Ben Cameron, Omnisport Victory Youth beat Glory

Sunday, 25 November 2012 8:26 PM

A John Buceto brace has helped Melbourne Victory move into second spot on the National Youth League ladder with a 3-0 win over Perth Glory at Intiga Stadium on Sunday.

Buceto opened the scoring in the 42nd-minute when he was allowed to run onto a through ball that cut the middle of the Perth defence open and he rolled home past Lewis Italiano.

Buceto's second came five minutes into the second-half when he buried a cross from 15 yards and substitute Luc Jeggo's 66th-minute goal put the result beyond doubt.

In an error-ridden first-half, it was Melbourne who pressed up the pitch early and had the ball in their attacking third, which caused mistakes in the Perth defence.

Goalkeeper Italiano almost succumbed to the pressure when he mis-kicked a back pass and the ball squirmed off the side of his boot and rolled dangerously across the face of goal.

Perth began to work their way into the match and had a couple of chances of their own towards the end of the first-half.

Firstly, Ndumba Makeche cut in from the left, but blasted his shot over the bar with two open teammates in the box.

Regular first-team substitute Chris Harold almost played through Adrian Zahra with a probing ball between two Victory defenders, but Lawrence Thomas was quickly off his line to clear for the Melbournians.

An errant Nicholas Ansell backpass allowed Makeche to get on the end of it but Thomas again was quick to come out and block the shot.

Perth failed to put any sort of sustained pressure on the Melbourne defence in the second-half, and the defeat sees them sit second bottom of the NYL standings, ahead of only the AIS.



Perth Glory 0
Melbourne Victory 3 (Buceto 42, 50, Luc Jeggo 66)

Perth Glory: 1. Lewis Italiano (GK) (16. Jordan Franken 63), 2. Matthew Davies, 4. Ryan Lowry (c), 5. Riley Woodcock, 6. Brandon O'Neill, 7. Adrian Zahra, 8. Lawrence Shuruma (12. Kearyn Baccus 59), 9. Ndumba Makeche, 10. Jesse Makarounas, 11. Chris Harold (15. Borbor Sam 45), 13. Storm Roux (14. Blamo Quaqua 61).

Melbourne Victory: 1. Lawrence Thomas (GK) (20. Luke Radonich 81), 2. Matthew Foshini, 3. Petar Franjic (13. Conor Pain 63),, 4. Nicholas Ansell, 5. Dylan Murnane, 6. Space Pilevski (12. Luc Jeggo 59), 7. Christopher Christaldo, 8. James Jeggo, 9. Luke O'Dea (c), 10. Theodore Markelis (14. Kwabena Boahene 63), 11. John Buceto

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Victory-Youth-beat-Glory/53860

Adam Lucius, Omnisport Heart youth thump Sydney Saturday, 1 December 2012 2:56 PM

Melbourne Heart have climbed further away from the Youth League cellar after thrashing Sydney FC 5-1 at Leichhardt Oval.

Three second half goals sealed the visitors' win in stifling conditions, with the referee calling a drinks break every 15 minutes as players struggled in the 35c heat.

The win eases Heart into sixth spot.

The Sky Blues, with new Hyundai A-League coach Frank Farina watching from the stands, stay rooted in ninth after a disappointing display.

The hosts gave up at least three goals through poor defending and never really threatened to get anything out of the game.

Keifer Dotti's careless pass out of defence enabled Cameron Edwards to pounce and set Nicholas Epifano up for the game's first goal on 15 minutes.

Heart doubled their lead 20 minutes later when Sydney again failed to clear the ball cleanly and a nod down fell to Evangelos Batsis to slam into the back of the net from close range.

Batsis had a great chance to increase his side's advantage soon after but was unable to beat keeper Ryan Norval in a one-on-one contest.

The ball travelled up the other and Sydney's best chance of the half fell to Peter Triantis, whose long range drive smacked against the crossbar.

Both sides rang the changes at half-time in the hope fresh legs would provide some impetus in the oppressive conditions.

Sydney did press higher up the park but never really created a clear-cut opportunity in the opening 15 minutes.

And they were fortunate not to go another goal down when Heart's Paul Retre struck only to see the offside flag raised.

