The Greek domination continues in the NPL, and no team could be happier with their run of late than Northcote City (well, maybe South Melbourne can refute that).
The Hercules boys’ abysmal start to the season is slowly being erased with their strong three win roll, conceding just one goal in the process.
Goran Lozanovski’s boys thrashed Werribee City last week in a goals bonanza, finishing 4-1.
Lozanovski’s perfectionism showed when he voiced his disappointment that a goal found its way into goalkeeper Chris Theodoridis’ net, ruining the club’s clean sheet run.
“Disappointing we didn’t find a clean sheet, we gave away a soft goal this week. But at the end of the day we scored four goals,” Lozanovski said after the match.
“Three [wins] in a row for us, which is vital after losing the first three [games].”
A fifth goal was sadly ruined when Wade Dekker misfired a glorious chance from close range in the last minutes of the game.
The team meets fellow Greek sponsored club, Port Melbourne Sharks this Sunday, which will be a huge challenge for the latter.
It hasn’t been the best start for Port Melbourne, which once again suffered a tough 0-4 loss, this time against Heidelberg United.
They’ve fallen five times at home, and only have one win in six games to show for themselves.
Coach Eric Vassiliadis can’t hide his disappointment, but will be boosting his training regimen, hoping to instil some key improvements.
Heidelberg United’s win last week was a stunning display and put the club back on the ‘to watch’ list.
Like its opponent, United has struggled with inconsistency, but it now has the chance to build a better winning ratio as it sits just below Northcote City, both
with three wins and three losses.
United are finishing the round this week against Pascoe Vale, a team they lost to two weeks ago.
Pascoe Vale might have been given their only win for this season to date from Heidelberg, but it doesn’t seem likely that it will be repeated.
Former Melbourne Victory player Daniel Vasilevski has been one of the men leading the charge at Heidelberg and will be integral to making chances out of a sloppy defence.
Not faltering once, South Melbourne have been the stars of the inaugural NPL season, and will be going for their seventh win in a row today.
They come up against the Ballarat Red Devils again, who they defeated 2-0 two rounds ago.
The Devils are again in the category of inconsistency and failed to get a deciding goal last week, ending 2-2 against Pascoe Vale last week.
But at least for them, their match today is a home match, and a match to celebrate. The will be unveiling their new multi-million dollar facility.
South Melbourne’s coach Chris Taylor has instilled a lot of discipline in his side, and set standards high, something he touched on after the club’s 0-1 win against the Melbourne Knights last week.
“It’s about grinding it out and being disciplined and I thought we did that.”
Right close by to South are the Bentleigh Greens, sitting at third with four wins and a draw to their name. The Greek sponsored club managed a 3-1 win against Dandenong Thunder last week and are expected to take home another win against a struggling eleventh placed Green Gully.
