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Pascoe Vale 4 (L. Santilli 30' 38' 77' Lazaridis 52')
Southern Stars 0
Hosken Reserve
Pascoe Vale snapped their five game losing streak with a comfortable 4-0 win over winless Southern Stars on Friday night.
Two quick-fire goals to Luca Santilli saw the visitors go into the half time break with a comfortable lead however would be disappointed with the number of wasted chances throughout the contest in which they completely dominated over the bottom placed visitors.
Matthew Lazaridis continued the onslaught after the break and Santilli captured his first ever VPL hat-trick when he converted a penalty for the hosts at the 77th minute mark.
Pascoe Vale travel to Kingston Heath next week to take on Bentleigh while Southern Stars' task does not get any easier, taking on Melbourne Knights on Saturday evening.
Richmond 1 (Cahill 65')
South Melbourne 1 (Hopper 33')
Kevin Bartlett Reserve
South Melbourne's roller coaster form continued on Friday night after they only managed a draw against Richmond at Kevin Bartlett Reserve.
Ex-Dandenong teammates Bryan Bran and Luke Hopper combined to give the visitors the lead just after the half an hour mark and both sides had a number of chances before half time to get themselves on the scoresheet.
Tom Cahill's equaliser in the 65th minute mark was enough to see both teams take a share of points however post game both coaches admitted that they believed their respective sides did enough to deserve a victory.
Richmond travel to Port Melbourne on Friday night while South Melbourne host Hume City on Sunday afternoon.
Northcote City 4 (Lujic 7' 69' Catalano 59' Chiapetta 68')
Port Melbourne 0
John Cain Memorial Park
League leaders Northcote City returned to the winners circle with a 4-0 victory over Port Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.
Milos Lujic gave the hosts an early lead and despite dominating the contest were forced to wait until after the half time break to continue the onslaught.
They returned with three goals in a matter of minutes to Michael Catalano, Adrian Chiappetta and Lujic ensuring Northcote would clinch their first win in over a month.
Northcote will look to continue on their winning ways against Green Gully while Port Melbourne host Richmond on Friday night.
Melbourne Knights 1 (Barisic 58')
Green Gully 2 (Fisher 29' Sanders 76')
Knights Stadium
Melbourne Knights' three game winning streak came to an end at the hands of Green Gully on Sunday afternoon.
In wet and windy conditions at Knights Stadium it was the visitors who took the lead at the half an hour mark courtesy of Brent Fisher. Gully looked to be in control of the contest however it was a completely different Knights outfit that turned up in the second half.
Andre Barisic continued his fantastic goal scoring form since returning to the Knights, levelling the contest at the 58th minute mark however there was nothing Chris May could do when Mathew Sanders' looping header found the back of the net after a pinpoint Osagie Ederaro cross.
Melbourne Knights will look to return to the winners list when they take on Southern Stars on Saturday evening while Green Gully host Northcote City.
Hume City 0
Dandenong Thunder 1 (McIlroy 55')
Broadmeadows Valley Park
Dandenong Thunder's disappointing season took a positive turn this weekend when they defeated fourth placed Hume City 1-0 at Broadmeadows Valley Park.
Interim coach Stuart Munro's decision to start Sean McIlroy instead of regular Nate Foster paid off as the striker scored the only goal of the contest ten minutes after the break.
Hume City found it extremely difficult to put away their chances against a solid Thunder defence however disappointed coach Louie Acevski admitted it was his side who did not come out to play.
It is the Thunder's turn to host last season's Grand Final rematch on Friday night while Hume City travel to South Melbourne on Sunday.
Oakleigh Cannons 3 (Zoric 72' Bosnjak 86' Smith 90')
Bentleigh Greens 2 (O'Dea 52' Stirton 66')
Jack Edwards Reserve
Oakleigh Cannons pulled off a miraculous comeback at home, scoring three goals in the final 15 minutes of the game to defeat second placed Bentleigh Greens 3-2.
Melbourne Victory midfielder Luke O'Dea got the ball rolling in the 52nd minute mark and Bentleigh Greens looked to have a comfortable lead when David Striton doubled the advantage with less than half an hour to go.
However Oakleigh clicked into another gear and a goal each to Goran Zoric and Dusan Bosnjak saw the hosts on equal terms with only stoppage time remaining.
The hosts were clearly not content with sharing the points and completed their amazing comeback when Alex Smith volleyed into an empty net with only seconds left on the clock.
Bentleigh Greens return home next week to take on Pascoe Vale while Oakleigh Cannons travel to Dandenong in what should be a thrilling encounter.
| POS | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northcote City | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 9 | 33 | 37 |
| 2 | Bentleigh Greens | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 27 | 15 | 12 | 28 |
| 3 | Melbourne Knights | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 18 | 6 | 28 |
| 4 | Hume City | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 29 | -5 | 28 |
| 5 | Green Gully Cavaliers | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 24 |
| 6 | Port Melbourne Sharks | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 23 | -2 | 24 |
| 7 | South Melbourne | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 22 |
| 8 | Oakleigh Cannons | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 26 | 22 | 4 | 21 |
| 9 | Dandenong Thunder | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 22 | 20 | 2 | 20 |
| 10 | Pascoe Vale | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 19 | -3 | 16 |
| 11 | Richmond | 15 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 35 | -15 | 7 |
| 12 | Southern Stars | 16 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 45 | -35 | 3 |
Round 12 Fixtures
Bentleigh Greens v Pascoe Vale, 8:15 pm, Friday 9 August, Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Dandenong Thunder v Oakleigh Cannons, 8:30pm, Friday 9 August, George Andrews Reserve
Port Melbourne v Richmond, 8:30 Friday 9 August, JL Murphy Reserve
Green Gully v Northcote City, 3:00pm Saturday 10 August, Green Gully Reserve
Southern Stars v Melbourne Knights, 6:00pm Saturday 10 August, Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
South Melbourne v Hume City, 3:00pm Sunday 11 August, Lakeside Stadium