The hosts eventually found a way back via a lovely goal from the edge of the box by Alec Urosevski on 70 minutes.

But the lifeline lasted barely two minutes.

Retre put Heart 3-1 up when he was first to react to a blocked shot in the goalmouth.

It was simply a bridge too far for Sydney from there,

Batsis sealed the victory on 83 minutes, heading home Edwards' excellent free kick to collect a deserved double, before Stefan Mauk added a fifth in injury time.

Sydney FC 1 (Urosevski 68)
Melbourne Heart 5 (Epifano 15, Batsis 35, 83, Retre 72, Mauk 90+)

Sydney FC: Norval (Bouzanis 45), Dotti, Macdonald, Naumoff, Petkovski (Kofinas 45), Speranza, Stergiou, Taneski, Triantis, Urosevski, Lum
Res: Bouzanis, Kofinas, Slater

Melbourne Heart: Karvelis, Abbott, Batsis, Groenewald (Karvelis 58), Mebrahtu, Petreski, Edwards, Bray (Maynard 80), Mauk, Maynard, Kaya, Cartanos (Retre 45), Gray, Epifano, Retre


http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Heart-youth-thump-Sydney/54466

Victory account for Jets

Kieran Francis at SS Anderson Reserve, Omnisport
Saturday, 1 December 2012 5:53 PM

Melbourne Victory had a comfortable win soured with a late sending off as they defeated the Newcastle Jets 2-0 in their National Youth League clash at SS Anderson Reserve on Saturday.

Strikes in either half from senior Victory players Isaka Cernak and Matthew Foschini secured a win that was overshadowed by substitute Theo Markelis' red card for dissent with only minutes to spare.

After a tight first 20 minutes with no clear openings, Victory striker John Buceto had the first chance to open the scoring but fired straight at Newcastle keeper Nicholas Hartnett when he could have squared to the unmarked Connor Pain.

Seconds later, Cernak should have given Victory the lead when his shot was blocked on the line by Taylor Regan with Hartnett sprawled on the ground after blocking Luke O'Dea's driven shot.

The home side's pressure paid off on 38 minutes when Cernak stepped around his marker and finished neatly after an excellent drive and cross by Pain down the left flank.

Just before half-time, the Jets had their best chance to equalise when impressive winger Andrew Hoole completed a mazy run down the right flank and his deflected shot bounced just wide of Victory keeper Lawrence Thomas' right post.

It didn't take long for Melbourne to further their advantage after the restart when Foschini fired underneath Hartnett after O'Dea's deft touch on 52 minutes.

The game got heated as Newcastle tried to find a way back, with James Jeggo and Jacob Pepper getting into a tangle on the ground - both lucky not to receive any punishment from referee Wilson Brown.

As the game wound down, Victory found themselves with 10 men on 87 minutes when substitute Markelis accumulated two yellow cards in three minutes - the second for kicking the ball away in protest.

The situation was almost immediately taken advantage of as Jets midfielder Nicholas Cowburn's deflected volley found the net, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

The loss meant two successive defeats for the Jets youth team in Melbourne after their 3-0 loss to the Heart last Sunday.

While Victory will join Central Coast on top of the standings, they will rue the sending off and subsequent suspension of Markelis - particularly as Archie Thompson will miss next week's Hyundai A-League clash against Adelaide because of Qantas Socceroos duty.

Melbourne Victory 2 (Cernak 38, Foschini 52)
Newcastle Jets 0

Melbourne Victory: 1. Lawrence Thomas (GK) (20. Luke Radonich 45), 2. Matthew Foschini, 3. Nicholas Ansell, 4. Jason Geria, 5. Dylan Murnane, 6. Spase Dilevski (14. Luc Jeggo 45), 7. Isaka Cernak (13. Theodore Markelis 45), 8. James Jeggo, 9. Luke O'Dea(c), 10. Connor Pain 11. John Buceto (12. Christopher Cristaldo 56)
Yellow Cards: Dilevski 15, Foschini 76, Markelis 84
Red Card: Markelis 87

Newcastle Jets: 1. Nicholas Hartnett (GK), 2. Chris Grossman, 3. Taylor Regan (C), 4. Sam Gallaway, 5. Koh Satake (12. Nicholas Cowburn 60), 6. Mitch Oxborrow, 7. Andrew Hoole (13. Luke Remington 59), 8. Jacob Pepper, 9. Kale Bradbery, 10. Mitch Cooper (14. Michael Finlayson 60), 11. Marco Jesic

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Victory-account-for-Jets/54475

Glory edge AIS in Canberra


Russ Gibbs, Omnisport
Sunday, 2 December 2012 1:14 PM

First-half goals from Ndumba Makeche and Moses Kalau have helped Perth Glory to a narrow 2-1 win over a luckless AIS side on a warm Sunday morning in Canberra.

