Knights win over Magic makes it three-in-a-row

Melbourne Knights made it three wins in three with a 3-1 victory over Altona Magic at Knights Stadium on Friday night.

Knights moved at least temporarily into fourth on the NPL Victoria standings thanks to goals from Gian Albano, Ciaran Bramwell and Mohammed Sumaoro.

Albano opened the scoring in the seventh minute when he cut in from the left and rifled a strike into the top corner for what was his third goal of the new campaign.

It took until the 76^th minute for Knights to find their second of the night with Bramwell slamming home a finish at the back post after Joey Franjic’s header came off the crossbar and Jack Morton had a shot cleared off the line on the end of a Gevaro Nepomuceno corner.

Five minutes later Knights had their third of the evening through Sumaoro who rose highest to nod home a Corey Sewell for his second goal in as many weeks.

The visitors did pull a goal back just moments after Knights third through Jonas Markovski who converted from the penalty spot after 

Markovski’s strike proved to be a mere consolation for the visitors with Knights coming away 3-1 victors and winning three league games in a row for the first time since March 2019.

Friday’s win also marked a milestone for a pair of Knights players with Corey Sewell and Trevor Ssemakula playing their 100^th and 50^th NPL Victoria matches respectively.

Speaking post-match, Melbourne Knights Head Coach Ben Cahn said he was pleased with the progression of his side ahead of a big game against Avondale next weekend.

“We’re very happy with the three points and it’s nice to be building some momentum,” Cahn said.

“We’re making good progress but myself, the staff and the players know there is more to come.

“We started really well last night and we were good in patches but we all have high expectations and will keep working hard to make sure we keep improving.

“We had a few sore bodies from the Port Melbourne game, so we’re happy everyone got through last night. We’ll freshen up, have a big week of training and make sure we’re ready for Avondale next weekend.”

Next up for Knights is a trip to Avenger Park next Saturday for a clash against Avondale who sit top of the league at the time of writing.

MATCH DETAILS

NPL Victoria 2023 – Round 6: Melbourne Knights FC v Altona Magic

Knights Stadium, North Sunshine

Friday, 24 March 

Melbourne Knights – 3 (Gian ALBANO 7’ Ciaran BRAMWELL 76’, Mohammed SUMAORO 81’)

Altona Magic – 1 (Jonas MARKOVSKI 84’)