VPL Wrap: Two horse race

Northcote keep their head above water, Melbourne Knights keep on keeping on. The battle for the finals positions is intriguing as the Victorian Premier League completed week 19.

Bentleigh Greens 2 (Sherbon 52' (p) 65' (p))
Northcote City 4 (Webster (OG)  28' Lujic 70' (p) 88’ Kounavelis 73')
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex

Northcote kept themselves on top of the ladder with a 4-2 win over [likely] finals bound Bentleigh Greens, coming from behind with three goals in the last 20 mins to stay in first position and all but guarantee a top two finish this close to finals.

The Greens keep their ticket in the top five for now but look the most vulnerable with a few weeks remaining. They play Port Melbourne away next week and must grab a point at the very least, Northcote have Dandenong at home.

Credit: Cindy Nitsos

Dandenong Thunder 0
Melbourne Knights 1 (Barisic 81’)
George Andrews Reserve

The Knights continue to take everything before them and look the most likely to steal the accolades from Northcote City. A late winner away at Dandenong continued the Knights’ good form and consolidated their spot second on the ladder.

A huge traditional Melbourne derby against South Melbourne is up next for the Knights. Dandenong need to win their remaining games starting against top side Northcote.


Green Gully Cavaliers 2 (Hayne 55’ 75’)
Richmond 2 (Sweet 68’ Cahill 88’ (p))
Green Gully Reserve

Tom Cahill joined Green Gully in the off season only to re-join Richmond mid-season and he came back to haunt the Cavaliers with a late penalty to see the points shared and cost Green Gully a spot in the final five.

Gully now need to string some wins together if they are going to challenge for yet another year, starting with Southern Stars at home. Richmond, who are looking to take a few scalps in the run home, have Oakleigh at Jack Edwards.


Southern Stars 0
Port Melbourne Sharks 5 (Burgess 3' (OG) Hockless 41' 58' Honos 65' Mason 80')
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex

Port Melbourne emphatically accounted for lowly Southern Stars with a 5-0 win. At 2-0 at half time the score line flattered the Sharks but the 5-0 end result was just reward as VPL star Graeme Hockless ran riot.

Port Melbourne must now be considered a genuine threat in the finals as they sit third on the table with the game at home against Bentleigh this weekend likely match of the round. Stars face the toughest away game in the VPL at Green Gully.


Hume City 2 (Sekulovski 9’ Ofli 67’)
Oakleigh Cannons 3 (Bosnjak 27’ Zoric 61 Christodoulou 90’)
Broadmeadows Valley Park

Oakleigh kept their slim finals hope alive whilst drastically cutting Hume's chances in a 3-2 away win. A late goal to the Cannons' Evan Christodoulou broke the hearts of Hume as they recorded their fourth loss on the trot and slipped to seventh on the table after being a genuine chance to catch top spot a month ago.

Oakleigh are mathematically a chance and need to get more wins on the board continuing away at Richmond next weekend. Hume needs to get back on track but it doesn't get any easier with an away fixture at Port Melbourne.


South Melbourne 3 (Soolsma 6’ Hopper 30’ Rixon 53’)
Pascoe Vale 2 (L. Santilli 8’ Ferrante (p) 18’)
Lakeside Stadium

South Melbourne kept their foot in the finals door and set up an intriguing traditional Melbourne derby next weekend against the Knights with a 3-2 win over Pascoe Vale. With 2-2 the score at the half time break South fans could have be forgiven for feeling a little pessimistic given the inconsistent form their team have produced all season, but marksman Trent Rixon pobbed up and did what he does best to score. Pascoe Vale can still shape the top five and have their own local derby versus Hume City coming up.

POS	TEAM	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Northcote City	19	12	4	3	47	15	32	40
2	Melbourne Knights	19	11	4	4	29	20	9	37
3	Port Melbourne Sharks	19	10	3	6	31	24	7	33
4	Bentleigh Greens	19	8	7	4	35	23	12	31
5	South Melbourne	19	9	4	6	39	32	7	31
6	Green Gully Cavaliers	18	8	4	6	28	24	4	28
7	Hume City	19	9	1	9	28	40	-12	28
8	Dandenong Thunder	18	8	3	7	27	24	3	24
9	Oakleigh Cannons	18	7	3	8	31	29	2	24
10	Pascoe Vale	19	4	5	10	21	28	-7	17
11	Richmond	18	2	5	11	24	41	-17	11
12	Southern Stars	19	1	3	15	11	51	-40	6