An in-form North Sunshine Eagles outfit proved too strong for Melbourne Victory on Saturday afternoon, running out 4-0 winners at Epping Stadium.
Team News
Victory made 5 changes to the starting lineup from last week’s win in Ballarat, with Zaydan Bello and Will Wilson highlighting the returns to the XI. Edmond Lupancu, Alexander Menelaou and Patrick Hogan were also given opportunities from the start.
Summary
In stark contrast to recent weeks, the game took place on a glorious Melbourne afternoon with both sides intent on backing up their wins from last time out.
North Sunshine made the brighter start with their high press forcing a turnover deep in the Victory defence after six minutes, a mistake which was pounced on by captain Nicholas Epifano to give the visitors an early lead.
Epifano’s sliding finish instilled confidence in North Sunshine, who regularly threatened Victory’s goal in the opening exchanges.
The Eagles hit the post as well as forcing an excellent save from goalkeeper Christian Siciliano soon after, as Victory struggled to establish a foothold early in the contest.
Victory though gradually work their way into the game as the half progressed, stifling North Sunshine’s momentum.
Nonetheless, the home side could not find a way to draw level by half-time as North Sunshine took their lead into the break.
Victory came out for the second half looking like a different team.
Within the first couple of minutes Victory had already managed several shots on target and it looked to be only a matter of time before they were back on level terms.
However, it was North Sunshine who delivered the first significant blow of the half, quickly sending the ball down the other end where Redouane Sarakh’s header doubled their advantage.
A real sucker punch to Victory who had started the second half so brightly.
The afternoon would get worse before it got better for Joe Palatsides’ side, with Epifano involved yet again to assist Yusuf Karadag’s headed effort to make it 3-0.
The Eagles continued to impress, with Sarakh scoring his second for the day and North Sunshine’s fourth in the 77th minute.
Ultimately, the visitors came away with a 4-0 win.
A disappointing result for Victory who were unable to implement their game style with the kind of fluency and effectiveness they have shown throughout the season.
Victory will look to rebound and finish the season strongly next month.
Next Up
Victory’s next game is in two weeks when they make the trip to Stead Park to take on Geelong SC on Saturday 13th August at 6:00pm.
NPLM 3 Victoria 2022 Round 20
Melbourne Victory 0
North Sunshine Eagles 4 (Epifano 7′, Sarakh 52′, 77′, Karadag 62′)
Melbourne Victory U23s starting XI: Christian Siciliano (gk), Zaydan Bello, Edmond Lupancu, Ryan Lethlean (c), Franco Lino, Alexander Menelaou, Nicholas Hamakiotis, Will Wilson, James Paneras, Patrick Hogan, Binyam Kebede
Under-21s
Victory secured the league title with an emphatic 11-0 win over North Sunshine earlier on Saturday afternoon. A spectacular 20th win from 20 games this season marking an unforgettable season with just two games remaining.
