Round 19 of the NPL Victoria surprisingly saw three 1-1 draws start off the round, with draws kept at a premium in the league this season so far. It was Port Melbourne and Green Gully, Northcote City and South Melbourne as well as Goulburn Valley Suns against Melbourne Knights which shared a similar result.
The other four games for the round saw Pascoe Vale earn a come from behind 2-1 victory over out-of-form Dandenong Thunder, as well as a loss for fellow strugglers Werribee City against Ballarat Red Devils.
Oakleigh Cannons gained ground on the leaders with a 2-1 win over the steely Bentleigh Greens while the final result of the round saw Heidelberg account for fifth place Hume City, with the final score 2-0.
GK: John Honos (Oakleigh Cannons)
Nominated as the best player on the pitch as Northcote pinched a scrappy 2-1 win, Honos kept Bentleigh to just the one goal, with a number of eye-catching saves thrown in the mix. The keeper looked safe as houses all contest.
LB: Phillip Petreski (Northcote City)
A solid performer on the left flank for Northcote City. The full back was equally adept at both ends of the pitch, putting in some fantastic covering tackles whilst also proving his effectiveness going forward. A best on ground performance.
CB: Steven Pace (Heidelberg United)
The centre-back led his team well in their 2-0 win over Hume City, putting in a number of stellar challenges whilst also keeping things simple and in control. Keeping a clean sheet, Pace makes another appearance in our Team of the Week.
CB: Steven Thomson (Ballarat Red Devils)
Was a standout player for Ballarat and combined well with fellow centre-back Danny O’Donnell to keep Werribee at bay for most of the contest. Thomson stood tall, looked composed and cut of a number of deliveries heading for the area. Very unlucky to see the clean sheet fade as a scrappy goal late tarnished it for the regional side.
RB: Kris Kioussis (Dandenong Thunder)
Filling in on the right for our Team of the Week despite playing at left back on the weekend, Kioussis put in a decent performance for the Thunder despite his side eventually losing 2-1. He put in a marathon display, running both ends of the pitch with pleasure, cutting off plenty of delivery and putting in his fair share at the other end.
CM: Joseph Youssef (Pascoe Vale)
Pascoe Vale’s best started through Youssef as the midfielder did his best to open up the play. He did just that as he assisted Jake Nakic for his second of the night. He got himself on the ball plenty and used it well, while also showing good attacking intent.
CM: Wayne Wallace (Bentleigh Greens)
Quite possibly for the first time this season, we’ve had a player make three consecutive appearances in our Team of the Week. Wayne Wallace – the cornerstone of this hard working Bentleigh side – once again proved his class in the middle of the park, breaking up the play and testing the keeper on a number of occasions.
CAM: Feston Azizi (Dandenong Thunder)
The second Dandenong player to make the cut despite his side coming off second best. Azizi stood out for the Thunder behind the strikers, opening the scoring as well as putting a number of dangerous deliveries into the Pascoe Vale box. His set-pieces in particular looked a threat.
ST: Dan Heffernan (Heidelberg United)
The forward took to the field despite being under the weather but he showed no ill effects as he put in a man-of-the-match display against Hume. He created the opener after being upended in the penalty area, before dispatching clinically from the spot.
ST: Paul Harvey (Ballarat Red Devils)
The standout player in Ballarat’s big 3-1 win over the Werribee City, which saw the regional club leapfrog their opponents out of the relegation zone. The forward netted a brace in the win, with the first a well-taken volley. He’s been in stellar form since linking up with the Red Devils from NPL1 club Bulleen Lions.
ST: Jake Nakic (Pascoe Vale)
A clinical performance from Pascoe Vale’s best performer of the night. The forward scored both of his side’s goals in the 2-1 win and could’ve had more if not for some stringent defence at times. The former Dandenong man would’ve been pleased to get one over his old teammates.
Substitutes:
Yaren Sozer (Pascoe Vale)
The young keeper played out of his skin to keep at bay a dangerous looking Thunder attack. Standing in for usual custodian Stefaan Sardelic – who injured himself last week – Sozer stood up to the task of keeping Pascoe Vale’s three points safe.
Tyson Holmes (South Melbourne)
South Melbourne’s most likely on the night. Holmes laid on an assist for Milos Lujic 20 minutes from time; only one example of the midfielder unlocking the Northcote defence throughout the game.
Simon Colosimo (Goulburn Valley Suns)
Another massive game for the A-League veteran as he steered Goulburn Valley towards a second game unbeaten. Conceding just the one goal – and an unfortunate own goal at that – he marshalled the Suns defence towards a hard earned draw against the Knights.
Abel Fesseha (Hume City)
Was the best for Hume in a losing side. Won the penalty that could’ve seen Hume steal a point from the contest but the resultant spot-kick was saved. His presence and sharp run’s into the area caused problems all night for an on task Heidelberg defence.
Jordan O’Doherty (Melbourne Knights)
Was the best player for Melbourne Knights, causing trouble in spades on the flank. He had a bunch of opportunities to put one home for the visitors, two in particular that should’ve resulted in goals.
Nate Foster (Oakleigh Cannons)
Was one of the best performers for the Cannons, laying on a pin perfect cross for teammate Goran Zoric only moments after netting one for himself. The Canadian can consider himself unlucky to miss out on selection.
Special thanks this week goes out to Shaun Moran (@MoranShaun), Adem Barolli (@adembarolli), Brandon Galgano (@BGalgano94), Rory Flanagan (@Rory_Flanagan) and the Corner Flag team around the grounds for their nominations.