With round 11 marking the middle of 2013 Victorian Premier League season, Northcote City has entered the second part of the competition as the best team, continuing its undefeated run. The Hercules boys carved out a five goals victory (5-0) in a match that was expected to be a tight encounter with the second (now third) on the ladder Hume City, with doubles scored by Milos Lujic and James Kalifatidis, and Kristian Konstantinidis sealing the win with the final score.
In the round twelve 12 of Victorian Premier League, Northcote will play a Greek derby with Oakleigh on Friday evening. With Miron Bleiberg on the bench, the Cannons have seen their form improve, winning two out of three past matches. They have also just signed former Dandenong Thunder attacker Veton Korcari.
Last weekend, Cannons lost to Melbourne Knights at their ground (0-1), which left them in the second half of the table. The win in Oakleigh brought the fourth on the ladder position for Knights, who will take on Pascoe Vale on Friday night in a second consecutive away match. Pascoe Vale drew with Richmond in round eleven (1-1).
After a painful five points loss to ladder leaders Northcote City, Hume City will be looking to bounce back this Sunday, when it welcomes Port Melbourne at home. The Sharks are expected to be full of confidence after their 1-0 win against South Melbourne last Sunday, especially since they are still undefeated in all their away games this season.
This week has been overwhelming for South Melbourne, who failed to come out of the game with the Sharks with at least one point, in what was their first home loss in the 2013 season and second loss in consecutive matches. The Sharks’ win has seen the newly-promoted team jump into fifth place on the VPL table, one point above South Melbourne. As South Melbourne general manager Peter Kokotis told Neos Kosmos, the squad was unlucky not to use any of its goal chances, but says the team was not inferior nor was it dominated by the Sharks.
“We were desperately unlucky last week. Port Melbourne had one attack for the whole game and scored. Unfortunately, the result is what people remember – they won’t remember the game. But we can’t walk out and say we were dominated,” Kokotis told Neos Kosmos.
“We would like to think that the roll with the Greens will start coming our way. We have to start wining at home, if we want to play finals,” Kokotis said.
In round twelve this Sunday, South Melbourne will be welcoming Green Gully Cavaliers at their ground, in what will be their first match with new coach Chris Taylor in charge of the squad.
In the first encounter of two sides in 2013 season, South Melbourne won against the Cavaliers by 3-0.
The home side will be boosted by attacking Dutchman Nick Soolsma, who was signed by the club at the end of June, for the rest of the 2013 Victorian Premier League season. The 25-year-old arrives at Lakeside Stadium after playing at Major League Soccer (MLS) side Toronto FC and most recently Eerste Divisie (Dutch second division) side Excelsior.
In what has been a not-so-good season for last year’s champions, Dandenong Thunder, their loss to Green Gully Cavaliers (0-2) last weekend has pushed the reigning champions back out of the top six. And that’s not all. Thunder also lost its twice best VPL coach of the year, as Chris Taylor defected to South Melbourne. In Saturday’s match at home with Southern Stars, Dandenong will have to come out with victory if it wants to come closer to the top six on the ladder. Thunder will be under the guidance of assistant coach Brian MacNicol until a decision is made on the head coaching role.  On Friday night, Richmond will meet with second on the ladder Bentleigh Greens. Richmond will enter the game after their respectable performance and 2-1 loss in a friendly against Melbourne Victory and a draw against Pascoe Vale in round 11. However, the Greens are looking to continue their consistency and second position on the table. Last weekend, Greens defeated Southern Stars by 2-0.

Round 12 Fixtures
Pascoe Vale v Melbourne Knights, 8:30 pm Friday 5 July, Hosken Reserve
Oakleigh Cannons v Northcote City, 8:30pm Friday 5 July, Jack Edwards Reserve
Richmond v Bentleigh Greens, 8:30pm Friday 5 July, Kevin Bartlett Reserve
Dandenong Thunder v Southern Stars, 7:00pm Saturday 6 July, George Andrews Reserve
Hume City v Port Melbourne Sharks, 3:00pm Sunday 7 July, Broadmeadows Valley Park
South Melbourne v Green Gully Cavaliers, 3:00pm Sunday 7 July, Lakeside Stadium