Too much quality football on one night is a dream for fans, but it can mean that higher profile matches get the larger share of the crowds.
That was the case last night as Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City clashed in a hugely anticipated finals A-League derby at a packed Etihad Stadium.
Thousands of die-hard Greek Australian football fans flocked to the city to cheer on their top flight clubs, leaving behind another derby and a NPL champion to battle without much support.
The Friday night scheduling saw NPL greats South Melbourne take on Avondale FC at Lakeside Stadium, while FFA Cup darlings Bentleigh Greens play a Greek derby against Northcote City at Kingston Heath.
The Greens jumped ahead of South Melbourne in the last week thanks to a 0-2 win away against Avondale, still undefeated in the league.
South Melbourne were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw against fellow Greek-sponsored club Port Melbourne Sharks, which lost them second place but still kept their undefeated streak alive.
Port Melbourne might have been buoyed by holding last year’s champions, but lost it where it counted this week when they lost their FFA Cup match against Avondale on Tuesday.
They fought back twice to take the game to extra time and penalties, but weren’t able to go the distance.
It’ll be hard for them to enter another match so soon when they take on Green Gully away today.
Ladder leaders Heidelberg will travel to meet sleeping giant Hume City today.
City has had a very inconsistent season so far, but have shown in the past that they can cause major upsets.
Heidelberg will be coming into the match fired up after it succumbed to last placed North Geelong in a dirty 0-0 match last week.
Oakleigh Cannons have made it two for two under new coach Arthur Papas, and will be chasing a third when they take on Werribee City on Sunday.
The side has definitely changed tact, finally earning some impressive results.
The Cannons managed to shoot through four goals against Dandenong Thunder last week, and can say they’ve bagged 10 goals scored in their last five games, compared to just two goals scored in their first five games.