It’s the battle of the Greeks on top of the NPL ladder.
South Melbourne has the chance to grow their five point lead tomorrow, but are becoming quite weary of fellow Greek sponsored club Oakleigh Cannons coming up from behind.
The Cannons might not have South Melbourne’s five win streak, but they don’t have a loss either. Their three wins and two draws means they haven’t succumbed to anyone yet, and have shown their strong defence is more than capable of upsetting a team hell-bent on getting a win.
They managed to subdue a fellow VPL team, Dandenong Thunder last week in a 0-0 draw, but failed to get make strong enough opportunities to give their attackers a chance.
NPL Player of the Month Dusan Bosnjak had a chance in the first half but his strike fell short of the goal post.
Also on the pitch again for the Cannons after a small stint in training last year was Greek League player Andrea Govas. The former Kalloni player’s signing a
few weeks ago has proven positive, as the experienced player is gelling well with the club and creating good opportunities.
The Cannons come up against another VPL team this Sunday, this time they play Hume City away.
Hume City bounced back from a South Melbourne loss to defeat Melbourne Knights 0-1.
A Jose Guerrero goal in the 77th minute was enough to seal a win and deflate the Knights.
South Melbourne are hoping to capitalise on the Knight’s disappointment as they finish the NPL fixture with weekend at Knight’s stadium.
The club is currently in an unprecedented run, claiming their longest wining steak away and having their coach named the best in the league for the month.
Coach Chris Taylor oversaw the fifth win in a row last Thursday when South pushed the Ballarat Red Devils into submission, ending with a clean 2-0 win.
The margin could have been a bit bigger if technicalities were pushed aside. Milos Lujic had a goal disallowed for offside in the 70th minute, and his
rebounded goal fell short of the line in the first half.
“We didn’t play well but sometimes you have to play ugly to win games and I thought we did that a bit today,” Taylor said.
“You can’t complain with five straight, it’s pretty good.”
A wonky start to the season might be over for Northcote City, after it scored it’s second straight win, this time against Port Melbourne.
The club will be in good spirits when it comes up against Werribee City today.
City had a very entertaining match last week against fellow rural club Goulburn Valley Suns FC, ending in a 3-4 win to City.
The club sits fifth on the ladder and is one of the clubs best suited to dethrone the VPL greats above them.