A winning streak doesn’t mean much when the players that made it happen are out of action.

That is what Heidelberg United’s coach George Katsakis will be dealing with when the club enters their second Greek derby in two weeks.

He admits that the match will be one of the toughest the club has seen.

‘It’s going to be so different to what we’re used to, we’re bringing in four or five kids from the under 20s, it’s going to be really hard,” he admits to Neos Kosmos.

“Anything can happen on the day; the result will be a very tough one for us.”

They’re up against a back in form Northcote City, who have just come off an impressive 1-2 win in the Dockerty Cup on Wednesday.

They also secured a clean sheet against Gouldburn Valley Suns at home last week.

Heidelberg United, on the other hand, haven’t lost a match in five rounds, and last week pushed Bentleigh Greens down another spot on the ladder.

It wasn’t an easy match despite the 1-3 score.

“It was a game that could have gone either way, we lost our captain very early on, which probably upset our momentum, but the boys dug deep and to be really honest, I was so proud of them because they never said die and they just kept chipping away,” he said.

With the captain out and six other players battling injuries, it will be a very different side that will be meeting Northcote City.

There’s a big chance that they can be overtaken if the defence fails and the forwards miss their marks.

‘If we can get through this weekend it’ll be massive for us,” Katsakis says.

Joining the club in a sea of good results, South Melbourne has indeed proven unstoppable, securing their tenth win in a row, this time against Werribee City.

They also matched the 1-0 score in the Dockerty Cup this week against Dandenong Thunder, securing their place in the quarter finals.

They will be looking towards their eleventh win in the NPL when they take on Dandenong Thunder again on Saturday.

Oakleigh Cannons have a bit of work to do – their winning streak was cut short last week and Miron Bleiberg’s boys will be hoping to get back on their feet
and protect their ladder position.

Their 2-0 loss against thirteenth placed Pascoe Vale SC was a bit of a shock for the NPL.

“The inferior team football-wise and strength-wise get the lead, then they fight like Kamikazes, they gave everything – blocking with the body and play with
seven or eight people in the penalty area, and we were not good enough on the day,” admitted Bleiberg.

They take on eighth placed Werribee City on Saturday.

Currently five out of the six top spots are held by Greek-sponsored teams. It’s a testament to the community’s love of sport and the legacy these teams hold in the state. With the FFA cup giving the state clubs a chance to show the A-League clubs that they shouldn’t take them for granted, there is a big
likelihood that at least one Greek sponsored team will represent the state in the Round of 32.

It’s something George Katsakis is very proud to see. “I’m a very strong advocate of the Greek teams; I’m very proud.”

He would like to see a final series in the NPL so that the final word isn’t just on the top ladder spot.

“It would have been good if there was a finals series, because that way I reckon four or five of us would have been in the finals,” he says.

“Unfortunately there’s no finals, but nevertheless I’m still very proud to see that the Greek teams are doing well.”