to a goal from recent Brisbane Roar signee Corey Brown, Scott McDonald’s side responded emphatically.
Marquez Walters equalised in the 13th minute with a stunning header, while Ty Cobb and Bradden Inman added a further two across the first half.
In the ascendancy, star striker Walters secured his first hat-trick in Knights colours, netting a ridiculous seven goals in his last three league fixtures.
Smashing their early-season scoring concerns out of the park, the Knights remain in the hunt for the Premiership with multiple games in hand over the league’s top sides.
The red-hot Knights remain at the Gold Coast Croatia Sports Centre for a catch-up fixture against Olympic FC on Wednesday, June 25.
NPL South Australia: Round 15
West Torrens Birkalla 1 (Jurjevic 73′)
Adelaide Croatia Raiders 4 (Thompson 12′, Niyonkuru 62′, Zganec 80′, Trimboli 90+2′)
Opting to part ways with head coach Vlado Blažeka after an awful run of league results, Adelaide Croatia Raiders continued their new manager bounce with another emphatic result.
Securing their first-ever appearance in the Australia Cup Round of 32 after prevailing 1-0 over rivals FK Beograd mid-week, the Raiders had to switch back to league mode for an important fixture against West Torrens Birkalla.
Rhys Thompson grabbed the opener at Jack Smith Park, rising high for a header in the 12th minute.
Fresh off scoring the winning goal over FK Beograd, Donatien Niyonkuru doubled his side’s lead just past the hour mark, but the hosts responded with a goal of their own in the 73rd minute.
However, Niyonkuru helped kill off the hopes of Birkalla by providing two assists late on, cutting it back for the back-flipping Joshua Zganec in the 80th minute and Oliver Trimboli in the 92nd minute.
Finally putting an end to a devastating winless run in NPL SA since early April, the Raiders will aim to continue digging themselves out of the relegation zone when they face Playford City on Saturday, June 28.
NPL Capital Football: Round 10
Queanbeyan City 0
Canberra Croatia 2 (Sparrow 30′, Piccolo 90+6′)
Continuing their dominance in the Capital once again, a 2-0 triumph over Queanbeyan was Canberra Croatia’s eighth consecutive win in all competitions.
Seeking to find space against a defensive-focused side, a well-weighted ball over the top by Tony Spaseski was converted by Daniel Sparrow, who was clattered by the opposing goalkeeper as a reward for his bravery.
Taking the lead, Croatia looked to extend upon their advantage, creating an impressive 3.45 expected goals and forcing goalkeeper Finn Beasley into seven stops.
However, it took until the sixth minute of additional time for Dean Ugrinić’s side to score another, with substitute Michael Piccolo sealing the win.
Leading the league with an eight-point margin, Canberra Croatia will continue their path to the ACT Premiership and Australian Championship qualification at Deakin Stadium against Gungahlin United on Sunday, June 29.
O’Connor Knights 1 (Ihegie 45+1′)
Monaro Panthers 5 (Urzua 6′, Kreskas 49′, Deep-Jones 65′, Barac 81′, Domenici 90+1′)
Bouncing back with an excellent 2-1 win over Tigers FC in Round 9, O’Connor Knights were back at home to take on second-placed Monaro Panthers.
Conceding five to the Panthers earlier in the season, history once again repeated itself after an early opener from defender Fernando Urzua.
While a fortunate deflected goal awarded to Aisosa Ihegie had the Knights back level at the half-time break, it would all quickly unravel.
Four second-half goals from the Panthers completely wiped out O’Connor, with their defensive frailties once again reappearing against one of the league’s top-scoring sides.
Remaining in sixth place, O’Connor has the opportunity to leapfrog fifth-placed Queanbeyan in their clash on Saturday, June 28.
NPL Western Australia: Round 13
Balcatta Etna 0
Western Knights 2 (O’Brien 1′, Santich 68′)
While their impressive undefeated streak was put to an end last week by Perth Redstar, the Western Knights were sure to bounce back in Round 13 against the struggling Balcatta.
As consistently scoring goals has been the main gripe over the Knights this season, a first-minute opener from Harry O’Brien set the tone well for the visitors.
Adding another in the second half, the Western Knights cruised home well for an important three points, now an impressive eight points clear of NPL WA‘s Relegation Playoffs.
The Knights will return to Mosman Park this weekend for a mid-table clash against Armadale SC on Saturday, June 28.
NPL Tasmania: Round 11
Kingborough Lions 3 (Luttmer 34′, Ponce 52′, Mies 81′)
Glenorchy Knights 0
Claiming a draw on home soil against Devonport last week, an away fixture against the rising Kingborough Lions was a big test on the hands of the Glenorchy Knights at Lightwood Park.
Keeping the Lions scoreless in the opening half-hour, Eli Luttmer opened the scoring for the home side with a strong header in the 34th minute.
A second goal would follow early in the second half after a tidy finish from Emanuel Ponce, while Noah Mies nailed in the sinking blow for the Knights in the 81st minute.
Winless in their last three games, the Knights have fallen to fifth in the league and now trail the flying South Hobart by 10 points.
With their hopes of retaining the NPL Tasmania Premiership waning round by round, Glenorchy will hope to bounce back against Riverside Olympic on Saturday, June 28.
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