Welcome to Wonderkid Watch: A weekly piece that keeps you up to date with the players and stories emerging from A-Leagues clubs playing at NPL level in Australia.
Jesse Hoey knocking on first-team door
Melbourne Victory’s Jesse Hoey is producing a compelling case for senior football.
The versatile teenage sensation has been starring for league-leading Victory in VPL1, the second tier of Victorian football, this season.
Over the weekend, Hoey – the twin brother of teammate Jordan – scored as the high-flying leaders preserved their unbeaten record while also claiming bragging rights over rivals Melbourne City in a 3-0 triumph on Sunday.
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Jack Mihailidis and Adem Duratovic were also on target for Victory, who moved two points clear atop the table through seven rounds with five wins and two draws. The team have scored 15 goals and conceded only two.
For Hoey, it took his tally to a team-high four goals for the season. Only four players have scored more goals in VPL1 – Northcote City’s Triantafilos Skapetis, Langwarrin’s Tom Youngs, Western United forward Jake Najdovski (all five) and Dylan Allshorn of Brunswick City (six).
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The 18-year-old has maintained his impressive form in 2024, having enjoyed a red-hot 2023 at Victory.
Likened to Socceroos forward Martin Boyle by the Herald Sun due to his explosiveness, Hoey – who can play full-back or up front – scored a whopping 40 goals for Victory last season!
The former Bulleen Lions junior scored 24 goals in 18 matches in the Under-18 JBNPL 1 league, while he added another 13 in appearances at U18 NPL North VIC Boys level.
He also featured in seven U21 NPL3M VIC matches in 2023, finding the back of the net on three occasions.
Hoey was part of the Subway Joeys squad that competed at the 2022 AFF Under-16 Championship in Jakarta, where the likes of Miguel Di Pizio (Central Coast Mariners), Zac De Jesus and Tiago Quintal (Sydney FC) also featured.
He started two games and came off the bench in another for Australia.
City, meanwhile, are 11th in the standings and 11 points adrift of Victory with just one win so far.
As for Western United, they continue to climb the standings after crushing Caroline Springs George Cross 5-2 in Tarneit.
It was another milestone moment for Western, who played their first ever VPL1 fixture at the Regional Football Facility on the back of the Liberty A-League side’s historic opener a week prior.
Western, whose Isuzu UTE A-League team are schedule to play at the venue for the first time against Macarthur FC on April 6, were too strong for the visitors thanks to a Luke Vickery brace and goals from Abel Walatee, Max Bisetto and Mark Leonard while there was also an own goal.
Academy product Vickery made his A-Leagues debut for Western last month. He has gone on to make a further two appearances for John Aloisi’s side.
Western are now eighth and eight points behind the leaders, though they have a game in hand.
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In NPLW VIC, Calder United celebrated their first won of the season after outlasting newly promoted Essendon Royals 4-2 over the weekend.
Calder United, who have a partnership with Western United, overcame a half-time deficit to open their account for 2024.
Akane Shimizu, Larissa Walsh and Jennifer Lum all scored, while Essendon’s Kendrah Smith netted an own goal.
Western Sydney youngsters are the team to beat in NSW
Western Sydney Wanderers were without several key players but they still managed to stun Wollongong Wolves 2-0 to cement top spot in NPLM NSW.
The Wanderers’ youth team were without the likes of Marcus Younis, Nathanael Blair, Alexander Badolato, Aydan Hammond and Zach Sapsford, yet high-flying Western Sydney still emerged triumphant thanks to
Ryley Hollingdale and Leon Alizart, who scored during the final 12 minutes away from home at WIN Stadium, where Wollongong were boasting former A-Leagues goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic.
It was only Wollongong’s second defeat of the season and the result prevented the Wolves from ending the seventh round level on points atop the standings.
“It was a monster effort from our group,” said head coach Andrew Christiansen via NPL NSW.
“That was a grind. That’s a young team, but they got to show themselves today, and they did that.
“This group had a really strong preseason, and they’re a top bunch. Wollongong are an excellent team so buzzing with that result.”
The Wanderers were coming off a 5-2 victory over Central Coast Mariners on Wednesday night, which saw Younis, Hammond, Sapsford, Blair and Anthony Pantazopoulos all score.
Elsewhere, Alexander Gountounas scored in stoppage time as Central Coast Mariners lost 2-1 to NWS Spirit on Saturday.
Zachary De Jesus was sent off in the seventh minute of Sydney FC’s 3-0 defeat against second-placed Marconi Stallions.
There was chaos in NPLW NSW as Emerging Jets and Sydney University played out a wild 3-3 draw.
Emerging Jets trailed 2-0 and then 3-2 in the 93rd minute before Josie Allan converted a last-gasp penalty to earn the team their first point of the season.
There was another 3-3 draw in the league, this time Bulls FC Academy and APIA Leichhardt shared the spoils in a six-goal thriller.
The Bulls rallied from 2-0 down – Isabella Coco-Di Sipio and Elizabeth Grey helping restore parity.
Coco-Di Sipio struck again before half-time to make it 3-2 but APIA equalised in the 90th minute.
Meanwhile in NSW League One Men’s, second-placed Bulls FC Academy defeated Northern Tigers 2-0 thanks to Luka Sterjovski – the son of former Socceroo and current Macarthur FC head coach Mile – and Oliver Randazzo.
League Two Men’s leaders Newcastle Jets are the last remaining undefeated team in NSW’s third division after edging previously unbeaten Mounties Wanderers 1-0.
Justin Vidic scored for the Jets.
Stacked Reds end their 2024 drought as they score two stunners
Adelaide United ended their run of three defeats to open the NPLM SA season, taking down Croydon Kings 4-2.
The Reds were stacked with Isuzu UTE A-League senior talent thanks to the international break, with Ethan Cox, Jonny Yull, Luke Duzel, Musa Toure, Yaya Dukuly, and Panashe Madanha all featuring in the starting XI away to Croydon. Jay Barnett was also in the line-up for the first time in a year following a long-term injury.
Musa Toure scored twice in the second half, while Yull and Dukuly were also on target.
Yull and Toure scored the picks of the bunch on a successful afternoon for Adelaide’s youth team.
In NPLM WA, Perth Glory and Floreat Athena drew 1-1 at the Sam Kerr Football Centre over the weekend.
Jaylan Pearman scored the goal for Glory’s Academy side.
Meanwhile, a stoppage-time equaliser from James Nikolovski salvaged a 1-1 draw for Brisbane Roar against Wynnum Wolves in NPLM QLD.
