It was another entertaining weekend of football in the National Premier Leagues, and beyond, across Australia. KEEPUP brings you the best bits.
Kalac and Bulls staying true to strategy
Bulls FC Academy have endured a difficult season but they are not prepared to stray from their philosophy in an attempt to “find the next gems for the A-League”.
Led by former Socceroos and AC Milan goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac, the youthful Bulls are 10 points adrift at the bottom of NPLM NSW following a 5-1 defeat to high-flying Marconi Stallions over the weekend.
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The Bulls have lost six straight games, while they are 16 games without a win heading into the final three matches of the campaign.
However, Kalac has been pleased with the football played by the promising youngsters in 2023 as the Bulls try to provide more players for the Macarthur FC team in the Isuzu UTE A-League like Jed Drew, who has come through the setup.
“We made some silly mistakes which have cost us all year, but it’s a young side so we do expect that,” he told NPL NSW after Saturday’s loss.
“I thought the second half performance was actually excellent, we created a lot of chances against a very, very good side.
“I’m not saying we could have won the game, we were way beyond that, but we played really well and it was a great reaction by the boys in the second half with a very young squad.
“We’ve just got to keep building and that’s the future of the club to keep building with the young players.
“I think we had something like seven 18 year olds on the park against a very established and strong side so you can’t complain with their effort and the style of football that we’re trying to play.
“We’re trying to find the next gems for the A-League and the only way to do it is by playing this brand of football and you’re gonna get good days and bad days but if they keep playing like this in a couple of years, hopefully there’s a few of them going into the A-League environment.”
Urosevski golazo!
Rockdale Illinden kept their Premiership hopes alive thanks to their talisman and a 2-1 win over Central Coast Mariners.
Alec Urosevski scored a bicycle kick in the 87th minute to lift Rockdale past the Mariners.
A former Sydney forward, it was his league-leading 24th goal of the season.
Rockdale are four points adrift of APIA Leichhardt in second position through 27 rounds.
Former Western Sydney Wanderers youngster Jack Stewart scored four goals as APIA Leichhardt moved a step closer to the Premiership with a 5-3 win over Sydney Olympic.
Despite a brace from ex-A-Leagues striker Roy O’Donovan, APIA were too good.
In NPLM SA, Adelaide United sensations Jonny Yull and Luka Jovanovic scored in a 2-1 win over Croydon Kings.
Adelaide are fourth after 21 games, 22 points adrift of MetroStars.
Another title for Aus Cup participants
Oakleigh Cannons are preparing to face Melbourne City in the Australia Cup Round of 32 this weekend and they go into the blockbuster tie on the back of a maiden trophy.
Semi-finalists in last season’s Australia Cup, the defending NPLM VIC champions made history by claiming their first ever Dockerty Cup title.
Chris Taylor guided the Cannons to their first NPL Championship in 2022 and his well-oiled football machine sealed more silverware with a 3-0 win over rivals Heidelberg United in the Grand Final – thanks to a pair of penalties from Joe Guest and Alex Salmon’s second-half strike.
Guest was awarded the Jimmy Mackay Medal for his best on ground performance.
The Bergers went down to 10 after Ajdin Fetahagic fouled Guest in the lead-up to the first of his two goals from the spot, which made the job all the more difficult for George Katsakis’ side who have endured a tough 2023 campaign.
It has been an incredible 12 months for Oakleigh, who will host three-time reigning Isuzu UTE A-League premiers Melbourne City on Sunday afternoon.
In July 2022, the Cannons were crowned 2021 NPL premiers before crushing South Melbourne 5-0 in the NPL Grand Final two months later, having also stunned Sydney FC en route to the Australia Cup semi-finals.
This past February, Oakleigh marked another momentous occasion when they were crowned Community Shield winners by easing past Bentleigh Greens 4-0.
APIA have one hand on the Premiership
APIA Leichhardt are on the verge of winning the NPLW NSW Premiership following a thrilling 1-1 draw against Macarthur Rams.
Boasting Liberty A-League stars like Holly McNamara and Rhianna Pollicina, APIA have one hand on silverware as they maintained their four-point buffer over the Rams.
Macarthur opened the scoring at Lambert Park and it was a spectacular free-kick from former Wellington Phoenix forward Kelli Brown before Gisella Pipino equalised 16 minutes from the end.
New Zealander Brown – who won a bronze medal at the Women’s Under-17 World Cup in Uruguay – has taken the competition by storm since arriving in 2023, scoring 19 goals.
She has found the back of the net on 26 occasions across all competitions this season.
In NPLW WA, champions-elect Perth RedStar are within touching distance of back-to-back titles following their 11-0 drubbing of Curtin University.
Reina Kagam bagged four goals to take her season tally to 20 as RedStar ended the weekend requiring just four points to wrap up more silverware.