The Glory youngsters netted either side of an Alexander Gersbach goal for the home team to leave the Institute still waiting their first point in the National Youth League this season.

It was the visitors who started the brightest, taking the game to the AIS and causing plenty of mischief with their direct running and pace.

Borbor Sam in particular was the chief source of menace forcing AIS goalkeeper Andre Jannese into a couple of smart saves down low.

Their early dominance was rewarded in the sixth minute when they took the lead through Makeche.

Sam was involved again, breaking down the left flank and drilling in a teasing cross that the home defence failed to clear. The ball broke invitingly for Makeche and the Glory striker spun to ram a fierce shot past Jannese and into the roof of the net.

The AIS response was commendable and central defender Matthew Schmidt extended Jordan Franken in the Perth goal with a downward header before the hosts drew level in the 25th minute.

The goal had more than a hint of Perth help with Franken failing to deal with a slack back-pass and allowing the lively Gersbach the opportunity to pounce and stab the ball into the empty goal.

Todd Norris then tested Franken with a firm shot straight at the goalkeeper before the Glory took control once more.

A defensive lapse in the 29th minute allowed Kalau space to advance on goal and unleash a thunderbolt of a strike that thumped into the net via the underside of the crossbar with Jannese helpless.

Shortly afterwards Kalau went close again and Matthew Davies blasted a volley against the post from close range as Perth went searching for a third.

Having weathered the late Perth surge before the interval, the AIS emerged for the second stanza hoping to turn around the deficit.

They almost levelled immediately when Norris nipped in front of his marker and sent in a swerving cross that Josh Barresi met with a meaty header, but Franken was on hand to parry the ball to safety.

The hard-running Norris was beginning to make an impact and he was inches away from collecting a precise through ball in the 65th minute, only to be denied by the quick-thinking of Franken who darted off his line to snuff out the danger.

Barresi went even closer with thirteen minutes remaining bolting in behind a flat Perth defence and unleashing a left-foot effort that beat the keeper but came back off the outside of the post much to the disappointment of the AIS support clustered in the main stand away from the near thirty degree temperature.

Try as they might though, and they continued to monopolise play with Darcy Madden hammering a late effort just over, the AIS couldn't find a way through the Glory back four.

AIS 1 (Alexander Gersbach 25’)
Perth Glory 2 (Ndumba Makeche 6’, Moses Kalau 29’)

AIS: 20. Andre Jannese, 2. Darcy Madden, 4. Ben Warland (13. Jeremy Tshongo 57’), 5. Matthew Schmidt, 8. Josh Barresi, 9. Todd Norris, 14. Jack Iredale, 15. Scott Galloway (c), 18. Alex Gersbach, 19. Bright Appiah (21. Dylan Pickert 57’), 22. Liam Rose (6. Matthew Ntoumenopulos 57’)

Perth Glory: 1. Jordan Franken, 2. Matthew Davies, 3. Ryan Lowry, 4. Storm Roux, 5. Riley Woodcock (c), 6. Blamo Quaqua (10. Lawrence Shuruma 69’), 7. Moses Kalau (13. Jack Clisby 55’), 8. Kearyn Baccus (14. Kieran Colwell 55’), 9. Ndumba Makeche, 10. Lawrence Shuruma (12. Jacob Collard 32’), 11. Borbor Sam

Yellow Cards: 5. Riley Woodcock (Perth Glory)

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Glory-edge-AIS-in-Canberra/54563

Mariners too good for Wanderers


Ben O'Neill, Omnisport
Sunday, 2 December 2012 1:24 PM

Central Coast Mariners Youth recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers Youth in Tuggerah on Sunday to regain top spot on the NYL table.

