The weekend’s slate of fixtures were full of intrigue and coupled with the Australia Cup matches midweek it’s been a feast of footballing action over the last seven days.
The original Melbourne Derby delivered all the drama fans would’ve hoped for, but the league leaders stay ahead as yet again their chasers dropped points. Elsewhere, a welcome return to winning ways boosted the hopes of one side in the relegation zone, while defeat for another further compounded their struggles. Places in the middle of the pack continue to chop and change as teams jostle for position heading into Round 17.
The Melbourne Knights camp must be having a strong feeling of déjà vu at the moment. After another dramatic, spirit-lifting win on Friday they once again were brought crashing back down to earth at the hands of the Oakleigh Cannons midweek.
Gian Albano’s incredible solo 94th minute winner against league leaders South Melbourne sent Knights Stadium into raptures on Friday night. Although, the palpable buzz among the Knights’ faithful after the dramatic derby win was gone as they left Knights Stadium on Tuesday. A 4-0 defeat to the Cannons in the Australia Cup more than enough to dampen the mood in Sunshine.
This week they travelled to Kingston Heath to take on the Bentleigh Greens, who saw all three points slip away late against Heidelberg on Sunday. That now makes it three weeks in a row that the Greens have let points slip from winning positions, a worrying trend for coach Nick Tolios to ponder.
Bentleigh currently sit two points and two league positions above their visitors in sixth, but such is the congested nature of the NPL Victoria table that defeat to the Knights could see them drop as low as ninth.
Greens' top scorer this season Pierce Waring was unable to find the back of the net on a wet afternoon at Olympic Village on Sunday, but he did when his side last played the Knights back in Round 4.
As for the Knights, Gian Albano netted twice when his side won the reverse fixture 3-2, and is evidently in good form despite the heavy loss in the cup on Tuesday.
The Knights will need to find some consistency if they are to make a push for the finals as they haven’t been able to string two wins together since the Round 7.
Avondale snapped a five game streak without a win on Sunday as they comfortably put away St Albans 3-0 at Churchill Reserve. The win opened up a small amount of breathing space between the Avengers and the rest of the finals hopefuls.
This week they welcome Hume City to Avenger Park, who are hoping their loss to Dandenong City on Saturday is just a blip on what has been a productive period for the club of late.
Despite the recent progress Hume had been making, the defeat now means they are only two points above a relegation places. With Dandy City hot on their heels, Hume will look to re-kindle the type of vigour in their performance that saw them defeat third placed Port Melbourne the week prior.
Alex Walters’ goal for Hume made it the fifth week in a row the forward has come off the bench and found the back of the net. Has he finally earnt a starting berth, or does coach Nick Hegarty see him able to make the most impact as a substitute?
For Avondale, top scorer Liam Boland netted his eighth in the league and 10th in all competitions in 2022 against the Saints on Sunday. He also found the back of the net when the two sides last met in Round 4, when his side ran out 3-0 winners.
The Avondale faithful will hope that his form continues this weekend as the Avengers need to consolidate now that they’ve picked up their first three points since April.
Dandenong City’s survival hopes were given a huge boost with their crucial win over relegation rivals Hume on Saturday night. A double from talisman Nick Kalmar, including a stunning 40 yard free kick winner, saw his side draw within two points of Hume and safety from the drop.
This Saturday they play host to Green Gully, who lost third place in the table as quickly as they earned it after defeat to Port Melbourne last Friday night. Either side of that loss however, have been resounding 4-0 wins. Firstly, against Altona Magic in the league, and then on Tuesday night against State League opposition Whittlesea United in the Australia Cup.
While Gully’s league form has been unpredictable of late, their cup form has been anything but, yet to concede a goal as they march on to the national stage of the competition. Stephen Downes will hope his side can re-find that type of form in the league again to stay in touch with the top three.
Nahuel Bonada netted the only goal against the Sharks and then again against Whittlesea to take his tally to nine in all competitions this campaign for the Cavaliers. In was also his strike from the penalty spot that secured his side’s 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture.
For Dandy City, their second win of the season comes at a welcome time, but there is still a mountain left to climb in their quest for safety. In a season where goals have been hard to come by, top scorer Nick Kalmar’s four have been crucial. Kalmar has only managed 10 appearances this season, however, so getting him on the pitch as much as possible in the back half of this campaign will be a priority.
The match against Hume was the first time since Round 6 that they have managed to score twice in a game, something they will need to replicate a few more times if they are to avoid the drop. In a league of such fine margins, a second goal can often prove the difference.
Port Melbourne immediately bounced back from their shock loss to Hume in Round 15 with a convincing 3-1 victory away at Green Gully. Saturday evening sees them host the struggling Eastern Lions under the lights at JL Murphy Reserve.
Disappointingly for the Lions, for the second time in the last four weeks they followed up a stout defensive away performance with a underwhelming loss at home, falling 1-0 to Altona on Saturday. Sitting bottom of the NPL Victoria table, six points from Hume who sit safely in 12th place, Andrea Lombardo’s side have it all to do.
