Port Melbourne Sharks SC (5th) vs Werribee City FC (13th)
The form
It was a big old shock last week when the free-scoring Port Melbourne not only lost to lowly Dandenong Thunder, but couldn’t muster a goal despite possessing a more than potent forward line. Werribee were their usual agonising selves, losing to Pascoe Vale by only the one goal, but conceding it deep into the contest.
The players to watch
For Werribee, it could again be a challenge defensively, but as Dandenong showed, it is possible to stifle Port Melbourne. Therefore, the defensive stocks of Daniel Chaabani and Frano Saric will have to be on their game once more. For Port, Andrew Milicevic often goes about his business without fuss, but the eyes will be on Julius Davies, who can be the key if he fires on all cylinders.
The prediction
You just want Werribee to get the monkey off their backs, otherwise it’ll feel more like a gorilla. It’s hard to see them take away anything from Port Melbourne though, who will have learnt their lessons from last week. Hate to say it, but maybe just another narrow loss for the Bees. Oh heck, maybe a tight 1-1 draw.
Melbourne Knights FC (4th) vs Green Gully SC (8th)
The form
Neither of these clubs are in great form, with Knights dropping points to Bentleigh, Oakleigh and South Melbourne in a tough run of games. That’s not to say the Knights have been playing all that poorly, and may just be licking their lips at the prospect facing Green Gully, who not only were defeated by Kingston City in the FFA Cup, but had to suffer the indignity of the Heidelberg clash, which we’ll leave best summarised by this comment:
The players to watch
Green Gully really need Roddy Vargas back, because two results without him this season have ended in 6-1 and 8-2 defeats. And after a season ending knee injury to Kieran Gonzalez, goalkeeping coach Seb Mattei has been forced out of retirement at the ripe old age of 24. Will he get a run? Melbourne Knights, however, have the firepower to trouble their defence, and after scoring in the FFA Cup, can Adrian Zahra and Stipo Andrijasevic emulate it in the NPL?
Meanwhile, Chris May made one of the saves of the season last week, palming away a South Melbourne effort from well outside the box. And by that we mean that he was literally outside the box when he stopped it, not earning a red card for his troubles.
The Prediction
Whilst Green Gully will be fired up to bounce back from a really disappointing week, it’s difficult to look past the Knights for this one, who have some bouncing back of their own to do to keep in touch with the top few teams in the NPL. Therefore, a comfortable 3-1 victory to the hosts.
Avondale FC (9th) vs Dandenong Thunder SC (11th)
The form
Avondale FC have been ticking along nicely, picking up points here and there, this time accounting for North Geelong at Elcho Park to sit somewhat comfortably near mid-table. Dandenong Thunder, however, also finally had something to smile about, snapping their five game losing run to put away a more fancied Port Melbourne.
The players to watch.
Jonathan Munoz was Avondale’s penalty taker last week, and that’s as good as it might get for him, as it’s unlikely another team will give away another two penalties. Oleksiy Khrapko is another player that can trouble the Thunder defence. Young Yusuf Ahmed has been in good touch recently, and if his form – along with Dandenong’s results – continue to be positive, you may be seeing more of the excitement shown on his ask.fm account:
And after copping enough banter on his club’s Facebook page, we also wish Jarryd Barnes a good game. Regardless if it’s off the bench.
The prediction
A tight tussle no doubt, but one that Avondale will fancy to claim at home. Therefore, we’ll go with a hard-fought 1-0 win to the hosts, who will allow the visitors very few sights on goal.
Hume City FC (6th) vs South Melbourne FC (3rd)
The form
Heidelberg weren’t the only ones scoring eight goals last week, with South Melbourne putting away North Sunshine Eagles 8-0 in the FFA Cup. That result backed up a fiery 2-1 derby victory over Melbourne Knights, so everything seems pretty rosy down at Lakeside at the moment. Hume, however, have stuttered recently, drawing against Werribee and going down to Bentleigh Greens 1-0, in a clash that was ultimately decided by a refereeing decision.