First-half goals from Central Coast's Hyundai A-League squad members Adam Kwasnik and Adriano Pellegrino, combined with Patrick Dixon's late left-foot stunner, earned John McLafferty's team their sixth win of the campaign.

A tight defensive display by the junior yellow and navy ensured the baby Wanderers were restricted to only a few decent goalscoring opportunities throughout the Round 7 contest.

However, the game may have ended differently had former Newcastle Jets man Tarek Elrich converted his one-on-one opportunity against Mariners custodian David Bradasevic early on.

Indeed, the game was just 15 minutes old when Elrich steamed forward before sending a low shot at goal. Bradasevic, however, proved up to the test, dropping low to his right to parry the ball to safety.

Only seven minutes later Central Coast took the lead. After Nikola Stanojevic's shot was blocked away for a corner, Pellegrino swung in an accurate set piece where Kwasnik leapt highest, guiding his header into the back of the net.

Having made the assist for the opening goal, Pellegrino was in the thick of the action again just eight minutes later.

This time, he received the ball outside the box before unleashing a powerful right foot drive, with Wanderers custodian Thomas Manos unable to get enough contact on the ball to prevent McLafferty’s boys from extending their lead.

Elrich was looking the man most likely to bring Trevor Morgan's side back into the contest, however he couldn't quite manage to apply the finishing touch to a number of half-chances after the interval.

And despite going down to 10 men after Brent Griffiths was shown a straight red for a foul in the Western Sydney penalty area on 81 minutes, Mariners Youth managed to add gloss to the scoreline late on via the boot of former Australian Institute of Sport scholar Dixon.

With just four minutes of regular time remaining, Dixon unleashed a left-foot drive from the edge of the area that left Western Sydney's substitute stopper Aaron Lidell with no chance.

Kwabena Appiah-Kubi had an opportunity to reduce the deficit late when he made a good run into the box, but unfortunately for Morgan's side the pacey attacker just failed to guide the ball past the big frame of Bradasevic.

Central Coast Mariners Youth regain first place on the NYL ladder with 18 points to their credit, while Western Sydney Wanderers Youth remain mid-table with nine points secured so far this campaign.

Both sides have big NYL clashes to look forward to next Saturday, with Mariners Youth travelling north to face Newcastle Jets in the junior F3 Derby at Hunter Stadium, while Western Sydney Wanderers Youth host crosstown foes Sydney FC Youth at Campbelltown Stadium.

Central Coast Mariners Youth 3 (Kwasnik 23', Pellegrino 30', Dixon 86')
Western Sydney Wanderers Youth 0

Central Coast Mariners Youth: 1. David Bradasevic (Gk), 2. Nikola Stanojevic (c), 3. Michael Neill, 5. Hayden Morton, 7. Adam Jenner, 8. Adriano Pellegrino (6. Adriano Pellegrino 45’), 13. Brent Griffiths, 15. Brad McDonald, 17. Anthony Caceres, 18. Adam Kwasnik (14. Jordan Crighton 35’), 19. Mitchell Duke (12. Patrick Dixon 45’)

Substitutes not used: 20. Daniel Sadaka (Gk)

Western Sydney Wanderers Youth: 2. Brian Jamba (9. Alistair Quinn 52’), 3. Jacob Williams, 4. Stepjan Paric, 5. Jayden Koulizakis, 6. Jake McGing (15. James Baldacchino 60’), 7. Nicholas Olsen (13. Mark Cindric 58’), 8. Yianni Perkatis, 10. Daniel Barac, 11. Tarek Elrich, 14. Kwabena Appiah-Kubi, 20. Thomas Manos (Gk) (1. Aaron Lidell (Gk) 68’)

Substitutes not used: Nil

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Mariners-too-good-for-Wanderers/54564

Proia brace sets up Roar win

Daniel Colasimone at Goodwin Park, Omnisport
Sunday, 2 December 2012 7:50 PM

A first half brace from Anthony Proia and a strike from Nick Fitzgerald was enough for Brisbane Roar to overcome Adelaide United 3-1 in their National Youth League clash at Goodwin Park on Sunday.

