The Cannons emerged victorious after an epic back-and-forth encounter with Heidelberg United to progress in the finals, booking a semi-finals appointment with Port Melbourne.
Oakleigh qualified to the next round of the Victorian NPL play-offs at the expense of “Megas”, winning one of the two elimination finals on Friday night, as Bentleigh fell short against Green Gully.
The Cannons advanced past “Alexandros” at home after a remarkable 3-3 draw after extra time, with the hosts winning the shoot-out 3-1.
Heidelberg opened the scoring via an effort from Joshua Pin (22′) before Joe Guest (38′) equalised for Oakleigh.
Anthony Pantazopoulos put the home side ahead late (79′) for what they believed to be the winner, when Luka Ninkovic scored at the death for the visitors (90+4′) to take it into extra time.
The Cannons once more found the back of the net, this time through Chris Lucas (113′), but “Megas” again struck in the dying moments of the game via Sean Ellis (120+3′).
Oakleigh held the nerves best as they won 3-1 on penalties to eventually down their stubborn opponents as they now ready themselves for both a midweek Australia Cup quarter-final with Sydney FC and a semi-final with Port Melbourne.
Bentleigh lost 2-0 away to Green Gully to bring a swift end to their finals campaign.
The hosts found the back of the net once in each half through Alex Salmon (36′) and Luc Jeggo (83′), setting up a semi-finals contest with the premiers, South Melbourne, for next weekend.
WA
Floreat Athena have won the premiership after sealing a dramatic 2-3 away victory against Armadale on Saturday evening in the 22nd and final round of the regular season.
Athena took a two-nil lead, thanks to goals from Bayley Brown-Montgomery (7′) and Robert Petkov (21′ pen.), but the hosts clawed their way back to level terms after strikes from Gordon Perkins (45′) and Nathan Costello (83′).
Brown-Montgomery (90+2′) then stepped up late to secure the three points and the title as Floreat Athena finished in first on 47 points, only two ahead of runners-up Perth RedStar.
ACT
Canberra Olympic recorded a 2-2 away draw against Tigers FC in the 19th round on Saturday afternoon, holding onto fourth and increasing their points tally to 23 in the process.
TAS
Olympia Warriors lost 2-1 in their away encounter with Kingborough Lions in the 19th round on Friday night to extend their losing streak to eight as they remain in seventh on six points.
