Saturday afternoon sees the VPL reach its climax with the Grand Final between league winners Green Gully and Oakleigh Cannons, who finished second in the league on goal difference.
Green Gully swept to the top of the table with 5 wins and a draw in the last 6 rounds of the season, without conceding a goal, then cruised to a 3-0 victory over Hume in the finals. Keeper Nikola Roganovic will go into the final unbeaten in 655 minutes.
Oakleigh head into the final with inconsistent form, following 3 wins, a draw and 4 losses in the final 8 rounds. They relied on a second chance, a last minute winner and a penalty shoot-out to make it through to the final – but form goes out of the window in a one-off final. The first-time finalists will be looking to upset the reigning title holders.
We asked some of VPL experts how they expect things to go and got the following predictions:
George Katsakis, coach of Heidelberg United – Oakleigh 1-0
Johnny Anastasiadis, coach of Bentleigh Greens – penalties, could go either way
Leo Athanasakis, president of South Melbourne FC – Green Gully 1-0
Griffin McMaster, VPL Goalkeeper of the season – Green Gully on penalties after a 1-1 draw
Stuart Munro, former coach of Dandenong Thunder FC – Oakleigh 2-1
Peter Tsolakis, coach of Northcote City FC – draw, go to penalties, Oakleigh and Zois to prevail.
Jim Makro, president of Northcote City FC – Oakleigh 1-0
VPL Mr Football – Green Gully 3-1
We’ll find out who knows best on Saturday afternoon. The game is at AAMI Park, with kick-off at 4pm. For those who want to make a day of it, the Women’s Premier League Grand Final is at the same venue kick-off at noon.