Adelaide's first half goal from Awer Mabil was not enough, though they can count themselves a little unlucky after hitting the woodwork late on in proceedings.

From the outset the Roar defended high up the pitch, not allowing Adelaide’s players to dwell on the ball even as they were playing it out of defence, while the lively Nick Fitzgerald probed down the left when the side in orange were in possession.

On 13 minutes good build-up play by Brisbane and slack marking from Adelaide resulted in a series of rapid Roar passes in the United box, which ended with Kwame Yeboah laying the ball on to Proia, who finished from point blank range to give the home side a 1-0 lead.

Following the Roar goal, Adelaide enjoyed their first sustained attacking spell, testing the Brisbane defence with a series of corners, though Matthew Acton's goal was not seriously threatened.

United finally did break through after 21 minutes when central defender Jordan Elsey played a sumptuous long ball from deep to find Mabil, who showed a burst of speed before finishing well past Acton to tie the scores at 1-1.

Brisbane almost regained their lead moments later when a stinging Rocky Visconte free kick from wide on the right clattered against the crossbar and bounced down, but did not cross the line.

Three minutes before half-time, Yeboah and Proia combined again to put Brisbane in front once more.

Yeboah crossed from the right after a darting run, and Proia finished neatly to earn himself a brace.

The hosts went into the break with a 2-1 lead, though there was little between the sides in an evenly contested first half.

With their confidence up, the Roar looked a level above United after the break.

The ever-lurking Proia had the first good chance of the second period, firing over after putting himself in a good position in front of goal after 48 minutes.

The Roar deservedly doubled their lead after 58 minutes through Fitzgerald, who converted Corey Brown's cross after 58 minutes to make the score 3-1.

With Adelaide looking somewhat deflated, Brisbane defended solidly for the majority of the half, though United were did create two excellent chances on the break, through substitute Nikola Mileusnic and captain Liam Wooding, though both their shots crashed against the Brisbane crossbar.

United may feel they were unfortunate not to notch another goal, though the result was a fair indication of the long periods of dominance that the Roar enjoyed.

Brisbane Roar 3 (Proia 13, 42, Fitzgerald 58)
Adelaide United 1 (Mabil 21)
Brisbane Roar: 2. Mitch Nichols, 3. Corey Brown (c), 4. Lachlan Jackson, 6. Ross Archibald (9. Benjamin Liftin 57), 8. Yuji Takahashi, 10. Kwame Yeboah (7. Dong Hyun Do 45), 11. Anthony Proia, 13. Kenneth Dougall (19. Sam Cronin 57), 14. Rocky Visconte, 15. Nick Fitzgerald, 20. Matthew Acton (gk)
Adelaide United: 1. John Hall (gk), 2. Shaun Harvey, 3. Jordan Elsey, 4. Daniel Bowles (11. Nikola Mileusnic 45), 5. Scott Nagel, 7. Liam Wooding (c), 8. Thomas Briscoe (9. John Karatzas 62), 10. Dion Kirk (12. Allen Welsh 62), 14. Awer Mabil, 15. Jacob Melling, 16. Anthony Golec

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Proia-brace-sets-up-Roar-win/54580

Jess Norton, ccmariners.com.au One-on-one with NYL skipper Stanojevic

Friday, 7 December 2012 11:00 AM

CENTRAL Coast Mariners National Youth League skipper Nikola Stanojevic caught up with ccmariners.com.au ahead of the junior Mariners’ Round 8 clash against Newcastle Jets Youth at Hunter Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Niko, we’re coming up to Round 8 of the NYL. It was a nice win for the boys last weekend, what did you make of the team’s performance?
Last Sunday’s game was very good. During the week, we worked on trying to be more clinical and to sharpen up our finishing. We tried to apply that in the game and it worked out very well. We got a very good 3-nil result and it was good to keep a clean sheet as well, everyone was very happy with the performance.

It’s been a great start to the campaign, sitting top of the table. What are your thoughts on the side’s start?
We couldn’t have asked for a better start. If you told us before the season we would have had this many wins and just one loss, we would have taken it. It’s been a great start to the season even with almost a completely different squad to last season. The boys have really bonded well and things are going very well.

