Western United marked another milestone moment with the first-ever VPL 1 Men’s fixtures at the Regional Football Facility as the Senior Academy sides faced Caroline Springs George Cross FC.
The Junior Academy sides faced Altona Magic, Calder United had all of its senior and junior teams play at home and the Western United futsal sides rolled on in their seasons.
Western United VPL 1 Men
Western United 5-2 Caroline Springs George Cross FC
Goal scorers: L.Vickery (2’), Own Goal (28’), A.Walatee (32’), M.Bisetto (75’), M.Leonard (84’)
Diogo Ferreira’s free-scoring senior side rose to the occasion, putting on a thriller for a strong crowd at the team’s home opener at the Regional Football Facility in Tarneit.
Luke Vickery got United off to a fantastic start with an early goal, but Georgies pulled an equaliser back in quick time.
United remained on the front foot and two goals in as many minutes around the half-hour mark helped to break the game open.
The first came from a recycled set piece as Jake Najdovski headed the ball towards goal and the recovering defender couldn’t do enough to keep it out, only managing to help the ball on its way into the net.
Western United then launched a lightning-fast break down the right wing as Noah Spaseski latched onto a long ball and put it on a plate for Abel Walatee who arrived at the back post to finish confidently into the bottom corner.
Georgies managed to pull one back before half-time to remain in the game, but a straight red card early on in the second half helped United cement its control of proceedings.
After struggling to create meaningful openings on goal, Mark Leonard and Charbel Shamoon combined brilliantly on the left-hand side with the latter putting the ball across the box and presenting Max Bisetto with a tap-in from virtually on the goal line.
Leonard then got his just reward for an industrious performance with the fifth and final goal, sliding his finish underneath the on-rushing goalkeeper.
The win is United’s third in a row, keeping Ferreira’s side within a win of the top four with a game in hand on teams above them in the table.
Western United U23 VPL 1 Men
Western United 9-0 Caroline Springs George Cross FC
Goal scorers: A.Omer (7’), S.Dib (13’), O.Tanic (25’, 41’), H.Lumu (28’, 44’, 83’), C.Dovison (34’, 59’)
That win was followed up by yet another emphatic performance from Max Clarke’s Under 23’s with an electric seven-goal first half setting up a 9-0 rout.
Hasani Lumu scored a hat-trick and Campbell Dovison and Oscar Tanic struck twice each as the Green and Black pounced on its opponents right from the outset.
With the job virtually complete after 45 minutes, United was able to coast through the remainder of the game but still found the net twice more, taking its goal tally to a league-high 24 after just six games.
Western United Junior Academy teams
Western United’s Junior Academy outfits continued the strong weekend of results, making it an unbeaten weekend across the men’s and boys fixtures.
The Under 14’s bounced back from their first defeat of the season with a comfortable 3-1 triumph over Altona Magic with thanks to a brace from Christian Lykopoulos.
Jordan Vonja scored an important goal for the Under 15’s to secure a 1-0 draw after the team had trailed at half-time. That result was the first time Altona had failed to win a game in the Under 15’s division.
The two oldest teams then won by a combined score of 9-0. The Under 16’s maintained their perfect record with a 4-0 victory before the Under 18’s went one better on the scoreboard.
With three matches remaining in the pre-qualification phase, the Under 14’s and Under 16’s are top of their categories, with the Under 15’s in second place and the Under 18’s rising in seventh, while also having an extra fixture to play.
Western United Junior Academy final results
Under 14’s
Altona Magic 1-3 Western United
Goal scorers: C.Lykopoulos (23’, ), S.Popovski (26’)
Under 15’s
Altona Magic 1-1 Western United
Goal scorer: J.Vonja (66’)
Under 16’s
Altona Magic 0-4 Western United
Goal scorer: I.Gayed (20’), N.Yohannes (40’), C.Fruci (57’), J.Woldegiorgis (70’)
Under 18’s
Altona Magic 0-5 Western United
Goal scorer: A.Marmura (2’, 58’), M.Tongzon (43’), J.Lettieri (44’), E.Robinson (78’)
Western United Futsal
It was a tough weekend for the Western United futsal teams with two narrow defeats, but it ended on a high with a win for the youth team.
The women’s team started the week off by falling 2-0 to Evolution FC before the men’s side went down in heart-breaking fashion against Hume FC.
The match ended 4-4 but with Series Futsal Victoria requiring a winner from each fixture, it went on to penalties and Hume prevailed in the shootout.
After those upsetting results, the youth team ended the weekend positively with a 3-2 win over Moreland Blues FC on the back of a man of the match display from Muhammad El Sayegh, who scored all three goals.
Western United Futsal Final Results
Women
Western United 0-2 Evolution FC
Men
Western United 4 (0)–(1) 4 Hume FC
Goal scorers: E.Parthimos (x2), E.Simsek, P.Dominguez
Youth
Western United 3-2 Moreland BluesFC
Goal scorers: M.El Sayegh (x3)
Calder United NPL Victoria Women
Calder United 4-2 Essendon Royals
Goal scorers: A.Shimizu, L.Walsh, K.Smith (OG), J.Lum
Calder United scored a big win in Round 2 of the NPLW Victoria season, bouncing back from opening day defeat to down newly-promoted Essendon Royals.
Kogulan Sabaratnam’s side had to overcome a half-time deficit but overpowered Essendon in a superb second half.
After scoring both of Calder’s goals in Round 1, Akane Shimizu started the comeback with a goal immediately after the break.
Akeisha Sandhu assisted that and set up the next one barely 10 minutes later, breaking down the right wing before sliding the ball across to Larissa Walsh to prod home at the back post.
Essendon remained in the game but Calder held onto a 3-2 lead heading into the final 15 minutes after an own goal from Essendon’s Kendrah Smith.
At that point, substitute Tamsyn Smith pressed the visitors into a mistake and found Jennifer Lum in the box, and the Calder striker did the rest with an excellent turn and finish into the bottom left corner to wrap up the three points.
Calder United NPL Victoria Women Under 20’s
NTC U17 2-0 Calder United
It was a difficult opening round for Calder United with the Under 20’s falling just short against the NTC U17 side.
After getting into half-time with the deadlock still yet to be broken, Calder couldn’t keep the hosts out in the second half.
Brendan Curmi will take plenty of positives from his side’s performance in his Calder United debut and will hope for a first win of the season on home soil next week.
Calder United junior girls
It was a huge day at Keilor Park Recreation Reserve as all three of Calder United junior teams playing at home alongside the senior squads.
Faced with difficult opposition in FC Bulleen Lions, the three sides each performed well with one win and two narrow defeats.
The Under 13’s and Under 17’s both fell 2-1 but the Under 15’s brought the highlight with a 2-0 triumph as Indiana Cotsis netted both goals.
Calder United junior girls final results
Under 13’s
Calder United 1-2 FC Bulleen Lions
Goal scorer: V.Smith
Under 15’s
Calder United 2-0 FC Bulleen Lions
Goal scorers: I.Cotsis (x2)
Under 17’s
Calder United 1-2 FC Bulleen Lions
Goal scorer: K.Tsiaplias
