The Review
So let’s actually give some meaning to our predictions of the week before by actually going on and seeing which ones we got correct. Lets be honest, not the worst effort given we were only off by a single goal in four of the fixtures, while we got the Hume City v Heidelberg game correct. So yay us. Also don’t care, giving ourselves the points for our Oakleigh/Werribee tip, that was our prediction in its own way right? Four correct, one perfect tip.
Bentleigh Greens 3 defeat Northcote City 0 (Result correct, 4-0)
South Melbourne 1 draw Avondale 1 (Wrong, 1-0)
Melbourne Knights 0 draw Pascoe Vale 0 (Wrong, 1-0)
Port Melbourne 4 defeat Green Gully 1 (Result correct, 2-1)
Hume City 1 draw Heidelberg 1 (Result and score correct, 1-1)
Dandenong Thunder 1 defeated by North Geelong 2 (Wrong 1-1)
Werribee City 0 defeated by Oakleigh 2 (Taking the points, 2-1)
“We’ve just about tipped Werribee for a result since the start of these previews to no avail. So Bees fans, we’ll do you a massive favour and tip Oakleigh for a 2-0 win and you just watch your side grab a win, just to spite me.” -Ghost of The ‘Port Melbourne got fisted’ NPL Round 12 Preview
Port Melbourne Sharks SC (5th) vs Melbourne Knights FC (4th)
The form
Port Melbourne had struggled to score for a long time, then it seemed South Melbourne played them into form, as they just missed out on a win due to a contentious late goal involving Milos Lujic’s arm. But who better to gain points off at the moment than Green Gully, and Port certainly obliged, earning a welcome 2-1 victory after six winless games. As for the Knights, they returned to the winner’s list with a 1-0 win over Pascoe Vale, following a draw and defeat to Hume and Heidelberg, respectively.
The players to watch
Chris May. After three consecutive Team of the Week appearances he is the competition’s in-form ‘keeper. New boy Robbie Zadworny will also be an interesting case. If he starts, who will be demoted to bench in his place? The pressure will be on to make an immediate impact, and he’ll be looking to add to his season goal tally of 6, which he hasn’t added to since Round 5.
As if one Irish Alan (Kearney) wasn’t enough in Port’s midfield, they’ve gone off and signed another one, nabbing captain Alan Mulcahy from Dandenong Thunder. But two weeks ago when he said he was looking forward to the new challenge, did the club like his post because of his nice words, or because they were glad to see the back of him?
We kid. Any side would miss the steel and determination Mulcahy brings to a team’s engine room, so Thunder’s loss is Port’s gain in this case. But perhaps what excites us most is the seeing Kris Kioussis bomb up and down the flank again, joining the Sharks after a frustrating spell at Oakleigh Cannons.
The prediction
A tantalising prospect between two entertaining sides. But going by the table, where Knights have lost to every team above them, but beaten all bar one below, we’ll say there’s a 2-1 win coming the way of the Knights.
Pascoe Vale SC (7th) vs Hume City FC (6th)
The form
Pascoe Vale’s recent run has included three points against Green Gully (though who hasn’t taken three points off Gully lately?), sandwiched between two 1-0 defeats against South Melbourne and Melbourne Knights, somewhat consolidating their status as a comfortable mid-table club at this point in the season. Hume have come off two draws against the Knights and Heidelberg, indicating they are there or thereabouts in terms of keeping in touch with the top four.
The players to watch
Well there’s basically a whole new forward line at Hume, with Mbarga out, and Markelis, Harvey and Clark in. With all due respect to the latter two, most eyes will be on the often enigmatic forward Markelis, who might not have David Villa to draw inspiration from, but with his pedigree, will nonetheless be expected to bang some goals in.
As for Paco, Tomi Milardovic will play an important role shielding the back four from new Hume forward line, whilst launching his side’s own forays forward.
The prediction
With both sides struggling to score bag of goals of goals recently, another low-scoring encounter is possibly on the cards, especially as Hume’s new signings begin to gel. So we predict this one will end 1-0 to Hume.
Oakleigh Cannons FC (10th) vs Bentleigh Greens SC (2nd)
The form
Notorious transfer wheelers and dealers Oakleigh Cannons have been in good form in the transfer window so far, signing Mirjan Pavlovic from Sydney United and Jakob Williams from Heidelberg. Oh, right, the form on the pitch! Arthur Papas’ good start with wins against North Geelong and Dandenong came to an abrupt end when they slumped to cellar dwellars Werribee City, who picked up their first win of the season in the process. Bentleigh, well, they just keep purring along, this time putting away Northcote City 4-0.
The players to watch
We just mentioned him, so Pavlovic is the obvious choice, and he’ll be expected to fire up front for the Cannons. Bentleigh Greens have a new man as well, and a new old man, with defender Ryan Love signed to add to an already unpenetrable defence, while Luke O’Dea signs on again after a long injury layoff to add to an already potent attack. The Greens boys will be happy to know teammate ‘Superstar’ Pilkington is not only on hand to assist on the pitch, but the one time Monash student also assists off the pitch with some grammar tips:
The prediction
This clash is a tantalising prospect, but we can’t see Oakleigh being the ones to break Bentleigh’s unbeaten run. We tip the Greens to run out comfortable 2-0 winners.
