Bendigo City was the easybeat of the National Premier Leagues competition in the first half of the season, but in the past month the young group has turned its form around.

Bendigo defeated Murray United 1-0 in round 15, drew with Dandenong and Box Hill in rounds 16 and 17 before picking up the three points against Nunawading on Saturday.

“Two great wins and two draws are a credit to our local players improving their skills, new players bringing some great qualities to the teams and the coach Jose Montana lifting the boys, both in culture and performance,” Bendigo City FC president Robyn Williams said.

The inclusion of Danial Bish, Orhan Kara, Sergio Castel, Bosco Abba Smoil, Daboul Kong, Yang Dow Kong, Madit Job, Ahmed Badawy, Richard Kayamber, Qouat Manon and Aiden Hutchings in the transfer window has made a significant impact on the Bendigo City group.

Saturday’s win over Nunawading City was built around a brilliant eight-minute patch early in the second half.

With the scores locked at 2-2, Bendigo City stamped its authority with goals to Godwill Basha and David Younan in the 50th and 58th minutes respectively. Earlier in the night,  Sergio Castel-Martinez opened the scoring in the second minute and Basha scored in the 16th minute.

The win didn’t lift Bendigo City off the bottom of the NPL west conference ladder, but it is now on equal points with ninth-placed Sunshine and just one point behind eighth-placed Werribee.

The Bendigo City under-20s scored their fourth win of the season when they defeated Nunawading 6-2.

Scores were locked at 1-1 at half-time, but Bendigo dominated the second half.

Say Kapaw scored a brace for Bendigo, while Sam Farr, Sam Scoble, Daniel Bish and Aiden Hutchings also found the back of the net.

Meanwhile, the Bendigo City juniors travelled to Melbourne to play Avondale on Sunday.

It was a rough day for Bendigo City with all teams suffering defeats.

The under-18s were crushed 17-0, the under-16s went down 7-1, the under-15s were beaten 6-1, the under-14s lost 9-0, the under-13s went down 4-1, while the under-12s lost a thriller 5-4.

After 15 rounds of the season, the under-18s are in 15th place on the ladder, the under-16s are in ninth, the under-15s are ninth, the under-14s are 16th, the under-13s are 15th and the under-12s are 16th.

Next Saturday the Bendigo City juniors travel to Melbourne to play the Football Federation Victoria development squads at the State Football Centre.

The senior and under-20 teams are away to Sunshine George Cross on Saturday.