Brunswick City, who continue their unbeaten streak, went without a defeat for the month and hence feature prominently throughout the East Team of the Month in July. Kingston and Eastern also enjoy good representation, the former also with a few crucial wins this month in the title race.
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GK: Sermin Sadikovski (Kingston City)
Continued on from where he left off in June and is rewarded with a starting spot this month after being selected on the bench in the previous TOTM. Two clean sheets, a save of the season contender against Nunawading and an outstanding double save in the crucial 2-1 victory over Dandenong City were just two of many impressive highlight reels over his last five games.
RB: Jeremy Min Fa (Springvale White Eagles)
A pillar of consistency on the right-hand side of the White Eagles backline, the former Malvern City defender has continued his good form into July where despite suffering the disappointment of three straight defeats to begin the month, was faultless in two successive 3-0 victories where he also provided a number of effective runs forward to support the attack.
CB: Thomas Lakic (Box Hill United)
A number of great performances has seen the former Melbourne Victory Youth team defender win plenty of plaudits at Box Hill – a club he only joined last month from Oakleigh. Has developed a good understanding at the back with fellow youngster Thomas Simos with his month best exemplified by a superb last-ditch block to deny Barnes an almost certain goal in the 2-1 victory over Thunder.
CB: Andrew Williams (Eastern Lions)
Captain, leader, legend are certainly some of the terms associated with the long-standing Lions servant, who made his 200th appearance for the club in the 2-1 defeat of Nunawading. Despite playing his part in a number of good defensive displays, his most pivotal contribution saw him overturn a 1-0 deficit to defeat Springvale 2-1 thanks to a rare brace from their skipper.
LB: Nathan Fox (Brunswick City)
The regular left-back has spent much of the month deputising in the centre of defence where he has partnered Mike Cunningham in the absence of injured skipper Frank Serratore. The former Green Gully defender has made a seamless transition as the Spartans conceded just once in four games, with the 21 year-old containing the likes of Stoilovic, Osmancevic and Barnes in the process.
RM: Andrew Le Page (Brunswick City)
Arguably the signing of the mid-season transfer window, the former Avondale winger is getting back to the form he was in two years ago when he helped the Avengers clinch promotion from NPL2. Two winning goals either side of the month – the latter an audacious Liam Boland-like lob from distance against Thunder – the highlights in a great month for both club and player.
CM: Nick Stamatiou (Kingston City)
The Kingston veteran has been a rock at the heart of the City midfield in a month which saw Nick Tolios’ overturn a six point buffer Thunder had on them at the top of the table. Composed and assured in midfield, the club stalwart put in a number of strong outings as his midfield partnership with Slaven Vranesevic blossomed over the course of the month as his side collected four wins from five.
CM: Sebastian Barrero (Eastern Lions)
Another mid-season signing, the Colombian-born midfielder has looked right at home following his mid-season move from Box Hill. Solid performances in victories against the likes of Kingston, Springvale and Nunawading justify his place in the starting eleven, where he has been a driving force as the Lions hit some good form over the past month.
LM: Daniel Bennett (Dandenong Thunder)
Constantly proved his worth with an abundance of energy down the flanks, the former Canberra FC winger began his month in style with a delightful volley to open the scoring in the 1-1 derby draw against Dandenong City. Created numerous scoring opportunities in the following fixtures which included providing two assists in the 5-0 romp away to Murray.
RF: Daniel Heffernan (Goulburn Valley Suns)
The former Heidelberg United and Central Coast Mariner forward was tasked with replacing the goalscoring exploits of former Sun Craig Carley who left the club in May and has so far done that with 6 goals since joining Goulburn in June. A brace against Nunawading and further strikes against Thunder and Box Hill saw him bag four goals in 5 this month
LF: Adam Wright (Brunswick City)
The Welshman initially struggled to make the impact he desired in the first half of the season but has come into life in the last two months with the Spartans currently the most in-form team in the competition having not lost in their last nine fixtures. Three goals in four games from their star striker this month, sees him take his season tally to 13 in 22 games.
Substitutes
Keegan Coulter (Box Hill United)
The former Melbourne Victory goalkeeper makes his first TOTM appearance after some stellar contributions over the past month. He produced another of prominent saves to keep Thunder at bay in what was their first defeat of the season before keeping United in the game in their 1-1 draw away to Goulburn as well as keeping a clean sheet against the Eastern Lions.
Dario Matkovic (Dandenong City)
The Hajduk veteran spent the majority of the month deputising in an unfamiliar right-back position after injuries to Luke Burgess and John Carroll respectively. Was one of City’s best in the high quality 1-1 draw away to Thunder where he provided the cross which led to the equaliser while also netting penalties in the 3-1 win at home against Goulburn and 2-1 defeat to Kingston.
Brendan Elmazovski (Dandenong Thunder)
A second successive TOTM appearance for the Thunder captain who has taken his game to the next level in the last couple of months by providing solid performances at either left-back or in the centre of the park. Stood up and was counted when it matter most as his brace against the Goulburn Valley Suns saw Huss Skenderovic’s men secure a crucial 3-2 home win.
Mouad Zwed (Kingston City)
The Polish-born, Libyan winger also makes his second successive TOTM appearance – albeit this time on the bench – after a string of strong performances down the wing where he made a number of key attacking contributions. The most telling proved to be an assist for the opener against Dandenong City before being fouled in the box which resulted in Velibor Mitrovic’s successful penalty conversion.
Brandon Barnes (Dandenong Thunder)
The league’s leading goalscorer continued to find the back of the net in July which saw the Englishman net a hat-trick against Murray, a penalty against Box Hill and the winner against Goulburn. His month was however soured by two missed penalties, the latter a crucial spot-kick against Brunswick which saw saved by City goalkeeper Wes Coles on a frustrating afternoon for the league-leaders.