How’s training been during the week? What’s been the focus?
Nothing has really changed, we work on our own thing, do a bit of tactical work, a bit of finishing and keeping possession. We keep going over the things we’ve been doing because it’s been working and we’ll just continue on.

The boys are off to Hunter Stadium for the junior F3 derby on Saturday as a curtain raiser to the Hyundai A-League match. How’s everyone feeling - confident and ready to go?
Everyone is very excited. The derby is a fierce rivalry and it adds a bit of spice, but we’re going to treat it like any other game and hopefully we will be up for it and get another victory.

The boys had a good win over Newcastle back in Round 1. What are you expecting from them?
I think they were quite good in the first game and they’ve got a very good squad. They kept possession well, they were organised and were pretty threatening as well. We’ll be in for another tough game, it was good to get a win in the first round and I’m confident we can do it again against them on the weekend.

What are your thoughts on John McLafferty in his first season as NYL Head Coach?
He was our Assistant Coach last year so I’ve known John for a while now. He was good last year and this year he’s obviously taken over with Tony (Walmsley) leaving. He’s a great coach, very knowledgeable and he knows how to manage the boys very well. He always has a chat and is always straight up with you and let’s you know how things are. John’s put his own philosophy into our team and it’s been going very well.

Finally, are you tipping the boys to remain top-of-the-table come season’s end?
Hopefully! I think we can do it two years in a row! The boys are more than capable of doing it and especially after the start to the season.

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/centralcoastmariners/news-display/Oneonone-with-NYL-skipper-Stanojevic/54957

National Youth League game rescheduled

Saturday, 5 January 2013 2:45 PM

The time and venue for Melbourne Heart FC's round 11 National Youth League match against Adelaide United on Monday 7 January have been changed.

The match was originally scheduled for a 2.30pm kick-off on Monday 7 January at John Cain Memorial Park.

The match will now commence at 10am at Epping Soccer Stadium on Monday 7 January.

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbourneheart/news-display/National-Youth-League-game-rescheduled/57356

Kieran Francis at SS Anderson Reserve, Omnisport

Rampant Victory demolish Mariners

Sunday, 13 January 2013 5:37 PM

An astonishing seven-goal first half set the tone for Melbourne Victory's 8-1 annihilation of league leaders Central Coast in a lopsided National Youth League clash at SS Anderson Reserve on Sunday.

Doubles to captain Luke O'Dea and James Jeggo, and goals to Andrew Nabbout, John Buceto, Connor Pain and Christopher Cristaldo guided the hosts, as Victory prised apart the Mariners defence at will.

Mitchell Duke gave the young Mariners a minor consolation with a second-half strike.

The Mariners were missing several regulars from their youth squad including Adam Kwasnik, Zac Anderson, Brent Griffiths and Oliver Bozanic who were required for the seniors the day before.

The contest was all but over within the first 10 minutes as Victory constantly opened up a dire Mariners defence with precise passing.

It was an improved performance by the Mariners in the second half after some tactical tweaks from coach John McLafferty, although it was far too late to salvage a result.

Straight from the kickoff, Victory began the rout as five quick passes were exchanged and Jeggo easily slotted the ball past Mariners keeper' David Bradasevic.

Barely two minutes later, Victory's lead was doubled when Nabbout walked the ball into the back of the net after Buceto took the keeper out of the equation with a clever run.

It became evident that the game was going to be a rout on nine minutes, when Buceto found acres of space in the penalty area and stroked a well-placed finish for Melbourne's third.

After only 15 minutes, it started getting ugly and Victory created a four-on-three situation in attack and O'Dea had the composure to finish coolly past Bradasevic.

The Mariners managed to hold off the Victory for 14 minutes before the fifth was added when poor defending by Michael Neill allowed Nabbout to cross unchallenged to Pain, who chested down and finished clinically in the bottom left corner.

It was 6-0 on 30 minutes when O'Dea walked the ball into the back of the net as the defending performance was getting seriously embarrassing by the Mariners.

The scoring was completed for the half when Jeggo scored his second with a powerful drive from just inside the penalty area, and made the scoreline 7-0 at half-time.

Despite an improved Mariners second-half performance, substitute Cristaldo tapped home at the back post in the 66th minute from Luc Jeggo's low cross through the six-yard box.

