Graphic: Michael Alesich
Midweek fixtures means we get the Team of the Week one day late for Round 21, with relegation battlers Avondale FC and Northcote City both going undefeated in their two games. As such, they’re well represented in this week’s team, as are some of the round’s bigger winners.
***
GK: Rani Dowisha (Green Gully)
A cumulative pick of sorts for the Green Gully custodian who has been a fairly consistent performer for Green Gully over the last month or so. He earns his spot after helping the Cavaliers to a point against Richmond, which included super stops in either half.
LCB: Adam Nakic (Pascoe Vale)
A solid contributor to Pascoe Vale’s upset win over Hume City. Had to battle physically against the likes of Tom Cahill, while keeping an eye on the craft of Craig Carley, and did so to perfection in limiting their real threat on Alex Pavlidis. Little he could do about the goal.
CB: Michelle Crazia (Avondale FC)
The veteran was an absolute monster in the heart of defence against Melbourne Victory, which saw the club secure a first win in almost two months, as well as just their third clean sheet of the season. Crazia also popped up at the other end to score a glancing header for his side’s third of the afternoon. Backed that up with a man of the match performance in the scoreless draw with Northcote City, making it a weekend without conceding.
RCB: Liam McCormick (Bentleigh Greens)
Two assists and a clean sheet is a great return for the hard-working utility, who provided plenty of service and attacking intent from right-back, while also matching that with his ability to win contests. Bentleigh’s best outlet against the Knights.
LM: Matthew Lazarides (Pascoe Vale)
Created the first goal with a wicked strike that the keeper couldn’t hold, and was then on hand to tap in his side’s second in a 2-1 win over Hume. The brightest outlet Pascoe Vale had in the absence of Davey van ‘t Schip.
CM: Jonathan Bounas (Northcote City)
Did the dirty work as Northcote picked up a vital three points against Port Melbourne Sharks. The skipper found it easy pickings to nab possession back from the Sharks and distributed well all afternoon, allowing Braedyn Crowley to strike at the other end. Was amongst the bests once more in the midweek fixture against Avondale FC.
CM: Jack Petrie (Heidelberg United)
Battled hard all night against Bulleen Lions to aid his defence by cutting off attacks early. Didn’t give much joy for Bulleen’s more creative players in the midfield, which even included two former teammates Andreas Govas and Andrew Cartanos. Put a wonderful cross in for Kenny Athiu’s first half header.
RM: Jonatan Germano (Avondale FC)
Immense in the win over Melbourne Victory with a two goal haul, which came in the opening three minutes of the contest. Set them up for success in that fixture, but found it a little harder to create in the more closed 0-0 draw with Northcote City.
AM: Dusan Bosnjak (Oakleigh Cannons)
The creative midfielder is in career-best form at the minute, a product of his injury-free season to date. Bosnjak was once again the difference in Oakleigh’s thrilling 4-3 win over South Melbourne. Stepped up to score a brilliant free-kick and then to finish well on the edge of the box from a Hatzimouratis cutback to complete his brace.
ST: Braedyn Crowley (Northcote City)
Another big bag of goals for Braedyn Crowley who is making goal scoring in the NPL Victoria an incredibly important habit for Northcote City. His treble against Port Melbourne Sharks was one of the utmost importance as they triumphed in the relegation six-pointer. Didn’t trouble the scorers in the second game.
ST: Kenny Athiu (Heidelberg United)
It was an absolute top-of-the-line performance from Kenny Athiu as he put the Bulleen Lions defence to the sword with two goals. Not content with just his finishing, Athiu also added two assists – a flick on to Sean Ellis and a beautiful threaded through ball for Reuben Way – as he proved a one-man wrecking ball against the Lions.
Bench:
Chris Oldfield (Hume City)
Despite a series of impressive stops, Chris Oldfield has to settle for a spot on the bench, given his efforts were ultimately in vain as Pascoe Vale claimed victory over his Hume City. Could do little about either goal and made some sharp saves.
Evan Christodoulou (Green Gully)
Worked hard in a deeper role for Green Gully, which allowed George Lambaridis to push up into a more advanced position – who eventually scored the decisive goal. Provided the drive and energy through midfield to keep the Gully wagon going.
Todd Norris (Northcote City)
Incredibly unlucky not to make the starting XI after a pair of great performances over the weekend. Was one of Northcote’s brightest sparks in the 3-1 win over Port Melbourne where he worked the flank well all afternoon. He was on fire once again in the 0-0 draw with Avondale FC and looked the most likely.
Steve Hatzikostas (South Melbourne)
The amount of ground covered by the South Melbourne midfielder almost accounted for two people. He worked around the ground well and helped create opportunities for those around him as well as stopping Oakleigh attacks. Leigh Minopoulos and Matthew Millar were other good performers for South.
Josh Wilkins (Heidelberg United)
The Heidelberg United fullback was amongst the best on’s as his side piled on four goals against Bulleen. Was rarely beaten on his flack and contributed well further up the pitch.
Dean Piemonte (Oakleigh Cannons)
Was a constant thorn in the side of South Melbourne and made an important early impact on the contest as he was felled on the edge of the box, which saw Kristian Konstantinidis sent off. He looked threatening when shooting, put some good delivery into the box and played the ball down the line for Lovemore’s sealer.
Ryan Paczkowski (Bentleigh Greens)
Scored the opening goal for the Bentleigh Greens in a bright first half display. Faded slightly in the second but looked relatively threatening throughout.