Round 12 of the Victorian Premier League brought some surprises last weekend. It saw Northcote City draw with Oakleigh Cannons, but it seems nothing can really affect Hercules boys’ first on the ladder position.
On the other side were Bentleigh Greens, Hume City, Melbourne Knights and South Melbourne, who all dropped points, which left the door open for Port Melbourne and Dandenong to join the chase for a finals place.

Bentleigh Greens will host Dandenong Thunder tonight, after unexpectedly dropping points in Richmond last weekend (1-1). A pre-season friendly that Bentleigh Greens played earlier this week with Melbourne Victory should serve to boost their confidence, with John Anastasiades’ boys securing a 1-1 draw with the A-league team.
Dandenong Thunder won against Southern Stars 3-1 in the VPL round 13 match. 


A Greek clash of Sharks and Cannons will also be played on Friday evening. Oakleigh Cannons secured a draw with unbeatable Northcote City last weekend, and Port Melbourne, after winning another away match (2-0 with Hume City), entered the top three, just behind Northcote City and Bentleigh Greens.

Green Gully Cavaliers will host Hume City on Saturday. Hume City, who climbed the ladder just two weeks ago, are now back in fourth, after leaving the Northcote City and Port Melbourne games scoreless. Green Gully sit eighth on the ladder but given they are undefeated in their past six matches, they will be seeking a third consecutive win today.
The Cavaliers’ won 3-1 against South Melbourne, proving they are seriously preparing for the second half of the season.
There is hardly a bigger nightmare for a bottom-of-the-ladder VPL team than travelling to the Northcote City ground. That’s what round 13 of VPL is bringing for newly promoted Pascoe Vale.

It doesn’t happen often this season to see Northcote City taking less than three points from a game. However, the Cannons pushed the undefeated league leader all the way, to play a 2-2 draw.

“It was a very interesting and exciting game, and a draw was probably a fair result. We had opportunities to finish the game off in the first 20 minutes, but Oakleigh showed they have a good quality too. More importantly, it was a great game and the spectators would have enjoyed that totally,” club president Peter Kotsiris told Neos Kosmos.

Pascoe Vale has the fourth-best defensive record in the VPL and can’t afford to make any mistakes when it encounters the team with the league’s top three goalscorers: Milos Lujic (10), Dean Piemonte (8) and James Kalifatidis (7). Last weekend, Pascoe Vale drew with Melbourne Knights in a goalless match.

“We are undefeated, on top of the ladder, so it’s up to our boys to beat the challenge and get the result,” Kotsiris said briefly.

He also commented on the fact the Hercules boys have found themselves on top of the ladder for more than half the season now.

“At the start of the season our goal was to make the finals. Now we’ll have to reassess that given the way we started. We definitely want to finish in the top three. Having said that, we will take it week by week – our performances on the weekly basis dictates the result, which dictates our position on the ladder. As a club we just want to finish as far as we possibly can right now – we have a good lead. We are excited about the potential of this team, but there is still a long way to go before we achieve anything,” Kotsiris said.
The 5th-placed Melbourne Knights will host Richmond on Sunday.

Last week, the Richmond side shared points with a high flying Bentleigh.
On Sunday, at Lakeside Stadium, South Melbourne will try to recuperate when it welcomes last on the ladder Southern Stars. The clash with Southern Stars couldn’t come at a better time for South Melbourne, after their form has been diminishing in the past couple of months. With a new coach Chris Taylor and four new signings in the past fortnight – Nicky Soolsma (SBV Excelsior – Netherlands), Brandon Galgano, Jeffrey Salazar (FC Bulleen Lions) and Nicholas Epifano (Dandenong Thunder) – there will be no excuses for South Melbourne.

VPL ROUND 13 FIXTURES

Bentleigh Greens v Dandenong Thunder: Friday 12 July, at 8.15 pm, Kingston Heath Soccer Club 

Port Melbourne Sharks v Oakleigh Cannons: Friday, 12 July at 8.30 pm, JL Murphy Reserve

Green Gully Cavaliers v Hume City: Saturday 13 July at 3.00 pm, Green Gully Reserve
Northcote City v Pascoe Vale: Sunday 14 July at 3.00 pm, John Cain Memorial Park
Melbourne Knights v Richmond: Sunday 14 July at 3.00 pm, Knights Stadium
South Melbourne v Southern Stars: Sunday 14 July at 3.00 pm, Lakeside Stadium