Central Coast managed to get a consolation goal on 76 minutes as Duke out-muscled Jason Geria and rounded Victory's second-half keeper Luke Radonich.

The crushing win for Victory meant they closed the gap on Central Coast to three points at the top of the National Youth League ladder.

Melbourne Victory 8 (J.Jeggo 1, 39, Nabbout 3, Buceto 9, O'Dea 15, 30, Pain 29, Cristaldo 66)
Central Coast 1 (Duke 76)
Melbourne Victory: 1. Tando Velaphi (GK) (20. Luke Radonich 45), 2. Matthew Foschini, 3. Jason Geria, 4. Sam Gallagher, 5. Dylan Murnane, 6. Kwabena Boahene (14. Luc Jeggo 61), 8. James Jeggo, 9. Luke O'Dea (c), 10. Connor Pain, 11. John Buceto (13. Theodore Markelis 61), 15. Andrew Nabbout (7. Christopher Cristaldo 55)

Central Coast: 1. David Bradasevic (GK), 2. Nikola Stanojevic (c), 3. Michael Neill, 5.Hayden Morton, 6. Daniel Bragg (11. Louis Bozanic 60), 7. Adam Jenner, 8. Dillon Vorster (10. Tomislav Cirjak 60), 9. Aaron Peterson, 12. Patrick Dixon (14. Jordan Crighton 60), 15. Brad McDonald, 19. Mitchell Duke

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbournevictory/news-display/Rampant-Victory-demolish-Mariners/58107

Stella hat-trick sparks Victory

Sunday, 3 February 2013 5:31 PM

Francesco Stella hit a late hat-trick as Melbourne Victory went top of the National Youth League with a 7-0 thrashing of Perth Glory at SS Anderson Reserve.

A Sam Gallagher brace and Andrew Nabbout strike established a solid lead for Victory before substitute Stella scored a treble in the last 23 minutes with John Buceto rounding out the game with a late goal.

After a cagey opening where neither team could carve out a chance, former Perth youth product Jesse Makarounas should have opened the scoring for Victory on 14 minutes when his shot from the six-yard box was deflected over the bar for a corner.

From the resulting set-piece, Melbourne took the lead when Gallagher flicked Luke O'Dea's corner on and it struck the far-post on its way into the net.

Four minutes later the lead was doubled as Nabbout flicked the ball past his marker, beat him for pace and then drove past two defenders to finish past goalkeeper Jordan Franken.

Perth nearly pulled one back in the 24th minute when Ndumba Makeche got to the ball before Victory custodian Tando Velaphi and his chip bounced just wide of the right post.

Connor Pain struck the woodwork a minute later from a tight angle after getting outside his marker and Nabbout could only lash the rebound straight at the keeper.

Makarounas squandered two more chances to open his account through the 40th minute when his overhead kick was saved by Franken, and he placed a shot off the crossbar from outside the area a short time after.

Gallagher got his brace and made it three for Victory 10 minutes after the restart when he placed a looping first-time volley in the top corner leaving Franken with no chance.

The Victory attack started to stretch the Perth defence and Stella got his first after 77 minutes after Christopher Cristaldo's shot struck the post leaving the former Rangers player with an empty net.

Two minutes later, Stella got another as he tapped in Matthew Foschini's low cross from the byline at the back post.

Perth had Franken to thank for the scoreline not being worse as he made several world-class saves throughout the 90 minutes.

But the Glory stopper couldn't deny Stella a hat-trick as the forward lashed a low shot inside the post in the 90th minute before Buceto scored Melbourne's seventh on 94 minutes when he found space inside the area.

The thumping victory sends Victory to first in the league after Central Coast's 2-0 loss to Brisbane while Perth hover around mid-table with Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Heart still to play.

