VPL Round 13 Preview

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Bentleigh Greens v Richmond
Fri 8:15pm, Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
4th v 10th

Last Round:
Green Gully Cavaliers 2-0 Bentleigh Greens
Richmond 0-0 Northcote City

VPL History:
Bentleigh Greens win: 0
Richmond win: 4
Draw: 1

Reverse Fixture:
Richmond 2-0 Bentleigh Greens

Form:
Bentleigh Greens: WDWLL
Richmond: DLLDD

A crunch match for two teams who need to get back on track.

Richmond, despite only the top three sides having fewer losses than them, sit in tenth position and are in serious danger of falling into the relegation zone. The positive is that with so many draws, wins can’t be too far away; but they will need to start taking the three points sooner rather than later otherwise it could be fatal.

Bentleigh’s position on the ladder looks impressive enough, but the boys from Kingston Heath will not be happy where they sit following two consecutive losses. An extra six points would have put them in a great position to vie for the Minor Premiership, but with that now seemingly out of reach, they need to put their disappointment aside and concentrate on cementing their place in the finals.

Northcote City v Southern Stars
Sat 3pm, John Cain Memorial Park
3rd v 6th 

Last Round:
Richmond 0-0 Northcote City
Southern Stars 2-1 Dandenong Thunder

VPL History:
Northcote City win: 0
Southern Stars win: 1
Draw: 0

Reverse Fixture:
Southern Stars 2-1 Northcote City

Form:
Northcote City: WWWDD
Southern Stars: DWDWW

Another huge match as two teams in good form face-off with each other in what will be a big test for each club. Northcote and Stars, undefeated for eleven matches between them, will each be feeling confident in claiming the victory.

Eyes will be on Stars in particular after they became the first team to defeat Dandenong Thunder last week. Players and coaches at the club are adamant it isn’t a once-off performance and that they have been building up to that point from the start of the season, so a good performance here could convince the rest of the VPL that they are genuine Premiership contenders..

Dandenong Thunder v Hume City
Sat 7pm, George Andrews Reserve
1st v 7th

Last Round:
Southern Stars 2-1 Dandenong Thunder
Hume City 1-2 Melbourne Knights

VPL History:
Dandenong Thunder win: 5
Hume City win: 2
Draw: 1

Reverse Fixture:
Hume City 0-3 Dandenong Thunder

Form:
Dandenong Thunder: DDWDL
Hume City: WWDLL

Two weeks ago this fixture would have been billed as a match between the two form teams of the VPL, but with neither side tasting victory since, this match has a totally different significance.

After falling to their first loss of the season, Dandenong will be hungry to make amends and although Hume will be looking to get back on the winners track a wounded Thunder could possibly be too much.

Melbourne Knights v Moreland Zebras
Sun 3pm, Knights Stadium
9th v 11th

Last Round:
Hume City 1-2 Melbourne Knights
Moreland Zebras 2-2 South Melbourne

VPL History:
Melbourne Knights win: 5
Moreland Zebras win: 2
Draw: 4

Reverse Fixture:
Moreland Zebras 0-3 Melbourne Knights

Form:
Melbourne Knights: LWWLW
Moreland Zebras: LLWWD

On paper this looks like a battle between two bottom-of-the-table sides with avoiding relegation the only real motivator – but in essence both sides are in good form and finals are not an impossible task.

Knights have been re-born under Andrew Marth, and although suffering the occasional loss, have been looking good since the appointment of the club legend. Moreland have also begun to make a recovery, going undefeated for the past three weeks.

Heidelberg United v Green Gully Cavaliers
Sun 3pm, Olympic Village
12th v 5th

Last Round:
Oakleigh Cannons 3-2 Heidelberg United
Green Gully Cavaliers 2-0 Bentleigh Greens

VPL History:
Heidelberg United win: 9
Green Gully Cavaliers win: 14
Draw: 7

Reverse Fixture:
Green Gully Cavaliers 4-0 Heidelberg United

Form:
Heidelberg United: LDLLL
Green Gully Cavaliers: LLLDW

Heidelberg will be hoping to capitalise on their improved performances and claim a win over last season’s Champions Green Gully.
Since the reinstatement of last season’s coach George Katsakis, Heidelberg’s performances have improved considerably, and despite being seven points from safety there is renewed hope at Olympic Village.

Green Gully have been inconsistent so far this season, but have hinted at their traditional second half of the season rampage with a convincing victory over Bentleigh Greens last round. Despite exiting the State Knockout Cup with a 4-0 loss to Port Melbourne during the week, the focus will be on this match and ensuring they don’t slip up.

South Melbourne v Oakleigh Cannons
Sun 5pm, Lakeside Stadium
8th v 2nd

Last Round:
Moreland Zebras 2-2 South Melbourne
Oakleigh Cannons 3-2 Heidelberg United

VPL History:
South Melbourne win: 7
Oakleigh Cannons win: 6
Draw: 3

Reverse Fixture:
Oakleigh Cannons 1-3 South Melbourne

Form:
South Melbourne: DLLWD
Oakleigh Cannons: WDLWW

Oakleigh will be hungry for revenge after a come-from-behind victory to South Melbourne left the Cannons reeling earlier in the season. Since then, Oakleigh have been the more successful of the two sides and sit in second place.

South Melbourne have been poor and that has been denied by no one – but with the introduction of Andy Vlahos as well as 2011 West Australian Footballer of the Year Steve Burton, the boys from Lakeside could be a different prospect altogether.

How quickly they can gel will be the question, as Oakleigh are a hard side to face. Either way, an entertaining contest is guaranteed.

Goals
9 – Luke Sherbon, Dandenong Thunder
8 – Nate Foster, Dandenong Thunder
7 – James Kalifatidis, Northcote City
5 – Jason Hayne, Green Gully Cavaliers
5 – Ricky Diaco, Oakleigh Cannons
5 – Nicholas Hegarty, Hume City

Yellow Cards
5 – Steven Topalovic, Richmond
5 – Daniel Jones, Green Gully Cavaliers
5 – Brian Bran, Dandenong Thunder
5 – Jonathan Voulgaris, Northcote City
4 – Andrew Viola & Daniel Visevic & Nicholas Marinos, Richmond
4 – Saso Alexovski & Mitchell Bissinger, Heidelberg United
4 – Frankie Lagana, Oakleigh Cannons
4 – Adam Zilic, Melbourne Knights
4 – Isiyan Erdogan, Hume City

Red Cards
3 – Richmond (Liam Cannell, Michael Ferrante, Mate Medjedovic)
3 – Southern Stars (Lean Williams, Ridvan Saglam, Halil Gur)
2 – Green Gully Cavaliers (Patricio Vargas, Mile Medjedovic)
1 – Heidelberg United (George Papadopoulos)
1 – Melbourne Knights (Ben Surey)