SOCCER
FRANKSTON Pines’ gun recruit Ardi Ahmeti has left the Monterey Reserve outfit and refuses to play under senior coach Donn Delaney. It’s a bodyblow for Pines who went down 2-0 at home to Dandenong South on Friday night.
Pines have now started the season with consecutive home defeats and have lost their top striker and one of State 3 South-East’s finest players.
Ahmeti has an impressive NPL background at both junior and senior levels and has played overseas.
COVID prompted his return to Australia where he had spells at Eastern Lions, Dandenong City and North Sunshine Eagles. The 23-year-old took time off from the sport to go on holiday last year until close friend Deniz Karabadzak convinced him to give Pines a try. Ahmeti then convinced defender Alan Fogel to join him at Monterey Reserve so his departure may cause disruption in the senior squad.
“Fifty percent of why I left is down to me but 50 percent is down to Donn,” Ahmeti said. “I was copping too many injuries and didn’t have enough time to rehab properly. “Plus, what I’ve seen in the past couple of weeks is that we’ve gone backwards under Donn. “The final thing that made me leave was when the club didn’t live up to the payment agreement we had. “I told Donn if they couldn’t live up to the agreement we had from the start then how could I trust them in the future. “The positive aspect of my time at Pines was that I considered my teammates as my family and that was the hardest thing about leaving.”
In State 1 news Mornington returned pointless from its away trip to face Eltham Redbacks with the local side losing 4-1, a result that sent Eltham to the top of the league table. Sam Scott scored for Mornington.
In State 2 news Peninsula Strikers beat Knox City 2-0 at Centenary Park on Saturday.
Strikers struck in the 38th minute when Ethan Goulding played a quality low ball into the box where Cooper Andrews continued his run and slotted home with his left foot. Two minutes later Knox’s Jorge Dunster was shown a straight red following an off-the-ball incident with young Strikers’ winger Taylan Geylan. There was no way back for Knox when it fell further behind in the 60th minute. Geylan broke clear then neatly squared the ball to captain Riley Anderton who cooly slotted home with his left foot.
Skye United lost 2-1 away to Mooroolbark on Saturday.
Skye led late in the first half when Marcus Collier was at the back post to head home from a corner. The Barkers hit back in the 58th minute when a corner from the left was headed home by Brett Tronconi.
In the 90th minute the referee spotted a foul on Ryan Smith among a mass of players preparing for a corner to be taken. Geordie Scott stepped up to the spot sending Skye keeper Steve Hadjikakou the wrong way for what proved to be the sealer.
In State 4 news Chelsea remains on top of the ladder after Friday night’s 5-0 mauling of Lyndale United at Edithvale Recreation Reserve. This win was achieved without talismanic striker James Stinson who was holidaying in Fiji while keeper Rhys Davies and vice-captain Adam Bartosy were injured and captain Luke D’Alessandro had to pass a late fitness test.
Chelsea led 2-0 at half-time thanks to superb strikes from outside the area from Dylan Scott after seven minutes and Daniel Lewis after 22 minutes. When young gun Christian Murray made it 3-0 in the 64th minute Lyndale had a mountain to climb. Another youngster then stole the spotlight in the closing section of the contest. Teenager Harry Salisbury recruited from Kingston City came off the bench for his club and senior debut and marked the occasion with two stunning goals. It was the exclamation mark on a five-star performance from the home team.
Stinson will be back in action on Saturday when Chelsea travels to Reema Reserve to clash with Endeavour United.
Both clubs will be playing for the Melino Cup which honours Carlo Melino’s senior coaching career at Endeavour and Chelsea. Melino and his family will attend and he will present the winning captain with the trophy at game’s end.
Somerville and Mentone fought out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Western Port Secondary College last Saturday.
Chris Gibson put Mentone ahead after two minutes poking home from close range after a mix-up in the Somerville defence.
Somerville keeper Agapitos Karagiannis prevented Mentone from going further in front when he saved Marcus Spivey’s penalty on 30 minutes and six minutes later Somerville were level when Marcus Anastasiou nipped in front of his marker to score.
The main action of the second half came in the final five frenetic minutes. Mentone was awarded a second penalty on 85 minutes and again Karagiannis saved this time denying Gibson. Two minutes later Somerville went in front when Skye United recruit Alessio Izzo curled home a fine effort past Quinn Carter in the Mentone goal only for Spivey to make it 2-2 in the last seconds of the game when he barrelled through two defenders to drill home from close range.