The players
It’s time for another shoutout for Shane Rexhepi, who was on radio this week talking about his cancer appeal in memory of his late father, so here’s to a goal or clean sheet. It may not come that easily against South Melbourne, who have Milos Lujic almost topping the goalscorers charts again and giving everybody the “shhhhh” celebration in the process. Also, the #justicefornorton campaign seems to have paid off, with a Team of the Week appearance for the hard-working fullback Brad Norton. Now get off our backs, Dane Milovanovic!
Also, it seems after his top performance against the Knights, and his exploits in Tasmania the season before, Andy Brennan is off to trial with the Newcastle Jets!
https://www.facebook.com/SouthHobartFootballClub/posts/839811679437184
The prediction
We were pretty much on the money when we said South would come back from a goal down to win 2-1 with Brennan scoring the winner, so this time we’ll go ahead and predict the same 2-1 win, but with Hume scoring a late consolation this time.
Oakleigh Cannons FC (12th) vs Heidelberg United FC (1st)
The form
Life couldn’t be any better for Heidelberg United at the moment, topping the NPL table and smashing 8 goals against Gully in the process. Oakleigh have seen some better form recently, clawing back hard fought draws against the Knights and Northcote even when down a man, so they’re slowly working themselves towards the right end of the ladder.
The players
There was a situation last week when John Honos was red-carded against Northcote and Lambros was then made the sacrificial lamb for back-up ‘keeper Lajos Hun, seeing the Cannons Honosless for a while there. While Lambros will probably return to the line-up, see how Hun fares against the Bergers in John’s absence. While Andreas Govas was making a reputation for himself for scoring worldies, he joins the rest of his teammates in a more realistic Team of the Week:
The prediction
Oakleigh still haven’t been at their best, and this game may play them into form for matches to come, but in the process Heidelberg will be too solid defensively and up-front, winning 2-0.
Northcote City FC (10th) vs North Geelong Warriors FC (14th)
The form
The form of both sides hasn’t been ideal, so this clash will be involve two desperate sides. Nortchote couldn’t hang on for a victory against 10-man Oakleigh, having to settle for a draw, while North Geelong were feeling aggrieved that they didn’t have a draw when Matt Townley’s goal against Avondale was taken away from him after the referee saw a foul on the ‘keeper.
The players
Look out for Nikola Jurkovic, who’s another good young prospect playing for a feature article on the Corner Flag.
Jordan Wilkes will be the man to hopefully shore up Northcote’s defence, as they have, after all, conceded the equal most goals, along with North Geelong and Green Gully.
The prediction
With table-propping Geelong somewhat desperate for a result, Northcote not in a much better situation, and both sides freely shipping in goals, this clash may be the total opposite and result in a cagey 0-0 or 1-1 draw. But probably not.
Postponed: Pascoe Vale SC (7th) vs Bentleigh Greens SC (2nd)
This game is postponed until Wednesday, June 3, 2015, but since we already wrote it up, we’re not clearing it.
The irrelevant form
#2015isGreen if you believe the catchy hashtag, but Bentleigh were left seeing (Ballarat) Red (Devils) after their earlier than expected FFA Cup exit. Otherwise, their league form has been fine. Pascoe Vale are in a similar boat, being in good league form, though with a couple of slip ups against Avondale in the league and North Geelong in the Cup.
The players to watch another week
It’s all about Wayne Wallace this week, who returned to the Team of the Week and hopefully for his and Bentleigh’s sake gets in a few more times. Meanwhile, it seems a desperate situation for Adam Nakic, who just can’t catch Carl Recchia’s season goal tally of one, and it looks like it’s becoming both a mental and physical strain on the midfielder:
Another player to watch out for is Matt Conversano, because he’s young and talented and has potential and was recently the subject of one of our stories. Time for some shameless self promotion – give it a read by clicking here.
The prediction
We predict they won’t play this weekend.