NPL – Round 11

Port Melbourne Sharks v Bentleigh Greens
9th v 5th     
8.30pm, Friday May 30, 2014
JL Murphy Reserve
Radio: Live on NPL VIC Live (or via TuneIn app on smartphones – search ‘Live Cast’)
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #PMvOC #NPLVIC
Highlights to follow on FFV TV

Last round:
Melbourne Knights 3-1 Port Melbourne Sharks
Bentleigh Greens 1-3 Heidelberg United

Form:
Port Melbourne Sharks: LWWDL
Bentleigh Greens: WLLDL

Bentleigh is in a hole and in desperate need of a confidence boost after a winless month. Coach John Anastasiadis was emotional after the loss to Heidelberg and couldn’t believe the chances his side missed, signalling a solid week on the track and honest words in the dressing room were forthcoming. His counterpart Eric Vassiliadis was furious with Port Melbourne’s lack of desire in the loss to an undermanned Melbourne Knights, so both sides will be expected to come out firing.

Green Gully v Melbourne Knights
10th v 12th     
3.00pm, Saturday May 31, 2014
Green Gully Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #GGvMK #NPLVIC

Last round:
Hume City 0-3 Green Gully
Melbourne Knights 3-1 Port Melbourne Sharks

Form:
Green Gully: LWLLW
Melbourne Knights: LLLLW

The Knights showed great character to break their seven-game losing streak in a week where they confirmed they would be without first-team players Rodrigo Covarrubias (ACL), Jacob Colosimo (ACL), Christopher Talajic (shoulder) and James McGarry (PCL) for the remainder of the season. They’ll be full of confidence but come up against Green Gully, which caused the biggest upset of the round last week. Coach Bob Stojcevski will enter his just his third game in charge on Saturday, but there are already signs that he’ll be able to improve Green Gully’s fortunes.

Ballarat Red Devils v Hume City
11th v 7th      
3.00pm, Saturday May 31, 2014
Morshead Park Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, hashtags #BRDvHC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Dandenong Thunder 3-1 Ballarat Red Devils
Hume City 0-3 Green Gully

Form:
Ballarat Red Devils: DLLWL
Hume City: LWWDL

Hume City rebounded from its loss to Green Gully with a 6-0 drubbing of Springvale White Eagles in its midweek Dockerty Cup fixture, but may struggle with the short turnaround for the trip to Ballarat. The Red Devils handed 15-year-old James King his first senior appearance last week, and he impressed coach James Robinson. With midfielder Shaun Romein returning from his suspension, Robinson will have a tough call to make at the selection table.

Goulburn Valley Suns v Pascoe Vale
14th v 13th
6.30pm, Saturday May 31, 2014
McEwen Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #GVSvPV #NPLVIC

Last round:
Northcote City 3-0 Goulburn Valley Suns
Pascoe Vale 2-0 Oakleigh Cannons

Form:
Goulburn Valley Suns: LWLLL
Pascoe Vale: DLDLW

It’s all on the line on Saturday night with the NPL’s cellar-dwellers battling it out to escape the relegation zone. The Suns have played some high-scoring games at home this season but Pascoe Vale is a tough side to break down, as Oakleigh found out last week when it had its undefeated run ended. Michael Ferrante, the Winning Edge Presentations Player of the Month, missed last week through injury but will be a valuable addition to the Pascoe Vale squad should he return.

Oakleigh Cannons v Werribee City
2nd v 8th         
7.30pm, Saturday May 31, 2014
Jack Edwards Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #OCvWC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Pascoe Vale 2-0 Oakleigh Cannons
Werribee City 0-1 South Melbourne

Form:
Oakleigh Cannons: WWWDL
Werribee City: LLDWL

Oakleigh can ill-afford to drop points on Saturday if it is to stop South Melbourne from running away at the top of the table. Miron Bleiberg’s men succumbed to a shock loss – its first of the season – despite dominating possession against Pascoe Vale, and won’t want a repeat against a Werribee City side which has caused its fair share of upsets this season. These two sides met in Round 4 of the Dockerty Cup, with Werribee City upsetting the Cannons on their home turf.

South Melbourne v Dandenong Thunder
1st v 4th
5.00pm, Sunday June 1, 2014
Lakeside Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #SMvDT #NPLVIC

Last round:
Werribee City 0-1 South Melbourne
Dandenong Thunder 3-1 Ballarat Red Devils

Form:
South Melbourne: WWWWW
Dandenong Thunder: LLWLW

South Melbourne and Dandenong Thunder will meet for the second time this week after their midweek Dockerty Cup fixture. Both couldn’t be separated in a scoreless 90 minutes which Thunder dominated, but South Melbourne showed its class to grind out a 1-0 win in extra time. Can Thunder strike back, or will South Melbourne extend its winning streak to 11 games in this top-four blockbuster?

Heidelberg United v Northcote City
3rd v 6th
5.00pm, Sunday June 1, 2014
Olympic Village
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #HUvNC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Bentleigh Greens 1-3 Heidelberg United
Northcote City 3-0 Goulburn Valley Suns

Form:
Heidelberg United: WWWWW
Northcote City: WLLDW

Heidelberg United came into the season with the expectation of finishing in the top six, but suddenly those expectations have heightened as the club strives for a seventh successive win on Sunday. It will be tough against Northcote City though, which looks to have turned the corner after a frustrating start to the season. The visitors have found stability and confidence in recent weeks with leaders such as Adrian Chiappetta and Kristian Konstantinidis leading the way, but will be coming off a three-day break after their Dockerty Cup win over Werribee City.

NPL 1 – Round 10

Richmond v St Albans Saints
7th v 3rd
8.30pm, Friday May 30, 2014
Kevin Bartlett Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #RSCvSAS #NPLVIC

Avondale Heights v Box Hill United
1st v 5th     
3.00pm, Saturday May 31, 2014
Avondale Heights Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #AHvBHU #NPLVIC
Highlights to follow on FFV TV

Brunswick City v Kingston City
12th v 9th       
3.00pm, Saturday May 31, 2014
Dunstan Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BCvKC #NPLVIC

North Geelong Warriors v Moreland Zebras
8th v 11th   
3.00pm, Saturday May 31, 2014
Elcho Park
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #NGWvMZ #NPLVIC

Dandenong City v Whittlesea Ranges
10th v 12th     
3.00pm, Saturday May 31, 2014
Frank Holohan Soccer Complex
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #DCvWR #NPLVIC

Springvale White Eagles v Sunshine George Cross
9th v 2nd
3.00pm, Saturday May 31, 2014
White Eagles Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #SWEvSGC #NPLVIC

FC Bulleen Lions v FC Bendigo
4th v 13th
5.00pm, Saturday May 31, 2014
Veneto Club – David Barro Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BLvFCB #NPLVIC

Image credit: Graeme Furlong