VPL Round Seventeen preview

Six crunch matches coming up in this weekend's VPL...

Bentleigh Greens v Dandenong Thunder

Fri 8;15pm, Kingston Heath Soccer Complex

4th v 1st

 

Last Round:

Melbourne Knights 0-4 Bentleigh Greens

Dandenong Thunder 3-1 Northcote City

 

VPL History:

Bentleigh Greens win: 3

Dandenong Thunder win: 3

Draw: 1

 

Reverse Fixture:

Dandenong Thunder 2-0 Bentleigh Greens

 

Form:

Bentleigh Greens: LLWDW

Dandenong Thunder: LWLWW

 

Two high flying teams meet each other in a Friday night battle what could go down to the wire.

 

Bentleigh, after looking like dropping out of a finals position has since gone undefeated in three straight matches, but such is the nature of the VPL they can still fall out of the five if they lose against Dandenong and other results go against them.

 

Dandenong on the other hand still maintain a six point lead at the top of the table, but with six matches still remaining in the season, the title is not guaranteed yet.

 

Oakleigh Cannons v Southern Stars

Fri 8:30pm, Jack Edwards Reserve

2nd v 10th

 

Last Round:

Richmond 2-3 Oakleigh Cannons

Southern Stars 2-3 South Melbourne

 

VPL History:

Oakleigh Cannons win: 1

Southern Stars win: 0

Draw: 0

 

Reverse Fixture:

Southern Stars 0-2 Oakleigh Cannons

 

Form:

Oakleigh Cannons: WLWDW

Southern Stars: WDLDL

 

Despite what the ladder might tell you, this match will be very close and could go either way. Stars were unfortunate to lose last week when two injury time goals to South Melbourne robbed them of a win. Despite not tasting victory in four matches, Stars are a tough team to break down and Oakleigh will have their hands full.

 

The Cannons themselves have shaken off some of their mid-season inconsistency and have won three out of their past five and sit in outright second on the table; with Dandenong in their sights.

 

Green Gully Cavaliers v Richmond

Sat 3pm, Green Gully Reserve

3rd v 7th

 

Last Round:

Richmond 2-3 Oakleigh Cannons

Moreland Zebras 1-2 Green Gully Cavaliers

 

VPL History:

Green Gully Cavaliers win: 9

Richmond win: 4

Draw: 2

 

Reverse Fixture:

Richmond 1-2 Green Gully Cavaliers

 

Form:

Green Gully Cavaliers: WWWDW

Richmond: DWWWL

 

Green Gully have returned to their old tricks, mounting a tilt at the title in the second half of the season and doing it well with six consecutive matches unbeaten. Richmond meanwhile, are the king of draws and have more than any other team in the VPL – but will have to return to winning ways if they want to make up lost ground and sneak into the finals.

 

Northcote City v Moreland Zebras

Sat 3pm, John Cain Memorial Park

5th v 11th

 

Last Round:

Dandenong Thunder 3-1 Northcote City

Moreland Zebras 1-2 Green Gully Cavaliers

 

VPL History:

Northcote City win: 0

Moreland Zebras win: 1

Draw: 0

 

Reverse Fixture:

Moreland Zebras 3-0 Northcote City

 

Form:

Northcote City: DDLWL

Moreland Zebras: DLLLL

 

Moreland caused an upset in the first round of fixtures when they dominated a poor Northcote outfit 3-0, but it would take a brave person to predict that the same thing will happen this weekend.

 

Since that meeting in Round Six, Moreland have struggled in both form and results and while Northcote have had their ups and downs, they have generally been solid and find themselves in a deserved fifth place.

 

Heidelberg United v Melbourne Knights

Sun 3pm, Olympic Village

12th v 9th

 

Last Round:

Hume City 3-1 Heidelberg United

Melbourne Knights 0-4 Bentleigh Greens

 

VPL History:

Heidelberg United win: 6

Melbourne Knights win: 6

Draw: 4

 

Reverse Fixture:

Melbourne Knights 1-2 Heidelberg United

 

Form:

Heidelberg United: LLLDL

Melbourne Knights: WWWLL

 

Three weeks ago the Knights were the darlings of the Victorian Premier League, undefeated for three matches including a victory over Dandenong Thunder – but the honeymoon period has well and truly ended for Andrew Marth and his young side as they were battered 4-0 by Bentleigh Greens last week to make it consecutive losses.

 

Of course, Heidelberg are not doing any better but they will take solace in the fact that their only league win came at the Knights expense – and to prove it wasn’t a fluke they also knocked out the Sunshine club from the Cup competition.

 

South Melbourne v Hume City

Sun 5pm, Lakeside Stadium

8th v 6th

 

Last Round:

Southern Stars 2-3 South Melbourne

Hume City 3-1 Heidelberg United

 

VPL History:

South Melbourne win: 4

Hume City win: 3

Draw: 1

 

Reverse Fixture:

Hume City 0-1 South Melbourne

 

Form:

South Melbourne: DWLLW

Hume City: LLWDW

 

After looking down and out, South Melbourne’s win last week has seen them rocket back into finals contention – and with Trent Rixon’s suspension dropped to six weeks only, the mood is good down at Lakeside.

 

Despite the positive outlook, Hume will prove stiff opposition as they themselves are just outside the top five, and with three matches undefeated they will have the confidence to take home the three points.

 

Goals

15 – Luke Sherbon, Dandenong Thunder

9 – Nate Foster, Dandenong Thunder

8 – Nicholas Hegarty, Hume City

7 – James Kalifatidis, Northcote City

7 – Mathew Sanders, Green Gully Cavaliers

7 – Mark Leech, Southern Stars

6 – Ricky Diaco, Oakleigh Cannons

6 – Scott Bulloch, Bentleigh Greens

 

Yellow Cards

5 – Steven Topalovic, Richmond

5 – Daniel Jones, Green Gully Cavaliers

5 – Brian Bran, Dandenong Thunder

5 – Jonathan Voulgaris, Northcote City

5 – Adam Zilic, Melbourne Knights

5 – Craig Sweeney, Melbourne Knights

5 – Saso Alexovski, Heidelberg United

5 – Isiyan Erdogan, Hume City

5 – Nicholas Marinos, Heidelberg United

 

Red Cards

3 – Richmond (Liam Cannell, Michael Ferrante, Mate Medjedovic)

3 – Southern Stars (Lean Williams, Ridvan Saglam, Halil Gur)

3 – South Melbourne (Thomas Matthews, Trent Rixon, Shaun Kelly)

3 – Melbourne Knights (Ben Surey, Timislav Uskok, Shaun Romein)

2 – Green Gully Cavaliers (Patricio Vargas, Mile Medjedovic)

1 – Heidelberg United (George Papadopoulos)

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