With Football Manager 2016 lauded for its realism and scouting depth of the NPL Victoria in its newest edition, we thought it’d be interesting to see how the league pans in the virtual sphere, running alongside the league season proper.
In week five of the simulation, we’ve seen a number of teams performing above and beyond their real life form – Avondale FC, Melbourne Victory, Oakleigh Cannons – while clubs such as Hume City and Pascoe Vale are struggling for form and results.
Please let us know anything you’d like to see from this save (individual player performance, most clean sheets, highest average rating) and we’ll try our best to work it into next week’s preview
***
Port Melbourne Sharks 
vs. Pascoe Vale 
Football Manager’s take: League leaders Port Melbourne were toothless in attack as Pascoe Vale stifled the impact of their opponents by defending high up the pitch and limiting their space on the ball. This saw Pascoe Vale control the match in terms of both possession (57%) and chances created (11) while also stifling Port’s impact in the forward third as their opponents registered just two shots, with just one on target.
Man of the Match: Aaron Cohen (7.9)
Our take: Both Port Melbourne and Pascoe Vale boast exceptional defensive records in 2016, the difference being Paco’s ability to hit the back of the net with more frequency. Both sides are coming off FFA Cup victories, but the story was very different. Paco was forced into extra-time against State One side Casey Comets, while Port flexed their attacking muscle with a six goal haul against Box Hill United.
Richmond SC 
vs. South Melbourne 
Football Manager’s take: Courtesy of an Alex Caniglia header, hosts Richmond SC took a shock lead, but from there it was all down hill. South looked dangerous with their pace from wide areas and managed to hit the woodwork three times in the game. Marcus Schroen fed Leigh Minopoulos for his first league goal of the season, with midfielders Iqi Jawadi and Philzgerald Mbaka supplying the balls for a second half Nick Epifano double to win the tie.
Man of the Match: Nick Epifano (8.8)
Our take: On paper, this should be the most one-sided game of the NPL Victoria round – but football doesn’t work that way. Richmond have been woeful defensively this season and despite scoring three goals a fortnight ago against Melbourne Victory, they conceded six times, a worrying sign coming up against the team with the best attacking record this season. There will be goals in this one.
Melbourne Knights 
vs. Bulleen Lions 
Football Manager’s take: Ivan Grgic was in immaculate touch as he made a telling impact against Bulleen in a 2-1 victory for the Knights. His ball down the right flank set up the opening goal, as Stipo Andrijacevic crossed for substitute Jason Hicks to header home in the second half. Andrijacevic was involved in the Knights’ second as he chested down for Josh Brekalo to cross, finding an unmarked Grgic to tap home from close range. Shayan Alinejad was able to pinch one back for the Lions in injury-time, dispatching an Eli Luttmer cross.
Man of the Match: Josh Brekalo (8.0)
Our take: A tough one to tip. Melbourne Knights have found their feet after a heavy loss to Heidelberg United last month, grabbing four points in their last two games, including a steely point with 10 men against Port. Bulleen Lions are sitting pretty in seventh – over Knights in 10th on goal difference – and have impressed onlookers so far with their impressive performances in 2016. They’ll be disappointed not to have registered a second win of the league season against South Melbourne, as they coughed up a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at the Veneto Club.
Heidelberg United 
vs. Avondale FC 
Football Manager’s take: Avondale came from behind to beat Heidelberg 2-1, in a game that saw very few clear-cut chances created across the 90 minutes. A goal to Kenny Athiu, supplied by a John Lazaridis cross, put the hosts in front before Avondale hit back almost immediately through Alex Khrapko, who placed a shot into the bottom corner having been slipped through by a reverse pass from Matthew Sanders. Mass Murdocca’s deep free-kick set up the winner for Jeffrey Fleming with a second half header. Space Dilevski was incorrectly denied a thumping goal from 25-yards due to an offside call, which on replay showed he was half a metre behind the line.
Man of the Match: Baki Efe (7.6)
Our take: For one reason or another Avondale FC have failed to fire so far this season. They were poor in the first 45 minutes against Bentleigh in their last league fixture but improved immensely after going down a man. They consolidated on that with a tune-up win over Monbulk Rangers, who were defeated 4-0 in their FFA Cup fixture on the weekend. Heidelberg knocked NPL2 side Whittlesea Ranges out of the cup, following on from a 0-0 draw against Green Gully the week prior. That’s now two clean sheets for their back four who have all rallied with distinction since a heavy loss to South Melbourne to open the season.
Bentleigh Greens 
vs. Oakleigh Cannons 
Football Manager’s take: A forgettable contest at Kingston Heath saw Bentleigh and Oakleigh fight out a nil-all draw. Cannon John Honos was forced into a number of good saves to deny Matthew Thurtell and Tyson Holmes, while Oakleigh enjoyed the majority of the opportunities without sticking them away. The game lulled in the second half and faded into a scoreless draw.
Man of the Match: Luke Pilkington (7.7)
Our take: Bentleigh continue to plod along, registering their third league win of the season against Avondale, while consolidating with a 6-1 FFA Cup win over Diamond Valley United. The title contenders sit in second place on the NPL ladder and will fancy their chances at toppling an Oakleigh Cannons side who’ve been inconsistent in both performance and results. They picked up their first win of the season with a 2-1 result against Hume City in their last league fixture.
Melbourne Victory 
vs. Hume City 
Football Manager’s take: In the pick of the round’s fixtures, Melbourne Victory dismantled Hume City 4-0, with Stefan Nigro playing the role of architect in the midfield and George Howard the dispatcher. The latter was involved in all assets of the play, helping set up the first goal for Joey Katebian via a Kieran Dover through ball. Katebian had a strike ruled off for a foul on Nigro, before Reece Caldecourt struck a beautiful volley from a corner kick. A second half double to Howard completed the rout in a game which Victory controlled from start to finish.
Man of the Match: George Howard (9.3)
Our take: After a blistering start, Hume City have faded away from the leading pack, taking just a point from their last two games. They were thwarted by the brilliance of Ryan Scott in their 0-0 draw with Bentleigh, while suffering a shock loss at the hands of Oakleigh Cannons, before battling hard to avoid an upset against NPL2 side Brunswick City in the FFA Cup. Melbourne Victory enjoyed a week off playing duties and will hoping their fresh legs work in their favour after a mammoth 6-3 win over Richmond SC in their last start. This game will go a long way towards seeing where these two sides are at in 2016.
Green Gully 
vs. Northcote City 
Football Manager’s take: FM predicts an incredibly dull contest with no discernible chance of note for either side. Green Gully controlled large portions of the ball, but weren’t willing to go forward in possession. When they did, they overplayed the ball, with 25% of the total possession kept in Northcote’s defending third. Despite that, Gully only managed to fashion six shots, the best of which was a glancing header from Liam Boland that was comfortable saved by Phil Petrovski
Man of the Match: Tyler James (7.8)
Our take: A winless start to the league season for Northcote City was compounded by a poor showing in the FFA Cup, which saw them eliminated by lower league opponents St Albans Saints 1-0. On the plus side for them is their determined performance against Pascoe Vale, in which they grabbed their first clean sheet and first point for the season with a 0-0 draw. Their opponents Green Gully started slowly with just one point from their opening two fixtures, but have rallied to grab a win vs. Avondale and a clean sheet and point against Heidelberg. They will start favourites against Northcote City and will be hoping to come away with a second win of the season.
