Gold Coast Knights prevailed as winners in a crucial Derby clash, sinking Gold Coast United 1-0 at Coplicks Sports Park.
Competing in a tight race for NPL Queensland‘s Finals Series, the Knights produced the goods in the biggest of games with three fixtures remaining in the regular season.
Meanwhile, Melbourne Knights and Adelaide Croatia Raiders were dealt devastating blows in their hopes for survival, Dandenong City Hajduk and Sydney United 58 eagerly scramble for finals football, and league leaders Canberra Croatia suffer a shock defeat.
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 24
Melbourne Knights 1 (Inia 83′)
Hume City 1 (Isgrove 79′)
Returning to Tompsett Stadium after parting ways with head coach John Markovski, Melbourne Knights needed to win to keep their NPL Victoria survival hopes alive.
Hosting the finals-contending Hume City, Knights were under the pump and fought hard to keep the visitors at bay.
Conceding 25 shots at goal and nine on target, the Knights could only hold out Hume for so long, with star player Lloyd Isgrove breaking the deadlock in the 79th minute.
At risk of recording their 18th loss of the season, a remarkable solo run and finish by Ata Inia saw Knights bring the score back level just four minutes later.
The score would finish at 1-1, a respectable but ultimately inadequate result in Knights’ hopes of a great escape.
Remaining six points adrift and -16 GD behind 11th-placed Altona Magic with just two games remaining, Knights’ relegation is all but pending with Dandenong City Hajduk up next on Saturday, August 16.
Port Melbourne Sharks 1 (Gillingham 6′)
Dandenong City Hajduk 1 (Inaba 30′)
Having the potential to leapfrog sixth-placed Hume City on the ladder after dropping points to Melbourne Knights, Dandenong City Hajduk needed to continue their top form against Port Melbourne Sharks at J L Murphy Reserve.
However, things would go to plan right away for Nick Tolios’ men.
Conceding a few early corners, a fumble by goalkeeper Matthew Marrum was pounced on by the Sharks, with defender Will Gillingham scoring his first goal for the club in the sixth minute.
Regaining control after a shaky start, Dandy City would score a corner goal of their own on the half-hour mark.
Jamie Latham’s driven corner delivery was flicked on intelligently by Corey Sewell, allowing Japanese centre-back Gaku Inaba to unleash a powerful strike at goal and score in his second consecutive game.
Pulling the score back level, relegation-threatened Port Melbourne and finals-searching Dandy City both needed all three points as much as each other.
While Hajduk finished with over three times as many shots at goal as the hosts, neither side could find the deciding goal to claim all three points in a tense Friday night clash.
Remaining one point behind Hume City with two rounds remaining, Dandy City will hope to come away with as many points against the league’s bottom two sides, with Melbourne Knights next on August 16 and Melbourne Victory on August 23.
St Albans Dinamo 0
Preston Lions 3 (Luke 12′, Brooks 43′, Markovski 70′)
Closing out Round 24’s action, St Albans Dinamo hosted fifth-placed Preston Lions at Churchill Reserve on Sunday.
Already steering well clear of relegation after an exceptional eight-game undefeated streak in Victoria’s top flight, Dinamo’s special run was put to an end by the in-form Lions.
The visitors took the lead in the 12th minute thanks to a towering header by striker Francis Luke, and would add a second on the brink of half-time after a mix-up by goalkeeper Marko Bulić provided Lleyton Brooks a simple tap-in goal.
While Dinamo momentarily ended Preston’s momentum in the second 45′, a clinical counter-attacking move was finished off by Jonas Markovski in the 70th minute to well and truly seal the win for his side.
Although it was a poor result for Cameron Watson’s men, they will aim to rebound with two remaining fixtures on home soil against Dandenong Thunder on August 17 and Hume City on August 23.
NPL New South Wales: Round 26
Sydney United 58 1 (Tilo 85′)
St George FC 1 (Antoniou 33′)
Held to a 0-0 result away to Rockdale Ilinden in Round 25, Sydney United 58 would record a fourth-straight draw in NPL NSW against St George City.