Baxter drew 1-1 with Springvale City at Baxter Park on Saturday.
The visitors scored after seven minutes when their club linesman ruled that Edim Lolic was onside when he broke through and lobbed advancing Baxter keeper Jarrod Nardino. Baxter equalised in the 52nd minute after a poor clearance from Springvale was gathered by Dylan Murchie and after nipping past a defender hit a low shot from the edge of the area that gave Springvale keeper Kadir Puric no chance.
In State 5 news Rosebud sits on top of the ladder after Saturday evening’s 2-1 home win against Mount Eliza.
Rosebud took an 8th minute lead when Barney Johnson scored after a fine ball from the ever-threatening Frank Barrett was met with a well-timed run and a near post finish.
Johnson nearly turned provider when a great move saw Connor Mooney with a chance to double the lead with a volley on the six yard box only to put it over the bar. The second half saw Mount Eliza capitalise as Rosebud sat off too much and it was no surprise when it equalised through Mujtaba Sakhi in the 60th minute after constant pressure.
In what was a derby of high quality with both teams playing excellent football the winner came from the boot of one of Victorian soccer’s most prolific marksmen. In the 76th minute a superb ball from Barrett bounced as Dave Greening swivelled before rifling a firm drive into the top corner for the decider.
There was another hard-fought derby at windswept Civic Reserve on Saturday with visitor Seaford United winning 1-0 against Mount Martha. Home team keeper Darren Elliott was far busier than counterpart Hayden Hicks but Hicks also had his moments when he was forced into action. Seaford has recently signed Logan Johnston from Frankston Pines and Naseer Mohammad from Casey Comets and both came off the bench, the latter to great effect in the second half. Seaford striker Josh Vega had multiple chances in both halves but a combination of poor finishing and the heroics of Elliott kept him at bay.
In previous seasons Mount Martha may have had problems dealing with physically stronger opponents but not so now. In the midst of Seaford’s second-half assault on the home team’s goal Mount Martha had two great chances.
In the 55th minute a long ball was pounced on by lanky teenager Lenny Tate who struck his shot across Hicks but wide of the far post. Six minutes later Mount Martha striker Daniel Bancroft shrugged off the attentions of Johnston and Jack Wyer but blew his one-on-one with Hicks by shooting wide.
Mohammad has been part of the local scene for years but he’s lost none of his pace and that proved decisive in the game’s pivotal moment. In the 79th minute he exploded down the left then hammered a low drive in behind the defence where another sub Sam Luxford was charging in and his first-time point-blank shot gave Elliott no hope.
Barton and Aspendale shared the points in an entertaining six-goal encounter at Barton Recreation Reserve last weekend. Matthew Bruce, James Macnab (from the penalty spot) and Alec Bunn scored for Aspendale whose best were Bruce, Felix Hampson and Macnab.
In Dockerty Cup news Skye United will host NPL side Dandenong Thunder on Wednesday night in a delayed round four tie with the winner drawn away against Moreland City in the next round.
The only other local side remaining in the Cup is Langwarrin who is already through to the fifth round and has been drawn away against State 1 North-West outfit FC Strathmore.
NEXT WEEK’S GAMES
Wednesday 10 April, 7.30pm:
Skye Utd v Dandenong Thunder, Dockerty Cup, Skye Recreation Reserve
Saturday 13 April, 3pm:
Mooroolbark v Peninsula Strikers, Esther Park
Rowville Eagles v Frankston Pines, Park Ridge Reserve
Mentone v Sandown Lions, Mentone Grammar Playing Fields
Lyndale Utd v Somerville Eagles, Lyndale Secondary College
Monash University v Baxter, Monash University Playing Fields
Endeavour Utd v Chelsea, Reema Reserve
Aspendale v Rosebud, Aspendale Gardens Sports Ground
Mount Eliza v Seaford Utd, Emil Madsen Reserve
Mount Martha v Casey Panthers, Civic Reserve
Saturday 13 April, 6pm:
Mornington v South Springvale, Dallas Brooks Park
Sunday, 14 April, 3pm:
North Caulfield v Skye Utd, Darebin International Sports Centre
Monday 15 April, 8.30pm:
Bulleen v Langwarrin, Veneto Club
