With Sunday’s top of the table Greek clash, round eight of the Victorian Premier League is expected to be the most exciting one so far. Undefeated Northcote City will host second on the ladder Bentleigh Greens, in what is set to be a performance of a good football.
Seven rounds after the start of 2013 VPL, Northcote City has still to drop a point. With followers of the VPL saying it’s hard to imagine where the Northcote defeat is going to come from; the team that has the biggest chances to do so is, no doubt, Bentleigh Greens.
Greens’ head coach, John Anastasiadis, is aware of the tough game the team has in front of them; nevertheless he is enthusiastic that his outfit is not falling much behind the first on the ladder.
“It’s not going to be an easy game; Northcote has been playing very well, but so did we. We just have to treat this game as another three points, that’s all it is. Every game we play, we want to get those three points. I am aware that they are on the top, and it’s a derby; but there is still a long way to go before the season is finished,” Anastasiadis told Neos Kosmos.
With five wins in seven rounds and undefeated streak in last four rounds, the Greens’ coach said the only thing the team has to do is be consistent in what they’ve been doing so far.
“We just want to better our performances every week, so that’s the only improvement I ask for. Every game we play we are trying to be better than we were in the previous one. Obviously, we create a lot of chances, so we hope to score a lot more than what we are doing at the moment,” he said.
In Sunday’s away match with the high flying Hercules boys, Anastasiadis said his team will have to pay attention to everything when they meet Northcote City.
“I saw them the other day; they were very balanced, mobile and very fast. It’s going to be a tough game.”
“But we are just as good, if not better. We are just going to try our hardest and get the three points. I think if we play our game – we have no problems,” John Anastasiadis told Neos Kosmos.
Last weekend, Northcote City earned its three points without much effort, in an away match against Southern Stars (4-0). Bentleigh Greens carved out a hard fought 2-1 victory, when they hosted Melbourne Knights.
Two Greek sponsored clubs play their round eight matches today.
The Port Melbourne Sharks will go into the game against Southern Starts determined to place themselves in the top five of the league. The Sharks came out of the previous round and a match with Green Gully Cavaliers with a draw (1-1), while the Southern Stars continued their losing streak playing with Norhtcote City, that have just known the win in 2013 season.
Oakleigh Cannons also play tonight with Hume City, after another loss with new coach Miron Bleiberg on the bench, last weekend. Cannons didn’t manage to take any points away from South Melbourne (1-2), but striker Alex Smith’s addition has proved positive, as he scored the only goal for Cannons. Hume City won Richmond away from home (3-2) to push up the ladder.
Round seven of Victorian Premier League has seen South Melbourne continue with their home form, with Dimi Hatzimouratis’ scoring twice against Cannons. Tomorrow, the third on the ladder Tsolakis’ boys will travel to Hosken reserve, to meet with Pascoe Vale. The 2013 addition to VPL, Pascoe Vale is expected to enter the match with confidence on high level, after writing the club’s history with their round seven victory to 2012 Champion, Dandenong Thunder (2-0). The newest addition to VPL, Pascoe Vale has exceeded all the expectations in 2013, while the team of Peter Tsolakis has been inconsistent over the fast few weeks.
With both teams coming off losses, Melbourne Knights and Dandenong Thunder will be going for a win on Sunday, when they meet at Knights Stadium.