Despite creating some promising chances early at Edensor Park, most notably with Adrian Vlastelica forcing St George’s goalkeeper into a world-class save in the 17th minute, United 58 would fall behind first.
Unable to properly clear the danger around the box, St George’s Bai Antoniou slipped through United 58’s defence to open the scoring in the 33rd minute.
Mid-season recruit made an important one-on-one stop just minutes after the restart to keep his side in touching distance, a moment that proved crucial later on.
Building up patiently from a goal-kick, 16-year-old supersub Gabriel Tilo curled in a beautiful strike from the right wing, equalising in the 83rd minute.
While Ante Jurić’s side continued to attack with the aim of taking all three points, United 58 had to settle for the 1-1 draw.
Recording a fourth win in the space of five games, the Wollongong Wolves have surged one point ahead of Sydney United 58 to the highly-desired sixth position on the ladder.
Along with their finals football aspirations, Sydney United 58 must turn their attention back to the Australia Cup, hosting A-League giants Sydney FC in the Round of 16 on Sunday, August 10.
NPL Queensland: Round 19
Gold Coast United 0
Gold Coast Knights 1 (Walters 54′)
Eliminated by reigning ALM Premiers Auckland FC in the Australia Cup mid-week, Gold Coast Knights needed to regroup and focus with a massive Derby clash with Gold Coast United next up.
Suffering a heartbreaking defeat in the reverse fixture earlier this season, the Knights wanted to enact revenge in a potential season-defining game.
Following a tightly contested first half, David Abela’s side would come out strongest after the break.
Scoring just a single goal in his last eight outings, striker Marquez Walters found the back of the net in the most important of times for the Knights.
Ghosting to the back post to meet Tyson Martin’s whipped cross, Walters headed home his 10th goal in NPL Queensland this season.
Taking the lead in the 54th minute, Knights defended resolutely and kept their second straight clean sheet in the league, displaying why they have the tied-fewest goals conceded in Queensland.
Holding onto the 1-0 win, the three points help the Knights solidify their highly-desired fourth position on the ladder.
Returning to their home ground next week, Gold Coast Knights face fifth-placed Eastern Suburbs in a finals six-pointer on Saturday, August 9.
NPL South Australia: Round 20
Para Hills Knights 2 (Amanda 90′, Katsigiannis 90+1′)
Adelaide Croatia Raiders 0
Crashing out of the Australia Cup disappointingly to Cooks Hill United, followed by a 3-1 home loss to Croydon Kings, Adelaide Croatia Raiders suffered a fourth straight defeat to fellow relegation-threatened side, Para Hills Knights.
Painfully close to securing a crucial point, the hosts would be awarded a penalty in the 88th minute after goalkeeper Vincent Barbaro was judged to have taken out Para Hills’ Diego Santos de Oliveira.
Stepping up to the spot, Gloire Amanda would convert the penalty kick, but wouldn’t be done there.
Winning the ball back and sending it straight up their end after kick-off, Amanda would slip through George Katsigiannis from the game-sealing goal in the first minute of additional time.
In the matter of minutes, Adelaide Croatia’s survival hopes were essentially ended, remaining at the bottom of NPL SA‘s ladder with two rounds remaining.
Needing to make up a four-point gap with Para Hills, the Raiders simply must record at least a draw against Campbelltown City on Friday, August 8.
NPL Capital Football: Round 17
O’Connor Knights 1 (John 65′)
Cooma Tigers 4 (Taneski 16′, Akio 38′, Steinacker 49′, 86′)
Falling to the bottom of the Capital NPL ladder after a seventh straight loss, the O’Connor Knights could not turn around their fortunes against the Premiership contenders, Tigers FC.
Bursting down the right wing with speed, a dangerous cut-back by Tigers’ William Akio saw the ball turned into the goal for an opener in the 16th minute.
Later in the half, Akio would score a goal of his own after an excellent run and finish to take Tigers 2-0 up.
