A round full of goals saw 28 netted across all NPL games this week, with Pascoe Vale’s 4-2 victory over Hume City starting Round 14 in ominous fashion.
More goalfests followed on the Saturday with five goals split 2-3 between Ballarat and Bentleigh, and 4-1 as the Cannons pummelled the Goulburn Valley Suns. Port Melbourne put a much needed win on the board with a 3-1 result against Dandenong Thunder.
Green Gully and South Melbourne – who picked up their first win in three attempts – both had 3-0 results go their way whilst the rounds lowest scoring game saw a tight contest between the Knights and Northcote City.
Formation 4-4-2
GK: Christopher May (Melbourne Knights)
A battle of the keepers saw May’s Melbourne Knights draw level with Chris Theodoridis’ Northcote City. May gets the job in the starting eleven despite both custodians having blinders. A penalty save amongst a number of other world class stops allowed his side to take a point out of the clash.
RB: Sakhi Zada Faisal (Dandenong Thunder)
The versatile defender was selected as the man of the match by the match reporter present in a losing Dandenong side. Capable of playing both right back and in the middle, this week he finds himself filling the spot at full-back after his solid display in the center, despite his side conceding three.
CB: Michael Eagar (South Melbourne)
Eagar has been stellar all season for South Melbourne and was again influential as he marshaled his side to a clean sheet and three points. He gave the potent Heidelberg forwards nothing all night, often killing off the momentum the opponents built going forward.
CB: Aron Wilford (Oakleigh Cannons)
The burly Englishman has been a consistent performer at the top level of Victorian football for years now and this season is no different. Another commanding performance from the veteran center-back saw him lead his team towards another convincing win although unfortunately the clean sheet didn’t stay intact.
LB: Brad Norton (South Melbourne)
The second South defender to feature in the Team of the Week, full-back Brad Norton had a great game on the left, where he linked up well with Nick Epifano, who himself is stiff to miss out on selection. On the overlap he provided his usual sharp delivery while not shirking his defensive duties. He picked up an assist for Milos Lujic’s first half goal.
RM: Jonathan Voulgaris (Pascoe Vale)
Despite a rather soft sending off, Voulgaris made an incredible impact in the time he spent on the pitch. Three crosses of his resulted in goals, one striking a hand in the box which won a penalty, with the other two turned in by his teammate Luca Santilli.
CM: Wayne Wallace (Bentleigh Greens)
Captain Wayne Wallace again lived up to his exceptionally high standard, with another team orientated performance. His delivery in the second half in particular swung momentum back the Greens way before firing home himself to equalize proceedings against Ballarat.
CM: Christian Cavallo (Bentleigh Greens)
Cavallo joins his teammate Wallace in the Team of the Week after a stellar game on the left side of a midfield three. The young man was key in starting his sides comeback, firing a beauty home early in the second half. He’s stood up in recent weeks, especially in the absence of star Luc Jeggo.
LM: Luca Santilli (Pascoe Vale)
Along with teammate and fellow winger Voulgaris, Santilli – of the Luca variety – had a massive game, with the two wide men wreaking havoc on both flanks. Often swapping positions between them, Santilli showed great mobility to strike a brace. The pair’s link up play with captain Joseph Youssef was great to watch.
ST: Jason Hayne (Green Gully)
Green Gully’s Jason Hayne netted a match winning brace for his side in their 3-0 win against Werribee. He was opportunistic in his approach, tapping home at the far post before using his chest to nab his second.
ST: Deang Aguek (Ballarat Red Devils)
A new signing for Ballarat, Aguek went from State League 1 straight into the starting XI for his new club and what an impression he made, scoring a first half brace to put the Red Devils two goals up. Two fantastic goals they were too, chipping Alistair Bray from distance before hitting a sumptuous volley to double the lead.
Substitutes:
Chris Theodoridis (Northcote City)
Pitted against Christopher May, the Northcote shot stopper thrived under the pressure of matching his opposite number. He pulled off some insane diving saves, especially in a tense second half which saw Northcote escape with a draw.
Lambros Honos (Port Melbourne Sharks)
Nominated as the best performing Port Melbourne player, Honos earned his just rewards late into the contest against the Thunder. He scored a neat chip to put the game beyond reach, and no one would’ve argued that he deserved it.
Dusan Bosnjak (Oakleigh Cannons)
Another good performance for Bosnjak was capped off with a goal as his consistent season in the NPL continues. Looked dangerous going forward and was precise with his use of the ball.
Osagie Ederaro (Green Gully)
Was the best on field for Green Gully and only misses selection due to other outstanding performers in his position. Was involved in the build up to all of their goals and made the left flank his own against a Werribee side that had no answers for his pace and delivery.
Shayan Alinejad (Melbourne Knights)
The pacey right winger scored the Knights equalizer against Northcote and was only denied a second by the brilliance of Theodoridis. He ran hard throughout the contest and impacted the contest with his willingness to run.
Special thanks to Brad Hutchings (@BradHutchings_), Tonci Prusac, Julian Buckeridge (@MrJulianB), Bill Molloy (@Bill_Molloy) and Rory Flanagan (@Rory_Flanagan) for their contributions this week.