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Perennial contenders Green Gully are lurking and a good second half of the season could see them come from behind. In racing parlances we are just at the clock tower in the Melbourne Cup, time for some teams to make a move.
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| Pascoe Vale in action. Credit: Cindy Nitsos |
Melbourne Knights 0
Hosken Reserve
Melbourne Knights held Pascoe Vale to a draw and held onto fourth spot on the Victorian Premier League table. The Knights can count themselves extremely unlucky after a 30th minute 'goal' was not given after both sets of players had headed for the re-start. An otherwise uneventful game was played in blustery winter conditions.
Melbourne host Richmond next Sunday, Pascoe Vale have the unenviable task of heading to Northcote City.
Oakleigh Cannons 2 (Bosnjak 27' pen, Christodoulou 31')
Northcote City 2 (Kalifatidis 12' pen, 59')
Jack Edwards Reserve
Oakleigh pushed Northcote all the way in their Round 12 clash at Jack Edwards Reserve but Northcote were able to hold onto their extraordinary unbeaten run. In only their second lot of dropped points this season Northcote took the lead only to have to come from behind with James Kalifatidis scoring twice.
Oakleigh travel to Port Melbourne for their next game, Northcote have an easier task as they host Pascoe Vale.
Richmond 1 (Cahill 45’ +1 pen)
Bentleigh Greens 1 (Hatzikostas 47’)
Kevin Bartlett Reserve
A goal two minutes either side of half time saw lowly Richmond share the points with high flying Bentleigh.
On his return to the club Tom Cahill put Richmond in front as the sides hit the change rooms and the goal was enough to ensure Richmond held on to their fifth point of the season. Bentleigh were reduced to ten men for the last half an hour as former South Melbourne player Thomas Matthews was shown a second yellow on his debut.
Richmond who played Melbourne Victory mid-week tired in the second half and weren't able to make the Greens pay. Next week Richmond is away to Melbourne Knights and Bentleigh have a big game against Dandenong.
Dandenong Thunder 3 (Rexhepi 45+1, 65, Hopper 75’)
Southern Stars 1 (Turgut 80’)
George Andrews Reserve
Dandenong looked to get their season back on track with an emphatic 3-1 win over Southern Stars.
Stars were able to hold the reigning champs until just before the half time whistle but couldn't stop captain Shane Rexhepi scoring right on the interval in his 100th game for the Thunder. After half time it was all Dandy as they run away for a comfortable win.
It doesn't get any easier for Dandenong as they make the quick trip to Bentleigh next week while Stars are away to South Melbourne.
Hume City 0
Port Melbourne Sharks 2 (Hockless 49' 57')
Broadmeadows Valley Park
Superstar Graeme Hockless scored a double as promoted Port Melbourne chalked up a win away at Hume City. The Sharks 2-0 win lifted the promoted side into fourth position and a genuine chance to cause some headaches comes finals time. It wasn't all clear sailing though as Phillip Riccobene was shown a straight red with five minutes remaining.
Port Melbourne host Oakleigh in the game of the round next week, Hume away to Green Gully will not be one to miss either.
South Melbourne 1 (Vlahos 31')
Green Gully Cavaliers 3 (Ederaro 15' Hayne 62' Jones 71')
Lakeside Stadium
A cracking free kick from warrior Andy Vlahos was the only highlight for South Melbourne under new coach Chris Taylor in their loss to Green Gully.
The Cavaliers, who are in unfamiliar territory at the bottom half of the table, deserved the win and looked like a side ready to climb back to the upper echelon in the second half of the season. Their rise will be tested when they host third place Hume next week. South Melbourne will look to ignite Taylor's reign when they host Southern Stars.
| POS | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northcote City | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 6 | 30 | 32 |
| 2 | Bentleigh Greens | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 23 |
| 3 | Port Melbourne Sharks | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 21 |
| 4 | Hume City | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 21 |
| 5 | Melbourne Knights | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 19 |
| 6 | South Melbourne | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 19 | -1 | 17 |
| 7 | Dandenong Thunder | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 16 |
| 8 | Green Gully Cavaliers | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 15 |
| 9 | Oakleigh Cannons | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 20 | -3 | 12 |
| 10 | Pascoe Vale | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 12 |
| 11 | Richmond | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 30 | -13 | 5 |
| 12 | Southern Stars | 12 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 31 | -23 | 2 |
Round 13 Fixtures
Bentleigh Greens v Dandenong Thunder, 8:15pm Friday 12 July, Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Port Melbourne Sharks v Oakleigh Cannons, 8:30pm Friday 12 July. JL Murphy Reserve
Green Gully Cavaliers v Hume City, 3pm Saturday 13 July, Green Gully Reserve
Northcote City v Pascoe Vale, 3pm Sunday 14 July, John Cain Memorial Park
Melbourne Knights v Richmond, 3pm Sunday 14 July, Knights Stadium
South Melbourne v Southern Stars, 3pm Sunday 14 July, Lakeside Stadium