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.
City academy star shows why he is so highly rated
If you don’t know Melbourne City sensation Emin Durakovic, it is only a matter of time before you do.
Emin is the son of South Melbourne and Socceroos great Mehmet Durakovic, but where his dad earned his keep as a defender, the young gun is making waves as a midfielder.
The 18-year-old, who played for Australia Under-18s at the FPF Sub-18 Tournament in Portugal last year and had an assist against England, is a highly-rated prospect at City, having signed a three-year deal with the Isuzu UTE A-League club in June.
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Durakovic – part of the City setup since the age of 12 – is yet to make his A-Leagues debut but continues to impress with the youth team, and he has made a red-hot start to the 2024 season. He also been an unused substitute for matches in each of the Isuzu UTE A-League, Australia Cup and AFC Champions League.
Playing in the VPL 1 Men, the second tier of Victorian football, City kicked off their campaign a fortnight ago with a 3-2 loss to Caroline Springs George Cross.
City were without a host of players away in Italy with Alessandro Diamanti at the Viareggio Cup but Durakovic stepped up with two incredible long-range goals, including a free-kick against newly promoted George Cross.
There was also a debut for 14-year-old defender Besian Kutleshi. Making his bow at such a young age, the centre-back will surely be one to watch this season and beyond in City’s ranks.
While City lost in Round 1, they claimed their first points of the season in last week’s 1-1 draw at Kingston City.
Teenage forward Max Caputo scored for City on the road.
The 18-year-old has managed 90 minutes of football across 11 Isuzu UTE A-League appearances this season, having bagged his maiden goal last season.
Youngsters helping Victory fly high in 2024
All three Melbourne A-Leagues teams are playing in VPL 1 this season.
Melbourne Victory are top of the standings as the only side with a perfect record through two rounds, after being promoted from the third division last year.
In Round 1, Adem Duratovic, Luka Kolic and Jesse Hoey scored in a 3-1 win at Northcote City.
18-year-old Hoey also scored over the weekend as Victory upstaged Preston Lions 2-0 in front of a big crowd.
“Marc Petheriotis, Jesse Hoey, Nikolas Cevizović, Jordan Hoey, all these boys have come in from our under-18s group,” said head coach Joe Palatsides.
“We’re very young and people don’t always understand that.
“The way they’re performing and the maturity they’re showing, the way they’re growing as footballers and people – at the moment we’re really pleased with the way that they’ve progressed.
“It’s an exciting time.”
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Western United also earned promotion last year and they have been a feeder club for the Isuzu UTE A-League side due to a mounting injury list.
Western have started the season with 2-1 losses against Kingston and Northcote, though the likes of James York and Khoder Kaddour have also spent time with John Aloisi’s men.
Blair’s double inspires Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers kicked off their 2024 NPLM NSW season with a 3-1 win over Sutherland Sharks on Saturday.
Nathaniel Blair was the star of the show with two goals, while Doni Grdic also struck for the Wanderers.
Blair came off a six-goal season in the NPL last season and the 19-year-old striker, who is yet to feature in the A-Leagues this term, made a perfect start to 2024.
He is contracted to Western Sydney until the end of 2023-24, having signed a two-year scholarship contract in 2022. He made three appearances for Marko Rudan’s team last season.
“I was actually at work at Bunnings when I got the call with the Wanderers saying we’re interested, we want to sign you. So obviously I finished that phone call and then went back to serving customers,” Blair said at the time.
As for the game last week, Wanderers head coach Andrew Christiansen told NPL NSW: “I think we could have been more clinical throughout the whole game, and it would have been a more impressive score line.
“But I was impressed by the group’s resilience when things aren’t necessarily clicking and they score with a mistake from us, and against the run of play.
“Mistakes will happen, but I want to see the boys show belief in what they’re doing and how they are in themselves, and I certainly saw that.”
Elsewhere, Sydney FC drew 0-0 with NWS Spirit FC in week one, while Central Coast Mariners lost 2-1 to Zeljko Kalac’s Sydney United.
Donatien Niyonkuru, 17, scored for the Mariners.
Mariners coach Lucas Vilela told NPL NSW: “That’s why we have them in this competition is to toughen them up and sometimes the results won’t come, but in terms of development of players that’s what we’re looking for here.”
In NSW League One – the second tier, Northbridge Bulls Academy defeated Macarthur Rams 1-0 in their first game of the season.
