South Melbourne defeats Avondale to reach Dockerty Cup final for second straight year

Oakleigh Cannons missed a chance to climb the NPL Victoria table after a thrilling 3–3 draw against bottom-placed Melbourne Knights in a rescheduled Friday night clash.

The match had everything — six goals, dramatic momentum swings and relentless intensity from both sides — but no winner.

Melbourne Knights proved to be particularly tough and hard to break down.
Moment from the first-round match against South Melbourne.
Photos: Kostas Deves

Melbourne Knights struck early in the 3rd minute, only for Oakleigh to respond with goals from Connor Hampson and Kingsley Sinclair. The Knights fought back to equalise before halftime through Ciaran Bramwell.

After the break, Tommy Semmy gave the home side the lead again in the 62nd minute, but Joe Guest and Amar Kasumovic linked up for a clever set-piece equaliser in the 73rd.

Cannons gave it their all against the Knights but were ultimately forced to settle for just one point from the draw. Photo: Kostas Deves

Despite late efforts, the Cannons were forced to settle for a single point. They remain fourth on the ladder with 39 points.

In VPL1 action, Northcote City suffered a late collapse against Melbourne City. After equalising at 1–1 through Robert Harding, the Greek Australian side conceded twice in the final 15 minutes to lose 3–1. Northcote sits eighth on the table with 28 points.

Meanwhile, South Melbourne (Hellas) booked its place in the Dockerty Cup final for the second year running with a 3–1 win over Avondale at Lakeside. Jack Pope, Nahuel Bonada and Andy Brennan scored for Hellas.

NPL Victoria – Ladder (after 21 rounds)

Position Team Played Points
1 Heidelberg 21 51
2 Avondale 21 48
3 Dandenong Thunder 21 41
4 Oakleigh Cannons 21 39
5 Preston Lions 21 32
6 Hume City 21 31
7 Dandenong City 21 29
8 Green Gully 21 29
9 St Albans Saints 21 23
10 South Melbourne 21 23
11 Altona Magic 21 21
12 Melbourne Victory 21 15
13 Port Melbourne 21 15
14 Melbourne Knights 21 14

VPL1 – Ladder (after 21 rounds)

Position Team Played Points
1 Melbourne City 21 45
2 Bentleigh 21 45
3 George Cross 21 42
4 Western United 20 35
5 North Sunshine 21 33
6 Brunswick 21 32
7 Bulleen Lions 20 30
8 Northcote City 21 28
9 Melbourne Srbija 21 27
10 Langwarrin 21 26
11 Manningham 21 22
12 Eastern Lions 21 17
13 Kingston City 21 16
14 Moreland City 21 14