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Whilst not great for Northcote it opens the competition right up for the chasing pack which for the neutral supporter is good news. Another fantastic weekend of VPL football has been and gone.
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| Bentleigh Greens surprisingly play in green. Credit: Cindy Nitsos |
Hume City 1 (Sumbul 16’)
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Hume City amazingly shared a point for the first time this season after they kept Bentleigh to a 1-1 draw away. Hume opened the scoring just after the quarter hour mark and were very unlucky to have the equaliser allowed shortly before half time.
Hume and Bentleigh share second spot on the VPL table and look assured of playing finals football. Both sides have big games next week with Hume hosting Dandenong and the Greens away to Oakleigh.
Port Melbourne Sharks 1 (Prelevic 15')
Melbourne Knights 3 (Barisic 30' 59' Cvitkovic 70')
SS Anderson Reserve
The Knights continue to climb the VPL ladder, this time with a win at home over finals contender Port Melbourne. The Sharks took an early lead but it was all Knights from there on in as they finished the round in in equal second position, locked on points with Bentleigh and Hume.
The win is the Knights third on the trot and they have only dropped two points from the last 15 on offer. Momentum is on Melbourne Knights side right now. Port Melbourne remain in a finals spot for now and have an enticing match up at Northcote City next week. The Knights have the local derby against Green Gully. Do not miss that!
Southern Stars 0
Oakleigh Cannons 4 (Vittiglia 28’ Bosnjak 39’ 66’ Zoric 73’)
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Southern Stars were left seeing stars after they were smacked 4-0 by Oakleigh. Two goals in each half saw the Cannons comfortably put aside the bottom side to give themselves a shot at playing in the finals. Miron Bleiberg's men looked refreshed after their unexepected week off and were not tested which should bode well for their next game at home to Bentleigh. The Stars will need to regroup as they go to Pascoe Vale trying to find another win.
Green Gully Cavaliers 1 (Fisher 62’)
Pascoe Vale 0
Green Gully Reserve
Green Gully kept their finals chances alive with a hard fought win over Pascoe Vale. The Cavaliers were by far the better side and would be disappointed not to win by more but will take the three points none the less.
A goal almost on the hour ny Brent Fisher was enough on the day. Pascoe Vale are now certainly out of the finals race but will be moderately happy with how their first season in the VPL has gone.
Pascoe Vale have a very winnable game next round at home to Southern Stars while Green Gully travel the short distance to Sommers Street to take on Melbourne Knights in a game you won't want to miss.
Northcote City 1 Catalano (22')
Richmond 1 Armenian (73')
John Cain Memorial Park
Northcote City looked untouchable only a month ago but have not managed to find a win in their past four games bringing them right back into the chasing pack. After taking a lead against a Richmond side who have only collected six points for the season it should have been one way traffic from there. Richmond to their credit hit back with just over 15 minutes left and were able to hang on for a stunning draw. A home game against the Sharks is Northcote's next opportunity to get back on track, Richmond host the unpredictable South Melbourne.
South Melbourne 6 (Epifano 1’ 86’ Rixon 6’ 53’ Bran 9’ Norton 79’)
Dandenong Thunder 2 (Frazier 19’ Rexhepi 25’ [pen])
Lakeside Stadium
In his first match against his old side Chris Taylor could not have planned his first match against Dandenong any better. Six goals, a dominating performance and three points was an astounding result only weeks after Taylor and five South players left Thunder.
South were three goals up within ten minutes but went into the sheds with a lead of just one goal. Coming out of the blocks in the second half the home team piled on three more to seal the deal.
Both sides have away matches next week as South travel to Richmond and Dandenong face Hume City.
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Hume City amazingly shared a point for the first time this season after they kept Bentleigh to a 1-1 draw away. Hume opened the scoring just after the quarter hour mark and were very unlucky to have the equaliser allowed shortly before half time.
Hume and Bentleigh share second spot on the VPL table and look assured of playing finals football. Both sides have big games next week with Hume hosting Dandenong and the Greens away to Oakleigh.
Melbourne Knights 3 (Barisic 30' 59' Cvitkovic 70')
SS Anderson Reserve
The Knights continue to climb the VPL ladder, this time with a win at home over finals contender Port Melbourne. The Sharks took an early lead but it was all Knights from there on in as they finished the round in in equal second position, locked on points with Bentleigh and Hume.
The win is the Knights third on the trot and they have only dropped two points from the last 15 on offer. Momentum is on Melbourne Knights side right now. Port Melbourne remain in a finals spot for now and have an enticing match up at Northcote City next week. The Knights have the local derby against Green Gully. Do not miss that!
Oakleigh Cannons 4 (Vittiglia 28’ Bosnjak 39’ 66’ Zoric 73’)
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Southern Stars were left seeing stars after they were smacked 4-0 by Oakleigh. Two goals in each half saw the Cannons comfortably put aside the bottom side to give themselves a shot at playing in the finals. Miron Bleiberg's men looked refreshed after their unexepected week off and were not tested which should bode well for their next game at home to Bentleigh. The Stars will need to regroup as they go to Pascoe Vale trying to find another win.
Pascoe Vale 0
Green Gully Reserve
Green Gully kept their finals chances alive with a hard fought win over Pascoe Vale. The Cavaliers were by far the better side and would be disappointed not to win by more but will take the three points none the less.
A goal almost on the hour ny Brent Fisher was enough on the day. Pascoe Vale are now certainly out of the finals race but will be moderately happy with how their first season in the VPL has gone.
Pascoe Vale have a very winnable game next round at home to Southern Stars while Green Gully travel the short distance to Sommers Street to take on Melbourne Knights in a game you won't want to miss.
Richmond 1 Armenian (73')
John Cain Memorial Park
Northcote City looked untouchable only a month ago but have not managed to find a win in their past four games bringing them right back into the chasing pack. After taking a lead against a Richmond side who have only collected six points for the season it should have been one way traffic from there. Richmond to their credit hit back with just over 15 minutes left and were able to hang on for a stunning draw. A home game against the Sharks is Northcote's next opportunity to get back on track, Richmond host the unpredictable South Melbourne.
Dandenong Thunder 2 (Frazier 19’ Rexhepi 25’ [pen])
Lakeside Stadium
In his first match against his old side Chris Taylor could not have planned his first match against Dandenong any better. Six goals, a dominating performance and three points was an astounding result only weeks after Taylor and five South players left Thunder.
South were three goals up within ten minutes but went into the sheds with a lead of just one goal. Coming out of the blocks in the second half the home team piled on three more to seal the deal.
Both sides have away matches next week as South travel to Richmond and Dandenong face Hume City.
| POS | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northcote City | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 38 | 9 | 29 | 34 |
| 2 | Bentleigh Greens | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 28 |
| 3 | Melbourne Knights | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 28 |
| 4 | Hume City | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 24 | 28 | -4 | 28 |
| 5 | Port Melbourne Sharks | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 24 |
| 6 | Green Gully Cavaliers | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 18 | 2 | 21 |
| 7 | South Melbourne | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 21 |
| 8 | Oakleigh Cannons | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 18 |
| 9 | Dandenong Thunder | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 17 |
| 10 | Pascoe Vale | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 19 | -7 | 13 |
| 11 | Richmond | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 19 | 34 | -15 | 6 |
| 12 | Southern Stars | 15 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 41 | -31 | 3 |