An elongated Round 23 running from Friday to Tuesday provided plenty of fireworks with 21 goals, 20 cautions and three red cards across the six games. Top of the table extended their lead again, while the gap between second and third was cut to a point. The teams from fourth to seventh in the table once again played musical chairs with their ladder positions in the battle for finals football, while one side refuses to be counted out.
This week the premier can potentially be locked in, while the race for the top six is sure to have another twist in the tail.
It’s been a week of mixed emotions for Oakleigh Cannons. After a successful trip to Sydney where they booked their place in the Round of 16 of the Australia Cup, they were brought back down to earth on Monday with defeat at the hands of Bentleigh.
However, 24 hours later the mood around Oakleigh was lifted again when Port Melbourne’s defeat of Avondale resulted in the Cannons being crowned NPLM Victoria Premiers for the 2021 season.
Oakleigh's celebrations did come with a twist however, as Port’s win put the Sharks just one point behind the Cannons. Looking to return to winning ways, tonight they welcome Melbourne Knights to Jack Edwards Reserve.
The slim chances of the Knights achieving a finals berth were dashed in heart breaking fashion last Friday night when a 91st minute penalty saw Dandenong Thunder steal all three points from Somers Street.
The Knights have done enough to avoid the relegation scrap in recent weeks, but overall the side from Sunshine have struggled for consistency throughout their 2022 campaign, only ever able to string two wins together once this season.
Steve Bebic’s side have been able to take it to almost any side this season, even beating potential minor premiers South Melbourne back in Round 16, but too often have found a way to lose close games. Seven of the 12 defeats the Knights have endured this season have been by a single goal.
One of those narrow defeats was against the Cannons back in Round 11, and Oakleigh have enjoyed playing Melbourne this year. Chris Taylor’s side also downed the Knights in the Australia Cup in June, that time in far more convincing fashion putting four past them without reply.
Joe Guest found the back of the net in the Round 11 clash and has converted in both the cup and the league in the past week. One of the many Oakleigh goal threats, he will hope to keep the ball rolling this week as the Cannons look to lock up a top a two finish.
Eastern Lions fixture against St Albans was postponed last weekend, but even with a game in hand they can no longer mathematically catch reach safety, and have now been relegated from Victoria’s top flight.
With pride is still well and truly on the line in their last four fixtures, this Saturday they welcome Hume City to Gardiners Creek.
Hume are currently safe but their position in the table is far from comfortable, sitting only two points above the relegation places. Averaging two goals a game across their three contests prior to last Saturday night, they drew a blank against Green Gully, falling 2-0 to the Cavaliers.
City have now lost two on the bounce, but this week could prove the perfect opportunity to bounce back to winning ways against their already relegated opposition. A win for Hume and defeat for Dandenong City would see Goran Lozanovski’s side hold a five point gap with two games left to play in the season.
Full back Lachlan Weier was the unlikely goal scorer the last time the two sides met, and interestingly, he was also the last person to score for Hume. His injury time consolation against Heidelberg a fortnight ago just his second for the season.
For the Lions, the last month has seen a significant squad reshuffling, as the club prepares for what they hope is a quick trip down to NPL2 next season. Moving forward, the key will be figuring out who in their squad is committed for the journey in 2023, and who will look to stay in the top flight with another club.
Over the last four games of their season, the Lions squad will likely see a few more fresh faces as they look to end their three year stint in NPL Victoria on a high.
The joy from Avondale’s successful trip to Darwin in the Australia Cup last week was short lived, as on Tuesday they were dealt a double blow against Port Melbourne. Their 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Sharks not only saw them drop out of the top six, but it also saw Oakleigh leapfrog them to be awarded the 2021 Premiership.
They were also dealt yet another blow in what has been a season marred by injury. A week after losing Manny Aguek against Altona, Stefan Zinni was forced to withdraw after just five minutes against Port.
The Avengers will hope that the fickle nature of football is in their favour this Saturday when they look to climb back into the finals places on the road against Dandenong City.
Last round was one to forget for Dandenong as well, with a 5-1 defeat against Heidelberg putting a dent in their survival hopes. After two wins, and a draw against third placed Port Melbourne, in amongst Dandy City’s five games prior to last week, the performance against the Bergers was far from what coach Ljuban Palanic would have envisioned.
After conceding four of the five goals from crosses into the box, one can assume what the City training sessions may have looked like this week. Especially considering the striker they will come up against this weekend in the form of Liam Boland.
The Avondale big man returned from injury rocking a superhero-esque mask in his sides Australia Cup fixture last week and put in a super performance to boot, netting a hattrick. Then in the Avengers loss to the Sharks on Tuesday, Boland nodded home from a free kick to make it four in his last two. An ominous sign for Dandy City.
One positive for the side from the deep south east to come out of their defeat on Sunday was the continued form of new signing Tommy Semmy. The winger has impressed since signing, and netted his first goal for the club in some style, driving past multiple defenders before slotting into the corer from 20 yards.
Pace down the flanks was something that the Avengers struggled with against Port, and Semmy will look to exploit this come Saturday evening.
The two sides played out a stalemate last time they met, and the City faithful will hope for a similar level of defensive fortitude this time around, while Avondale will hope the goals flow as freely as they did in Darwin last week.
