National Youth League Review Part 3: Bottom three

We take a look how how the bottom three teams fared in this season’s NYL:

We take a look how how the bottom three teams fared in this season’s NYL:

Newcastle Jets FC: Newcastle-s 21 points (6 Wins, 3 Draws, 11 Losses) placed them in seventh position, a similar position they hold at the end of the last season. Since the start of the youth league, Newcastle has finished in the bottom three but they started the season well, claiming maximum point from AIS and Melbourne Victory. A dismal second half of the season, collecting only 4 points from 10 matches, placed Newcastle out of mid table finish and only a better goal difference separated them from eight placed, Melbourne Victory.

Key Stats: Steven Veleski (5 goals in 18 matches), Fabian Iacovelli (4 goals in 20 matches)

Players with 15 or more appearances: Fabian Iacovelli (20), Kyle Ewart (19), Steven Veleski (18), Mario Simic (17), Jon Griffiths (16), Sam Gallaway (15)

Melbourne Victory FC: Similar to Newcastle, Melbourne Victory spend most of the last two seasons in the bottom half of the ladder. This season, Melbourne-s 21 points (7 Wins, 0 draws, 12 losses) placed them in eighth position, one point above last placed, Perth Glory. Melbourne-s 4-0 win against Newcastle in the last round gave them the three points they needed to prevent them from finishing as wooden spoons. The win was crucial especially after Melbourne went through a run of six matches without a point. Melbourne caused a few upsets including a 4-1 win against Gold Coast and a 2-1 and a 1-0 win against second placed Central Coast.

Key Stats: Dado Lokvancic (5 goals in 16 matches), James Kalafatidis (5 goals in 17 matches)

Players with 15 or more appearances: James Kalafatidis (17), David Stirton (17), Dado Lokvancic (16), Paulo Retre (16), Luke O-Dea (15), Luke Pilkington (15)

Perth Glory FC: Last season-s grand finalist, Perth Glory had a dismal season finishing last with 20 points (6 Wins, 2 Draws, 11 Losses). Perth started their campaign with a convincing 5-0 win against Melbourne and a 2-1 win against Adelaide United. Their disappointing run of results started in Round 11 as they end up claiming 3 points in their last 9 matches.

Key Stats: Cameron Edwards (4 goals in 18 matches)

Players with 15 or more appearances: Cameron Edwards (18), Sahr Musa (18), Brandon O-Neill (18), Sam Mitchinson (15), Sebit Oyet (15)