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Pascoe Vale 1 (Youssef 53')
Hume City 1 (Erdogan 45')
Hosken Reserve
Pascoe Vale all but ended Hume City's chance of a Top-5 finish with a 1-1 draw at Hosken Reserve on Friday night.
The visitors, who were enjoying the higher sections of the VPL table mid-season, have now slumped down to 7th courtesy of captain Joseph Youssef's equaliser only eight minutes after Isyan Erdogan's goal put Hume City in front just after the half time restart.
Luca Santilli had the chance to get the ball rolling for the visitors after 12 minutes however Chris Oldfield done exceptionally well to save his one-on-one attempt.
Hume also suffered a late blow, with Nick Hegarty being sent off in the dying stages for a "dangerous tackle" on Greg Lombardo. He will now miss their next game against the high flying Melbourne Knights.
Pascoe Vale travel to Oakleigh Cannons in a fortnight.
Port Melbourne Sharks 0
Bentleigh Greens 2 (De Vries 23', Sherbon 26)
JL Murphy Reserve
Goals to Ryan De Vries and Luke Sherbon were enough for an understrength Bentleigh to find a much needed win over the Sharks.
On 23 minutes De Vries rounded his marker on the left before blasting an unstoppable shot past Hrehoresin into the side netting to open the scoring. Three minutes later Welshman Sherbon expertly curled the ball into the bottom corner to hand the Greens their second.
Richmond 3 (Eterovic 18' Cahill 67' 85')
Oakleigh Cannons 2 (Bosnjak 27' Christodoulou 64')
Kevin Bartlett Reserve
Richmond captured their first home win of the season with a remarkable 3-2 victory over Oakleigh Cannons on Friday Night.
The hosts took an early lead, only to fall behind to last year's Grand FInalists, before a late brace by Tom Cahill sealed their third win of the season and all but ended Oakleigh's slim finals chances.
Mate Eterovic got the ball rolling after 18 minutes and less than ten minutes later it was Dusan Bosnjak who was once again on the scoresheet for the visitors.
Evan Christodoulou's half volley past Aarom Romein in goal at the 64th minute gave the visitors the lead however that was short lived as Cahill inked his name on the scoresheet just three minutes later.
He captured his brace with a tap-in, with only five minutes remaining in the contest.
Richmond will look to continue their winning ways when they take on Southern Stars after the bye, while Oakleigh Cannons host Pascoe Vale.
Green Gully Cavaliers 3 (Jones 67' Ederaro 88' 92')
Southern Stars 0
Green Gully Reserve
Green Gully had to wait until the 67th minute mark to break the deadlock against cellar-dwellers Southern Starts on Saturday afternoon.
With the first half providing limited chances for both sides, Gully took the lead through Daniel Jones' tap in, while Osaie Ederaro left it very late to capture his brace.
The win ensured the hosts are still a chance to make the VPL finals this season, having played in every finals series since 2001.
However, they have the State Knockout Cup final to contest against Dandenong Thunder on Sunday afternoon before their next VPL game against Bentleigh Greens.
Southern Stars travel to Richmond after the bye.
Northcote City 2 (Kounavelis 48' Lujic 65')
Dandenong Thunder 1 (McIlroy 27')
John Cain Memorial Park
Northcote City earned a crucial three points after their come-from-behind victory against 2012 Champions Dandenong Thunder at John Cain Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon.
With the Knights hot on their heels, the hosts needed a win to keep their noses in front in the race to the top of the table.
Dandenong took the lead just before the half hour mark when he slotted Eric Frazier's cross into the box.
However, the ladder leaders hit back three minutes after the break when Kounavelis' low, curling shot sailed past Zaim Zeneli in goal.
Northcote were then awarded a penalty after a handball in the box by a Dandenong defender, and Milos Lujic stepped up to seal the three points for the hosts.
They take on South Melbourne in a fortnight while Dandenong Thunder play in the State Knockout Cup final against Green Gully on Sunday afternoon. They host Port Melbourne in their next VPL contest.
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| Credit: Cindy Nitsos |
Melbourne Knights 2 (McGarry 26' Barisic 67')
South Melbourne 1 (Holmes 32')
Knights Stadium
Andrew Barisic was again the hero for the Melbourne Knights as they defeated arch rivals South Melbourne in the 87th Melbourne Derby at Knights Stadium.
The hosts took the lead through mid-season signing James McGarry, whose over-hit long range free kick sailed over Peter Galavas and into the back of the net with the assistance of the slight breeze.
South Melbourne equalised only seven minutes later through Holmes, and the travelling away fans thought they had the lead just before the half time break when Trent Rixon's attempt his the back of the net, only to be denied by the assistant referee.
It was yet again that man Barisic who took his chance at the 67th minute mark to give the hosts what would be the winning goal, when he found the top corner of the net with a brilliant strike.
There were a few nervy final moments as Chris May's mis-kick landed right in the path of Alan Kearney, however the goal keeper done just enough to get a touch on the ball to tip it over the bar.
Knights travel to Hume City in a fortnight while South Melbourne take on ladder-leaders Northcote City.
| POS | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northcote City | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 49 | 16 | 33 | 43 |
| 2 | Melbourne Knights | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 21 | 10 | 40 |
| 3 | Bentleigh Greens | 20 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 37 | 23 | 14 | 34 |
| 4 | Port Melbourne Sharks | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 31 | 26 | 5 | 33 |
| 5 | Green Gully Cavaliers | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 31 | 24 | 7 | 31 |
| 6 | South Melbourne | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 31 |
| 7 | Hume City | 20 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 29 | 41 | -12 | 29 |
| 8 | Dandenong Thunder | 19 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 28 | 26 | 2 | 24 |
| 9 | Oakleigh Cannons | 19 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 33 | 32 | 1 | 24 |
| 10 | Pascoe Vale | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 22 | 29 | -7 | 18 |
| 11 | Richmond | 19 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 27 | 43 | -16 | 14 |
| 12 | Southern Stars | 20 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 11 | 54 | -43 | 6 |
Round 21 Fixtures:
Bentleigh Greens v Green Gully Cavaliers, 8:15 pm, Friday 13 September, Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Richmond v Southern Stars, 8:30pm, Friday 13 September, Kevin Bartlett Reserve
Dandenong Thunder v Port Melbourne Sharks, 7:00pm Saturday 14 September, George Andrews Reserve
South Melbourne v Northcote City, 8:00pm Saturday 14 September, Lakeside Stadium
Hume CIty v Melbourne Knights, 3:00pm Sunday 15 September, Broadmeadows Valley Park
Oakeigh Cannons v Pascoe Vale, 3:15pm Sunday 15 September, Jack Edwards Reserve