A third would be added early in the second half by Noah Steinacker, largely killing O’Connor’s hopes of a comeback, certainly not helped by a sending off to a member of the coaching staff on the hour mark.
Despite a great goal from Michael John raising the struggling Knights’ spirits in the 65th minute, they failed to capitalise on this opportunity.
Steinacker would make it 4-1 and secure his brace in the 86th minute, keeping the Tigers’ hunt for the league’s top spot alive as O’Connor fell to eighth.
Although O’Connor currently sits in the league’s relegation position, the confederation’s decision to remove Yoogali SC from the competition could ultimately save the Knights if they do finish the season at the floor of the table.
However, the Knights will certainly aim to avoid eighth place in case the decision is overturned, hoping to end their losing streak against Monaro Panthers on Saturday, August 9.
Canberra Croatia FC 1 (Keir 78′)
Yoogali SC 2 (Tokhirov 34′, M. Donadel 37′)
Returning to league action after a disappointing 4-0 loss to MetroStars in the Australia Cup, Canberra Croatia hosted the struggling Yoogali SC at Deakin Stadium in Round 17.
Comfortably defeating their rural opponents in their previous two meetings, Croatia were certainly expected to come away with a quite straightforward win on Saturday.
However, football is not played on paper and cannot be predicted.
Despite controlling the play, the visitors would find themselves two goals up in the space of three minutes; one coming from a poor defensive giveaway and the other from a stunning long-range volley out of nowhere.
Croatia were well and truly stunned, needing a big turnaround.
Two goals up against the league leaders, Yoogali were more than happy to sit in and defend their lead, failing to register a single shot at goal for the entire second 45′.
Croatia would get their first big opportunity to come back in the 57th minute after earning a penalty, with young attacker Maxx Green stepping up to the spot.
Seeking to place the shot to the left, Yoogali’s goalkeeper would stop Green’s spot kick and the ensuing follow-up effort, keeping Croatia scoreless.
With their opponents pinned in their own defensive half, it was only a matter of time before the league’s top-scoring side would find a goal.
Operating higher up the field, Croatia’s captain Ryan Keir would take an excellent touch into space and finish precisely in the 78th minute, rushing to grab the ball with the hosts needing more.
Although attack after attack would come for Croatia, Yoogali successfully kept the reigning Champions out and completed a classic smash-and-grab win.
A fourth loss of the season for Croatia, their vast lead over the league has been reduced to six points, with second-placed Tigers FC also having a remaining game in hand over Canberra.
On the road to face Queanbeyan City on Sunday, August 10, Canberra Croatia will hope to return to their inpenetrable form with the Premiership and Australian Championship qualification up for grabs.
NPL Western Australia: Round 19
Fremantle City 1 (Cook 43′)
Western Knights 0
Off the back of two eye-catching wins over Perth Glory and Perth SC, respectively, Western Knights were outdone by relegation-threatened Fremantle City.
Conceding late in the first half to Fremantle winger Samuel Cook, the hosts would come away with a largely deserved victory against the Knights, who could not keep up their goal-scoring form.
Facing the winless Floreat Athena on home soil, Western Knights will aim to continue their positive finish to the season in NPL WA with a win on Saturday, August 9.
NPL Tasmania: Round 16
Glenorchy Knights 0
South Hobart 2 (Morton 12′, Yost 83′)
Back in action after two weeks, Glenorchy Knights were in for a big test against the undefeated NPL Tasmania league leaders, South Hobart.
Copping an early goal, the Knights were forced to trail behind South Hobart after Nicholas Morton’s 12th-minute finish on the half-volley.
As tensions ran high with the clock ticking down, Glenorchy’s half-time substitute Anthony Mamić was handed a straight red card after lashing out at an opponent.
Capitalising on their extra-player advantage, Austin Yost’s low-driven finish would seal a 2-0 win for South Hobart.
While against excellent opposition, the result represented a fifth loss for Glenorchy in their last seven outings, a far cry from their Premiership-winning form in 2024.
The Knights take on Devonport next on the road in a mid-table clash on Saturday, August 9.
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