After witnessing Bentleigh Greens upset Oakleigh the night before, Port Melbourne then took the stage on Tuesday night to defeat Avondale to put themselves just a point behind the Cannons. After coasting in third place for nearly two months the Sharks now find themselves well and truly in the hunt for their first ever top two finish.
This week they face the biggest test of their championship credibility, when they welcome league leaders and local rivals South Melbourne to JL Murphy reserve.
After South’s defeat of the Altona Magic last weekend, Oakleigh’s Monday night loss now means that South can wrap up the minor Premiership with a win on Saturday.
Boasting the best goal difference in the top flight, Esteban Quintas’ side have displayed their ability to score with ease from open play or set pieces all year. Their 2-0 victory over the Magic last Saturday was typical of this, slicing through the Altona defence for their first before nodding home from a corner for their second.
Pat Langlois was impressive again for South, poking home the opener from close range. Composed on the ball while robust in the challenge, the 22-year-old has been a key piece in the heart of the South Melbourne midfield this season. Langlois has also chipped in with nine goals this campaign, two of those coming in the last three games.
For the Sharks, they are a different side to the one that was handed a 3-0 defeat at Lakeside back at the end of April. Chris Duggan, who missed that fixture, has looked sharp since returning from injury and his tally is now up to 11 for the season. Jackson Courtney-Perkins had yet to open his account back in Round 11 but has found the back of the net eight times since.
The Port Melbourne backline has been similarly impressive this season, with South the only side in the top flight to have conceded fewer goals than the Sharks.
Both sides will be without key players this week after South full back Ben Djiba and Port midfielder George Mells were shown straight reds last round. How each coach shuffles the squad to deal with their absentees may prove the difference in such a close contest.
Since their Round 11 clash, South and Port have the exact same record in the league. Both sides have registered nine wins, a draw and two losses, while scoring 26 times and conceding 11 times.
Evidently it’s impossible to split these two.
The Bentleigh Greens are rolling at the minute. Their dramatic extra time victory in the Australia Cup last Thursday was followed on Monday night by a 3-2 defeat of second placed Oakleigh. The side from Kingston Heath are now unbeaten in their last 11 in all competitions and find themselves fourth the league, with a place in the last 16 of the Australia Cup and the final of the Dockerty Cup.
This weekend they travel across town face off with an Altona Magic side currently on their leanest run in the last two seasons. Defeat against top of the table South Melbourne last Saturday was their sixth in row. The Magic have scored just twice in that span, and have the second lowest goal tally in NPL Victoria in 2022.
While already eliminated from finals contention, Altona’s slide hasn’t seen them drop too far down the table. Still sitting two games ahead of the relegation spots, and with Dandenong City facing three games against top half opposition to round out the season, the Magic appear to have done enough.
Savvas Patikkis will not be resting on his laurels, however, with the Magic coach well aware of how quickly fortunes can change in football. If his side need any help getting up for the contest this weekend, a chance to put an end to the current longest running unbeaten streak in the top flight is as good a motivator as any.
For the Greens, their win against the Cannons was a great preview for the Dockerty Cup Final in two weeks. Now level in the season series with Oakleigh, the clash on August 6th will is set up to be a mouth-watering tie breaker between the local rivals.
Nick Tolios’ side will be brimming with confidence when they head to Paisley Park, but would do well to remember the frustrating evening they had in the reverse fixture at Kingston Heath. The Magic held the Greens to a 0-0 stalemate that night and while Bentleigh are in good form of late, they can still ill afford to drop points.
Such is the tightly packed nature of the battle for finals places, the fourth placed Greens could drop out of the top six should they fail to secure anything but a win on Saturday night.
Rounding out proceedings on Sunday are the two sides who were in action midweek in the Australia Cup as Green Gully take trip east to lock horns with Heidelberg United.
The nation’s eyes were on Olympic Village Wednesday night, when Heidelberg hosted A-League powerhouse Brisbane Roar for their Round of 32 clash. It wasn’t to be for the Bergers, falling 3-1 in the end, but they can hold their heads high knowing they held their own against the professional side.
After going behind in the second minute, the Bergers clawed their way back to equalise in the second half from the penalty spot. However, as the old adage goes: you are most vulnerable just after you have scored, and this proved the case with the three-time A-League Champions answering back just minutes later. To their credit, United stayed in the contest up until five minutes from time when a stunning free kick from Brisbane’s Nikola Mileusnic put the game to bed.
For the Cavaliers, they travelled interstate to take on Illawarra Premier League outfit Wollongong United and booked their place in the last 16 with a 3-2 win. Coming from behind twice, Gully showed resolve in front of a nearly 1500 strong Wollongong home crowd. Goals from Alex Salmon, Gianluca Iannucci and Josh Hope proving the difference in the end.
In the league, both sides have enjoyed a return to form in the last fortnight, picking up six points over their last two contests. Heidelberg and Gully currently sit level on points with Bentleigh Greens in the NPL Victoria table with 39 a piece. Goal difference is all that separates the sides with the Cavaliers sitting in fifth, ahead of the Bergers by a mere three goals. With Avondale two points back in seventh, a loss for either side could see them drop out of the finals places.
The season series between the two sides is locked at 1-1 with Gully running out 4-0 winners back in Round 11, but Heidelberg knocking Gully out of the Dockerty Cup 3-2 at the end of June.
A top six finish and 2022 bragging rights on the line come Sunday afternoon.