The Sharks meanwhile, are enjoying life in the league at the moment, sitting third in the table, four points ahead of Green Gully in fourth. They remain in touching distance of the top two as well, five points behind second placed Oakleigh, and six behind league leaders South Melbourne.
Sharks young gun Jackson Courtney-Perkins picked up in June from where he left off in May, heading home for his sixth of the campaign.
Striker Christopher Duggan returned after a nearly two month layoff, and didn’t miss a beat netting with a smart turn and finish from the edge of the box. Duggan’s tally is now at seven in just 10 games, and the tall forward netted twice back in Round 4 in the Sharks 3-0 win in over the Lions at Gardiners Creek.
Ominous signs one would think for the battling Lions, but taking recent results into account, the fixture could yet prove fruitful. In the past month, their home form has been lacking, but away from home they have shown to frustrate quality opposition. Taking a point from Heidelberg and the red hot Oakleigh Cannons in their last two away fixtures, can they again put up a fight on the road?
Altona Magic had a welcome return to winning ways against Eastern Lions, winning 1-0 in a game where it could have been more. Some lackadaisical finishing kept the score closer than Savvas Patikkis perhaps would have liked.
He will hope his side is more clinical this week when they welcome Dandenong Thunder to Paisley Park. The Thunder have struggled to find form in recent weeks. Their past three matches across all competitions have seen them endure defeat twice at the hands of Heidelberg and play out a 0-0 draw against Oakleigh.
The run has seen them slide back down the table to ninth, sitting just two points above their hosts. The Magic can also take confidence from their 2-0 victory when the sides last met in back in March.
Much like the Thunder, the Magic have been unable to forge out any sort of consistency in their results this season. They have struggled to find the back of the net in 2022, with their 12 goals the lowest tally of any team in the NPL Victoria this season.
One could be forgiven for potentially expecting a cagey affair of few chances in this match, given both teams current form. Then again, football is a funny old game and this contest could very well turn out to be a high scoring affair.
St Albans failed to build on their victory over Dandenong City in Round 15, as they fell 3-0 at home to Avondale on the weekend. This weekend provides no respite for the Saints as they travel to Lakeside Stadium to take on top of the table South Melbourne.
South themselves are reeling from their dramatic last minute derby loss to Melbourne Knights last Friday. The league leaders have hit a little bit of a mid-season speedbump in recent weeks. In the past month they have lost twice and been forced to come from behind to earn three points in the other two fixtures, shipping at least two goals in each match.
A once stout defence that had only conceded eight times across the first 12 rounds has now let through the same amount in just a four match span. Had Oakleigh Cannons not dropped points at bottom placed Eastern Lions in Round 15 or against the Thunder on the weekend, Estaban Quintas’ side might very well have been knocked off their perch.
As it stands, South still hold a slender lead one point lead at the top and will need to find a return to form this Saturday night if it is to stay that way.
For St Albans, the loss at the weekend finds them at the bottom of the mid table pack in 11th. They still sit a comfortable eight points ahead of 12th placed Hume, and 10 points clear of the relegation spots.
However, Saints coach Kruni Razov will know that the scene could change very quickly should they go on a similar losing streak that preceded their Round 15 win over Dandy City.
Victory could see them jump as high as eighth in the table, potentially leapfrogging Melbourne Knights, who defeated their opponents just a week ago.
Two sides that booked their place in the Round of 32 of the Australia Cup midweek face off on Monday evening to wrap up the Round 17 action. High flyers Oakleigh welcome a Heidelberg United side that have been gaining momentum in recent weeks.
After a lacklustre start to their campaign, things seem to be seem to be starting to click for the Bergers. Seven points from their last three league fixtures, including the defeat of league leaders South Melbourne, has seen them climb to seventh in the table.
Their cup victory over Dandenong Thunder on Wednesday makes them now unbeaten in their last eight in all competitions.
Hoping to bring an end to that streak is a Cannons side looking to find the same level of cutthroat finishing in the league that they displayed in the cup midweek. They made light work of Melbourne Knights on Tuesday, running away comfortable 4-0 winners thanks to a second half hattrick from Joe Knowles.
However, the past two rounds of league football have seen them struggle to breakthrough, converting just once as they shared the points with both Eastern Lions and the Thunder. The results have them still sitting second in the table, with Chris Taylor likely frustrated his side haven’t been able to capitalise on South Melbourne’s slip ups.
Knowles’ hattrick in the cup takes his tally in all competitions to 11 this campaign, while top scorer Wade Dekker also netted his 12th. For the Bergers, their main man Kaine Sheppard backed up his late equaliser on the weekend with another goal in the cup on Wednesday. The Heidelberg striker has been in scorching form across all competitions this season, with 17 goals in 20 matches.
When the two sides met back in Round 4, the Bergers inflicted one of Oakleigh’s only two defeats this season, shaping up Monday evening as a potential game of the round candidate.