South Melbourne – Oakleigh Cannons
Oakleigh set the NPL Championship ablaze by winning the “Greek” derby against South Melbourne. Combined with Avondale’s draw at the home of the Knights, this has ignited a fire at the top of the standings.
In the first half, we saw countless duels in all areas of the field, as well as high-quality football befitting the reputations of the two teams.
Chris Taylor’s players erected a defensive wall that thwarted the home side’s response as the visitors looked better on the grass from the start. Oliver Hasan Kubilay’s shot in the 31st minute gave them the lead. The hosts applied intense pressure in the second half, but Fiechtner’s close-range shot ended any hopes of them turning the score around.
With this victory, Oakleigh sent a message to South Melbourne and Avondale, declaring their intention to win the championship for the second season in a row.
Port Melbourne – Heidelberg United
Port Melbourne’s heads held high after a tough duel against Giorgos Katsakis’ “war” machine, as they emerged victorious in the 20th matchday’s other big “Greek” derby.
In the first half, both teams mainly relied on individual actions in the center of the field and big balls coming from the center backs, ensuring their defensive balance before taking risks. The hosts missed the most important chances to open the scoring in a relatively poor first half.
The second part began with the two gladiators still afraid to take risks. Aidara came close to opening the scoring for the visitors in the 73rd minute, but the “Sharks” goalkeeper saved the goal. Five minutes later, Clark’s disastrous mistake allowed Duggan to take the ball inside the box and calmly send it into the net of the guests’ homes.
United tried to turn the situation around in the final minutes, coming out organized in attack, but in the end they couldn’t avoid defeat in a generally balanced game that pleased the football fans who braved the bitter cold.
St Albans – Bentleigh Greens
Bentleigh’s “Cypriots” scored a huge double of 0-2 against St Albans, propelling them out of the relegation zone and into twelfth place. Hiliar opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a beautiful long shot, silencing the home team’s vocal fans. The “Greens” kept their lines, circulated the ball correctly, and sought victory more than anything. Moonib Adus finally secured the win with a one-piece shot in the 73rd minute, sending the ball first to the defenders and then to the back of the “Croatian” goal. This valuable victory has given the “Greens” a newfound optimism for the future.
NPL2
The winner of the “Blue and White” NPL2 derby was Kingston City. The “Red and White” passed like a whirlwind through the house of Brunswick with a score of 1-3. With this victory, the excellent team of Tsolakis-Tagalakis is now sitting at the top of the standings, a few games away from the end of the regular season. Northcote had this weekend off as their away match against Easter Lions was postponed due to the unplayable condition of the pitch.
NPL3
Melbourne Victory’s youngsters proved too strong for Box Hill United, who despite showing a positive attitude and scoring a goal, were defeated 2-1 and remain at the bottom of the NPL3 rankings.
The State Leagues
Strathmore defeated Yarraville 2-0 in a game that was mainly played from the flanks, with many crosses and aerial duels. This loss caused the side from the western suburbs to slip to ninth place, just three points above the relegation zone.
Malvern easily earned the three points of victory by defeating Collingwood City 4-0, having exerted tremendous pressure from the start.
Aris was held to a 1-1 draw against the White Eagles in the Springvale derby, proving to be less effective.
NPL – RESULTS
Melbourne Knights – Avondale 1 – 1 (21′ L. Kolic – 72′ Y. Ahmed [P])
St Albans – Bentleigh Greens 0 – 2 (13′ SF Hilliar, 73′ M. Adus)
Green Gully – North Geelong Warriors 3 – 1 (14′ LM Jeggo, 29′ N. Bonada, 72′ A. Koudakpo – 64′ A. Gardner_
Port Melbourne Sharks – Heidelberg United 1 – 0 (77′ C. Duggan)
Hume City – Moreland 3 – 2 (41′ J. Bingham, 61′ J. Bingham, 84′ M. Lazarides – 66′ F. Fulton, 67′ F. Fulton)
Dandenong Thunder – Altona Magic 0 – 3 (38′ J. Markovski, 45′ J. Markovski, 90+2′ J. Markovski)
South Melbourne – Oakleigh Cannons 0 – 2
NPL – RATING
1. Avondale 20 53
2. South Melbourne 19 49
3. Oakleigh Cannons 20 48
4. Melbourne Knights 20 35
5. Port Melbourne 20 34
6. Green Gully 20 30
7. Altona Magic 20 29
8. Dandenong Thunder 20 24
9. Hume City 20 20
10. Heidelberg United 19 20
11. St Albans Saints 20 16
12. Bentleigh Greens 20 14
13. North Geelong 20 13
14. Moreland City 20 12
NPL2 – Results
Dandenong City – Melbourne City (Y) 1 – 0
Pascoe Vale – Brunswick Juventus 0 – 2
Preston Lions – Langwarrin 2 – 2
Brunswick City – Kingston Cit 1 – 3
Eastern Lions – Northcote City [Postponed]
Western United (Y) – Manningham United Blues 3 – 3
Bulleen Lions – Werribee City 20:15*
*The match will be held on Monday (03/07)
NPL2 – Table
1. Kingston City 20 37
2. Western United (Y) 20 35
3. Preston Lions 20 34
4. Dandenong 20 33
5. Eastern Lions 19 30
6. Langwarrin 20 29
7. Manningham 20 29
8. Werribee 19 26
9. Melbourne City (Y) 20 26
10. Northcote City 19 24
11. Brunswick Juventus 20 24
12. Brunswick City 20 23
13. Bulleen 19 20
14. Pascoe Vale 20 20
NPL3 – Results
Ballarat City –Beaumaris3 – 1
Nunawading -North Sunshine Eagles 1 – 2
Boroondara Carey Eagles -Doveton 4 – 2
Caroline Springs George Cross –Geelong 1 – 0
Essendon Royals -Goulburn Valley Suns 1 – 2
Melbourne Victory (Y) -Box Hill United 2 – 1
NPL3 – Table
1. Melbourne Victory (Y) 16 38
2. Caroline Springs 15 31
3. Goulburn Suns 16 28
4. Boroondara 16 26
5. Nunawading 15 25
6. North Sunshine 16 25
7. Doveton 16 23
8. Box Hill 16 18
9. Essendon 16 17
10. Geelong 16 16
11. Beaumaris 16 15
12. Ballarat 16 8
