NPL – Catch-up Round

Bentleigh Greens v Ballarat Red Devils
4th v 13th            
3.00pm, Saturday August 30, 2014
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Twitter: Live updates on Twitter @nplvictoria, #BGvBRD #NPLVIC

Last round:
Bentleigh Greens 1-4 Oakleigh Cannons
Ballarat Red Devils 1-2 Werribee City

Form:
Bentleigh Greens: DWDWL
Ballarat Red Devils: LLLWL

Last time they met:
Ballarat Red Devils 2-3 Bentleigh Greens, Round 14 2014

Ballarat’s survival hopes are hanging by a thread after last week’s loss to Werribee City, but there’s still a glimmer of hope for James Robinson’s men.

They’ll fancy their chances of an upset over a Bentleigh outfit which may be suffering from fatigue.

Coach John Anastasiadis raised concerns over his side’s “tiredness” after a busy schedule in the lead-up to last week’s loss to Oakleigh, and he’s made no secret of the fact that the Greens’ focus is primarily on the Westfield FFA Cup.

Ballarat’s last trip to Melbourne resulted in a shock win away to Hume City. If it can do the same on Saturday, it will move to three points behind Werribee City and safety, with a game in hand and superior goal difference.

Goulburn Valley Suns v Hume City
14th v 5th
7.30pm, Saturday August 30, 2014
McEwen Reserve
Twitter: Live updates on Twitter @nplvictoria, #GVSvHC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Melbourne Knights 3-0 Goulburn Valley Suns
Hume City 0-2 Heidelberg United

Form:
Goulburn Valley Suns: DDLLL
Hume City: LWWLL

Last time they met:
Hume City 4-1 Goulburn Valley Suns, Round 8 2014

Having already been relegated, the Suns have turned their attention to next season in the NPL 1.

“We are building for next year, that’s what it is. We had a couple of 16-year-olds on the park today and some inexperienced boys on the bench,” Suns coach David Davkovski said after the loss to Melbourne Knights last week.

With the focus on blooding youth, the Suns will be unlikely to grab a second win at home on Saturday, as Hume City looks to consolidate its position in the top five and stay above the logjam in the middle of the table.

Melbourne Knights v Oakleigh Cannons
7th v 2nd               
8.30pm, Wednesday September 3, 2014
Knights Stadium
Twitter: Live updates on Twitter @nplvictoria, #MKvOC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Melbourne Knights 3-0 Goulburn Valley Suns
Bentleigh Greens 1-4 Oakleigh Cannons

Form:
Green Gully: DLWWW
Oakleigh Cannons: WWWWW

Last time they met:
Oakleigh Cannons 3-1 Melbourne Knights, Round 8 2014

The equation is simple for Cannons: win and keep their title hopes alive, with a trip to league leader South Melbourne next on the agenda.

That’s easier said than done though, with the Knights coming off a three-game winning streak and notching up six wins from their past seven home games.

The timing of this fixture could be a huge factor however, as the Knights will be coming off a two-day break after their Dockerty Cup final against South Springvale on Sunday.

To make things harder, they’ve lost Antun Kovacic to an anterior cruciate ligament injury and could also be without Adelaide pair Jordan O’Doherty (achilles) and Michael Doyle (hamstring).

The Cannons, who have won five in a row, will be favoured to win this one. If they don’t, South Melbourne will be crowned the inaugural NPL champion with two rounds remaining.

NPL leading goalscorers:

20 – Milos Lujic (South Melbourne)

18 – Daniel Heffernan (Heidelberg United)

16 – Dean Piemonte (Oakleigh Cannons)

11 – David Stirton (Bentleigh Greens), Nate Foster (Oakleigh Cannons)

10 – Brent McGrath (Bentleigh Greens), Craig Carley (Goulburn Valley Suns), Kaine Sheppard (Heidelberg United), Dusan Bosnjak (Oakleigh Cannons), Goran Zoric (Oakleigh Cannons), Matthew Sanders (Green Gully), Jamie Reed (South Melbourne)

8 – Osagie Ederaro (Green Gully), Jason Hayne (Green Gully), Wade Dekker (Northcote City), Jake Nakic (Pascoe Vale)

6 – Jack Petrie (Heidelberg United), Leigh Minopoulos (South Melbourne), Daniel O’Donnell (Ballarat Red Devils)

5 – Deang Aguek (Ballarat Red Devils), Paul Harvey (Ballarat Red Devils), Matthew Millar (Dandenong Thunder), Daniel Vasilevski (Heidelberg United), Richie Cardozo (Hume City), Daniel Visevic (Melbourne Knights), Jonathan Munoz (Northcote City), Trent Rixon (Northcote City), Luca Santilli (Pascoe Vale), Kevin Braniff (Port Melbourne), Lambros Honos (Port Melbourne), Mathew Theodore (South Melbourne), Steven Cudrig (Werribee City), Stipo Andrijasevic (Melbourne Knights), Liam Wooding (Northcote City)

NPL 1 – Catch-up Round

North Geelong Warriors v Richmond
2nd v 6th     
2.00pm, Saturday August 30, 2014
Elcho Park
Twitter: Live updates on Twitter @nplvictoria, #NGWvRSC #NPLVIC

Moreland Zebras v FC Bendigo
7th v 12th             
3.00pm, Saturday August 30, 2014
De Chene Reserve
Twitter: Live updates on Twitter @nplvictoria, #MZvFCB #NPLVIC

NPL 1 leading goalscorers:

26 – Joseph Katebian (FC Bulleen Lions)

20 – Tom Cahill (Richmond)

13 – Rinor Muriqi (Box Hill United)

12 – Max Etheridge (Kingston City)

11 – Kenny Athiu (Box Hill United), Oleksiy Khrapko (Avondale Heights), Juso Julardzija (North Geelong Warriors), Mark Paleka (North Geelong Warriors), Nick Symeoy (Moreland Zebras),

10 –Andrew Le Page (Avondale Heights), Hamlet Armenian (Richmond), Gino Defeo (Kingston City), Vojislav Milojevic (Springvale White Eagles)

9 –Dario Matkovic (Dandenong City), Matthew Breeze (FC Bendigo),

8 – Reardo Luka (North Geelong Warriors), Kliment Dimitrieski (Whittlesea Ranges), Barry Devlin (St Albans Saints)

7 – Manuell Sadik (Sunshine George Cross), George Slefendorfas (FC Bendigo), Velibor Mitrovic (Kingston City), Stjepan Trbuhovic (Whittlesea Ranges)

6 – Goran Jozeljic (Dandenong City), Jason Principato (Avondale Heights), Sean McIlroy (St Albans Saints),

5 – Ryan Don Paul (Springvale White Eagles), Matthew Iuliano (Whittlesea Ranges), Delfin Mosibe (Sunshine George Cross), Brodie Paterson (St Albans Saints), Alex Dao (FC Bulleen Lions), Christopher Dib (Sunshine George Cross), Ryan Oppermann (Richmond)

Image credit: Graeme Furlong