In a week where nine of the 14 NPL teams managed only a goal or less, and only one scored over two goals, it’s perhaps no surprise the squad is dominated by defenders. We found it difficult to source attacking nominations, which is incredibly rare, but nice for a change.
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GK: Ryan Scott (Bentleigh Greens)
Another stellar performance for the youngster, who at this point is one of the revelations of the season. Kept his side in the game with a string of saves to keep Hume City at bay for the full 90 minutes, keeping a well-earned clean sheet in the process.
RB: Kliment Taseski (Green Gully)
A superb return to Victoria for Taseski, with the former Melbourne Heart man deployed at right back at Gully and barely giving an inch away to his opponents. Like his fullback counterpart Yohei Iwasaki, who delivered the assist for the third goal, both wide defenders contributed immensely to the victory.
CB: Luke Adams (South Melbourne)
A clean sheet and a goal marks a very fruitful night for South’s New Zealand defender, who put the result beyond doubt with his side’s second goal, whilst also doing his best defensively to earn man of the match plaudits from his club.
CB: Will Abbott (Bulleen Lions)
Deserved reward for Abbott, who has been solid in his partnership with Felix Rosman at the heart of Bulleen’s defence, contributing to the club only conceding twice all season so far. Did well to repel the attacks from Victory’s forward line for as long as possible, and also popped up at the other end to score.
CB: Luke Byles (Heidelberg United)
An immense performance by the skipper, who has played a big role in turning around Heidelberg’s season following that 6-0 wake-up call against South. Led from the back and ensured Paco barely had a clear cut chance on goal.
LB: Christian Cavallo (Melbourne Victory)
A strong effort by the fullback to repel a confident Bulleen’s forays forward, before looking to get forward himself and adding another dimension to Victory’s attacks.
CM: James McGarry (Melbourne Knights)
McGarry made an immense impact early to effectively put the game out of Northcote’s reach. Delivered the pinpoint ball for Stipo Andrijasevic’s goal, before linking up well with Jason Hicks to score the second.
CM: Nick Hegarty (Hume City)
Still going strong at Broadmeadows Valley Park, captain Nick Hegarty led by example on the pitch, doing his utmost to help his side wrestle the ascendancy in the midfield battle.
RW: Alex Caniglia (Richmond SC)
It’s all about the dramatic equaliser. With Richmond staring down the barrel of a third straight defeat, up stepped Caniglia to deliver the wonder which earned an invaluable point on the road against Oakleigh, and may just act as a launching pad for Richmond after two consecutive heavy defeats.
ST: Liam Boland (Green Gully)
One of the few strikers to find the back of the net this week, it was an opportunistic piece of play from the striker which led to Gully’s opening goal, sending them on their way to eventual victory. Was always busy throughout the contest, keeping the Avondale backline on their toes.
LW: Goran Zoric (Oakleigh Cannons)
We’ll shift him to the left. Zoric’s assist to Hatzimouratis came from that side of the wing with a great run, touch and pass, which highlighted his ability and performance for Oakleigh against Richmond.
Bench:
Lucas Spinella (Melbourne Victory)
He’s been knocking on the door of a TOTW appearance since the start of the season, and this week Lucas Spinella gets in. It was another solid, assured performance with a couple of clutch saves to top it off.
Milos Ilic (Heidelberg United)
The Heidelberg youngster showed maturity beyond his years to thwart the advances of a usually clinical Pascoe Vale forward line. Has shown great progress since his promotion from the U20 side.
Daniel Jones (Green Gully)
Could have gone to Jones or centre-back partner Roddy Vargas, who did score the team’s third goal to add the cherry on top. However it as Jones who earned the biggest plaudits from coach Arthur Papas, so we’ll go with that, though both did have fantastic games.
Brad Norton (South Melbourne)
A busy and productive game for Norton, who, like many of his fellow fullbacks in this team, did did a fine job combining their defensive duties with forward forays, and earning a clean sheet to boot.
Todd Dekker (Northcote City)
Perhaps it’s time to offer Northcote some love. He may have only played half a game, but 18-year-old Todd Dekker’s impact once coming off the bench got his side back in the game through winning a penalty, and his speed and energy up front caused problems for the Knights’ defence.