Melbourne Victory 7 (Gallagher 15, 55, Nabbout 20, Stella 77, 79, 90, Buceto 90+4)
Perth Glory 0

Melbourne Victory: 1. Tando Velaphi (GK), 2. Matthew Foschini, 3. Jason Geria, 4. Sam Gallagher, 5. Dylan Murnane, 6. Kwabena Boahene, 8. James Jeggo, 9. Luke O'Dea (c) (7. Christopher Cristaldo 45), 10. Connor Pain (14. Francesco Stella 45), 11. Jesse Makarounas (12. John Buceto 53), 15. Andrew Nabbout

Yellow Cards: Foschini 13, Boahene 32, Velaphi 65

Perth Glory : 1. Jordan Franken (GK), 2. Storm Roux, 3. Ryan Lowry, 4. Riley Woodcock (c), 5. Evan Berger (14. Jacob Collard 56), 6. Blamo Quaqua, 7. Matthew Davies, 8. Slobodan Vulin, 9. Ndumba Makeche, 10. Harry O'Brien (13. Lawrence Shuruma 23), 11. Andrew Higgins (12. Borbor Sam 56)

Yellow Cards: Sam 93

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbournevictory/news-display/Stella-hattrick-sparks-Victory/59957

Victory smack Adelaide for six Saturday, 9 February 2013 7:49 PM
http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbournevictory/news-display/Victory-smack-Adelaide-for-six/60483

Melbourne Victory have skipped three points clear at the top of the National Youth League table after thrashing Adelaide United 6-0 courtesy of a hat-trick to midfielder Chris Cristaldo at Frank Mitchell Park on Saturday.

Cristaldo's clever movement and positioning was a handful for a sloppy Adelaide who regularly lost possession and turned the ball over, while Andrew Nabbout was equally impressive with a stunning four assists.

The diminutive attacker opened the scoring in the 13th minute before John Buceto doubled the visitors' tally three minutes later.

Cristaldo added a third just prior to half-time and completed his hat-trick in the 52nd minute before substitute Theo Markelis put an end to the hosts' nightmare with a late brace.

Victory's fifth consecutive win gives them a three-point buffer at the top of the table over second-placed Central Coast who were earlier upset 3-1 by Perth Glory.

Eager to avenge the 3-3 draw to Sydney FC last week where they let a three-goal lead slip, the Baby Reds wasted no time in signalling their intention with skipper Liam Wooding testing Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas in the second minute.

But they struggled to hold onto the ball and the regular turnovers eventually proved United's undoing on 13 minutes when the visitors took the lead courtesy of Cristaldo.

Victory full-back Dylan Murnane threaded a well-measured ball down the line which found Nabbout in behind the hosts' defence.

The striker drove in and tempted Izzo to rush out before squaring to Cristaldo to tap into an empty net.

Another turnover after an untidy passage of play led to Melbourne doubling their advantage through Buceto in the 16th minute.

Adelaide attempted to play out from the back but were trapped by Melbourne's forward pressure as Buceto was released into the box to finish comfortably past Izzo.

Nabbout's senior experience was telling against United's young back four as the 20-year-old turned provider once more.

The power forward treaded the hosts' area before picking out Cristaldo, who cut in and fired in his second on 39 minutes.

The impressive Cristaldo claimed his hat-trick shortly after the break when he prodded in from six yards once again after Nabbout had raced down the left wing and crossed to the feet of the 18-year-old.

Markelis capped off the rout for the league's highest-scoring team with a double strike in the final minutes before Victory defender Sam Gallagher was sent off with the final whistle looming after a second bookable offence for dissent.

Adelaide United 0
Melbourne Victory 6 (Cristaldo 13, 39, 52, Buceto 16, Markelis 79, 87)

Adelaide United: 20. Paul Izzo (gk) (1. John Hall (gk) 61), 2. Jordan Elsey, 4. Dylan Pickert, 5. Scott Nagel (4. Dylan Pickert 59), 6. Jake Monaco (9. John Karatzas 45), 7. Liam Wooding (c), 8. Thomas Briscoe, 10. Dion Kirk, 12. Jake Barker-Daish (15. Nathan Konstandopoulos 59), 13. Daniel Pritchard, 14. Awer Mabil

Melbourne Victory: 1. Lawrence Thomas (gk) (20. Phillip Petrovski (gk) 59), 2. Matthew Foschini, 3. Jason Geria, 4. Sam Gallagher, 5. Dylan Murnane, 6. Kwabena Boahene (12. Luc Jeggo 59), 7. Christopher Cristaldo (13. Theodore Markelis 59), 8. James Jeggo, 9. Luke O'Dea (14. Jesse Makarounas 59), 11. John Buceto, 15. Andrew Nabbout