Every weekend, the NPL grounds come alive. Witnessing the drama, beauty, and surprises of football, the players sweat and bleed to secure every point. Meanwhile, the fans revel in the spectacle and suspense, witnessing the table change shape as teams give it their all. It is a thrilling experience that leaves all who witness it utterly mesmerized – and each week is a chance to see something new and unexpected.
Port Melbourne – Oakleigh Cannons
The Sharks are here to wreak havoc on anyone who dares to underestimate them.
On Saturday afternoon, Adam Piddick’s side welcomed one of the division’s superpowers, the Cannons, in a match of great importance. The visitors took early control of the game, creating some very important scoring opportunities in the first half. The hosts, after holding on for a clean sheet in the first forty-five minutes, finally managed to open the scoring early in the second half, thanks to a successful penalty kick from the unlikely Chris Duggan in the 47th minute.
The Cannons increased the intensity, pressing the home team’s players in every corner of the pitch, but apart from some dangerous moments created from corners, they seemed unable to break through the port side’s incredibly solid defensive line.
As the clock struck the 70th minute, something spectacular happened on the JL Murphy Reserve pitch. The home team stepped up their performance, coming out of their shell and with an attacking crescendo that lasted about eight minutes, they managed to shut down their opponents and finally doubled their goals after a “magical” action and finish by Chris Duggan in the 78th minute.
This was a huge win for the club from beautiful Port Melbourne, who have been getting closer and closer to the top of the table every week.
Bentleigh Greens – South Melbourne
South Melbourne put the brakes on their two-game negative streak against Oakleigh and Hume City at the perfect time, determined from the first minute of the match to leave no room for reaction for the Bentleigh footballers.
In front of a number of friends of both historic clubs, Argentinian coach Esteban Quintas’ team showed remarkable adherence to the tactical instructions coming from their side of the bench, looking to know exactly what they were asking for from the match.
Jake Marshall scored a beautiful goal in the 23rd minute giving South Melbourne the lead.
In the second half, Ricardo Marchioli threw Theodorakopoulos and Abandelwa onto the pitch, giving his team a boost. The hosts stepped up and missed three extremely important chances to level the match but were unsuccessful. In the last minutes of the match, Mustafa doubled South Melbourne’s score and celebrated with somersaults in front of the home team’s fans.
Heidelberg United – Avondale
Giorgos Katsakis’s United erected a yellow-black wall, and the home side showed tremendous self-sacrifice, chasing every ball to every inch of the pitch to earn a one-point draw against Avondale.
Heidelberg opened the scoring when Lesiotis’s one-piece shot found Aidara, who sent it to rest in the depths of the “Italian” goal.
The “Greek” team put more weight on their defensive function but still attacked, and could have scored one or two more goals if not for the excellent keeper of the visitors, Thomas Manos.
The “Italians” finally managed to equalize with the excellent Diaz, who beat the helpless Clark with a precise shot. Although Heidelberg did not win, they showed that they have escaped for good from the negative competitive face they displayed in the first round of the championship.
The best is yet to come for the historic Heidelberg United.
NPL2
Kingston City, leader of the standings, put on a show of strength at Preston Lions’ home and stole the three points with a 0-2 score through one of the most difficult away matches in the category.
Stavridis and Kuol scored the “golden” goals for the guests, allowing them to remain at the top of the standings for another week and continue their incredible course since the beginning of the season.
On Friday afternoon, Northcote also achieved a big away win over Pascoe Vale with a 1 – 2 score. Ioannis Georgopoulos scored the first goal for the guests with an incredible deflected shot in the 29th minute, and Knight scored the winning goal in the 31st minute.
Brunswick City failed to get the three points against Bulleen Lions after the two opponents tied 1 – 1, leaving Leonidas in the penultimate position of the table with 24 points.
NPL3
Box Hill achieved a huge home win against Beaumaris with a score of 1-0. The golden goal for the home team came after a well-timed penalty in the final seconds of the game, which was celebrated enthusiastically by the footballers and friends of the “Greek” club.
State Leagues
It was a pleasant Friday afternoon in Yarraville. The “Greek” club overcame Keilor Park with a score of 1-0, which was much easier than the final score indicated.
The “Greek” team is now in 8th place in the standings of the Northwest Group of the State League Championship.
The “Blue and White” clubs of the Southeast Group were also impressive this weekend.
Malvern passed through the home of Casey Comets with a score of 1-2, while Aris defeated Collingwood 2-0 in front of several friends of the “Yellow and Black” club.
NPL – RESULTS
Heidelberg United – Avondale 1 – 1 (4′ M. Aidara – 81′ L. Diaz)
Bentleigh Greens – South Melbourne 0 – 2 (23′ J. Marshall, 90+3′ Y. Mustafa)
Port Melbourne Sharks – Oakleigh Cannons 2 – 0 (47′ C. Duggan [P], 77′ C. Duggan)
Hume City – Green Gully 0 – 1 (70′ J. Doyle)
Dandenong Thunder – North Geelong Warriors 6 – 0 (13′ G. Damen, 23′ K. Hallam, 41′ K. Hallam, 48′ G. Damen [P], 71′ G. Damen, 89′ J. Karantz)
St Albans – Altona Magic 1 – 4 (14′ J. Micallef – 8′ J. Markovski, 36′ J. Markovski, 52′ A. Anderson, 77′ C. Cuba, 84′ C. Cuba)
Melbourne Knights – Moreland 2 – 1 (7′ C. Bramwell, 80′ G. Albano – 50′ J. Brown)
NPL – Table
1. Avondale 22 57
2. South Melbourne 21 53
3. Oakleigh Cannons 22 51
4. Melbourne Knights 22 41
5. Port Melbourne 22 40
6. Altona Magic 22 35
7. Green Gully 22 34
8. Dandenong Thunder 22 27
9. Hume City 22 21
10. Heidelberg United 21 21
11. St Albans Saints 22 16
12. Bentleigh Greens 22 14
13. Moreland City 22 13
14. North Geelong 22 13
NPL2 – Results
Dandenong City – Brunswick Juventus 3 – 1
Pascoe Vale – Northcote City 1 – 2
Preston Lions – Kingston City 0 – 2
Brunswick City – Bulleen Lions 1 – 1
Eastern Lions – Werribee 1 – 0
Manningham United Blues – Melbourne City (Y) 1 – 4
Western United (Y) – Langwarrin 2 – 0
NPL2 – Table
1. Kingston City 22 40
2. Dandenong 22 39
3. Western United (Y) 22 38
4. Preston Lions 22 35
5. Eastern Lions 21 33
6. Manningham 22 32
7. Melbourne City (Y) 22 32
8. Northcote City 21 30
9. Langwarrin 22 29
10. Bulleen 22 27
11. Werribee 22 26
12. Brunswick Juventus 22 25
13. Brunswick City 22 24
14. Pascoe Vale 22 23
NPL2 – Results
Box Hill United – Beaumaris 1 – 0
Essendon Royals – Doveton 0 – 3
North Sunshine Eagles – Melbourne Victory (Y) 1 – 0
Nunawading – Geelong 1 – 1
Caroline Springs George Cross -Goulburn Valley Suns 4 – 1
Ballarat City -Boroondara Carey Eagles 4 – 0
NPL3 – Table
1. Melbourne Victory (Y) 18 38
2. Caroline Springs 17 37
3. Goulburn Suns 18 31
4. North Sunshine 18 31
5. Nunawading 17 29
6. Boroondara 18 26
7. Doveton 18 26
8. Box Hill 18 21
9. Beaumaris 18 18
10. Essendon 18 17
11. Geelong 18 17
12. Ballarat 18 14
