NPL Match Preview: Kingston City vs Western United

Western United will hit the road again in NPL 2 Victoria for a big game against Kingston City, while the junior sides return against Melbourne Victory and Calder United meets Heidelberg United.

Match Details

NPL 2 Victoria Round 11

Kingston City vs Western United

Saturday, 29 April

Kick-off: 2:00pm AEST (Under 21’s), 4:00pm AEST (Under 23’s).

The Grange Reserve, Clayton South

Broadcast: The match will be broadcast live and free on NPL.tv

Last time out

The Under 23’s got back to winning ways last time out, securing a 1-0 win against Brunswick Juventus at City Vista Pavilion and Sports Field.

Western United had a number of chances throughout the match and Matthew Grimaldi finally found the breakthrough just after the hour mark.

The Under 21’s continued their stellar season with another comfortable win, with a Luke Vickery hat-trick helping propel the team to a 7-1 win.

Vaughan Coveny’s side remains three points clear at the top of the table, while the Under 23’s are level on points with Preston Lions in first place.

The Opponent

Kingston City have had a resurgent 2023 season so far, reversing their form from 2022 and putting together a strong start to the campaign.

After finishing second last in NPL 2 last season, Kingston were drawn into a Play Off against Melbourne Victory but came away with a 1-0 win to remain in the second tier.

That win gave Kingston the platform to refresh in 2023 and they have done just that. After losing two of the first three matches, Kingston put together a four-match winning streak and six-game unbeaten run before a 3-0 defeat to Dandenong City last week.

That run has propelled Kingston up to fourth place on the table, level with two other teams as the closest challengers to United and Preston so far.

Kingston’s Under 21’s have had less joy so far this season, with two wins over the first 10 fixtures leaving them third from bottom on the table.

One of those wins did come last week and in impressive fashion too with a 5-0 drubbing of Dandenong City, so United will do well to not take them lightly.

Western United Junior Academy teams kick off season proper

After a well-deserved break following the Pre-Qualification portion of the season, Western United’s four Junior Academy teams will return to action this weekend.

And there is no bigger return than one against Melbourne Victory, with all four teams taking on the fellow A-Leagues club across the day on Sunday.

Victory’s teams breezed through grading with a 100% record for each side in grading, so United will have a significant test across each age group.

These fixtures will begin the JBNPL 1 seasons with a whole 22-game season to come with the best ranked teams across the state in each age group.

Western United Junior Academy Match Details

JBNPL 1 Round 1

Melbourne Victory vs Western United

Sunday, 30 April

Kick-off: 10:00am (Under 14’s), 11:15am (Under 15’s), 1:00pm (Under 16’s), 3:00pm (Under 18’s)

State Football Centre, Northcote

Calder United renews hostilities with Heidelberg United

Calder United is back in NPLW Victoria action and will lock horns with Heidelberg United once again, renewing hostilities after their tight battles last season.

After finishing as the top two teams on the table last season, Calder and Heidelberg have both struggled to rediscover that form from the 2022 campaign.

A new-look Calder team is continuing to find its feet in NPLW with one win through the opening five rounds and has shown improvement, falling just short of taking a point off first-placed Boroondara Eagles last week.

Heidelberg are unbeaten so far but have drawn four of their first six matches and sit in fifth place, but such is the competitiveness of the league that they are three points off the top of the table.

The Under 19’s have continued their charge at the top of the league with five wins through the opening five rounds of play, and will take on a Heidelberg side who are just three points behind.