Avondale FC (8th) vs Green Gully SC (11th)
The form
Green Gully are the current form side of the competition – the wrong type of form that is – losing their last 6 games in a row, and 8 winless in total. Avondale will be putting behind two defeats in a row against the top two sides in competition, where they were fairly solid defensively, but just couldn’t muster up anything up front.
The players to watch
New striker Liam Boland – replacing outgoing stalwart Matt Sanders – will be raring to go after playing a bit-part role at Oakleigh, where he did score a few important goals in his cameo appearances.
Good luck to @lbols7 at his new club @GreenGullySC. #LetThePlayersPlay #DT38Foundation pic.twitter.com/XmOto4SRpy
— DT38 Foundation (@Dylantombides) May 12, 2015
At Avondale, Burakhan Koca has flown under the radar a bit, pinning down a regular starting spot by constantly improving and providing good drive through midfield, so keep an eye on him.
The prediction
This clash may be one for the purists. Gully will be desperate to scrape a point from anywhere, while Avondale will most likely be their usual, steely selves. Therefore, it could be a cagey, low scoring encounter ending in a 1-1 draw, Gully’s first point in a looooong time.
North Geelong Warriors FC (14th) vs Werribee City FC (13th)
The form
This is a 1st vs 2nd clash if you reverse the table. Yet you wouldn’t know these two would be on the bottom after their recent form, with both matching it against those above them on the ladder. North Geelong have notched two consecutive draws to Thunder and Heidelberg, while Werribee scuppered Arthur Papas’ winning run as Oakleigh manager, winning 2-1 despite going down to 10 men with 25 or so minutes to go.
The players to watch
North Geelong have replaced outgoing attackers Robbie Zadworny and Tomo Trbuhovic with Yusuf Yusuf and Rudi Saglam – the latter having a short stint in Turkey last season on a professional contract. Will they be able to provide the spark North Geelong needs especially after the departure of the their top scorer? As for Werribee, he was unlucky to miss out on a Team of the Week spot, so we’ll pay tribute to Steven Cudrig here, who will make the Warriors’ avenue to goal all the more difficult, and has been the recipient of praise on social media.
@CornerFlagOz @HUFCWARRIOR @DandyThunderSC @smfc thought Steve cudrig was unlucky to miss out great year #PS4NPLVIC pic.twitter.com/d5h4BHX0hn
— Adam Russell (@adrussella3) May 14, 2015
The prediction
We say the Bees will win and they keep losing, yet the day we say they’d lose, they again do the opposite. We just don’t know with Ragusa’s team anymore. In this case, we’ll sit on the fence and say a hat-trick of draws from North Geelong’s perspective, 1-1.
Northcote City FC (9th) vs South Melbourne FC (1st)
The form
South Melbourne pipped top spot with two wins this week, a 1-0 win over Avondale and a 5-0 thrashing of Dandenong. Northcote, however, continue their stuttering form, backing up a 2-0 win over Werribee with a 4-0 late capitulation against Bentleigh.
The players to watch
Congratulations to Championship winning pair Tim Mala and Nick Epifano, who most recently completed their 50th games each for South Melbourne. Watch them both of them on the flanks, one defending with aplomb and the other adding attacking spark. But at the Corner Flag, we’re fed up with the lack of updated club photo of Epa, so we’ve had to take matters into our own hands. Forgive us, Nick.
More pertinently, the Brennan to Lujic combination has been extremely fruitful in recent times and South Melbourne will be looking to extract as many goals out of them as possible before Brennan jets off. For Northcote, Calvin Mbarga arrives with a weight of expectation lifted off his shoulders after his much hyped tenure at Hume City didn’t yield much joy. So he’ll be looking to start fresh and open his NPL account at his new home.
The prediction
A simple victory for South against a Northcote side consistently inconsistent, somewhere to the tune of 2-0, factoring South’s tired legs after three games in nine days.
Dandenong Thunder SC (12th) vs Heidelberg United FC (3rd)
The form
No Yusuf Ahmed, no goals for Dandenong, who were torn apart 5-0 by South Melbourne in the midweek game, after an earlier draw against North Geelong Warriors. Heidelberg have endured somewhat of a mini slump, losing their grip on top spot with two draws against the Warriors and Hume City, slipping to 3rd.
The players to watch
Abdirahman Ahmed, one of our most favourite like pushers for our site, and world’s most wanted model.
But seriously, with no Mulcahy in the Thunder engine to provide the forwards, Ahmed – both Ahmeds, actually – will have to draw on their bag of tricks to fashion any chances against a solid Heidelberg. The task will be made all the more difficult by Luke Byles at the heart of the Bergers’ defence, one of the competition’s form centre-backs at the moment. At the other end, if Petko and Sakhizada can recapture their form from last week’s game against North Geelong, it’ll go a long way to stifling the Bergers’ dangerous forward line.
The prediction
Dandenong’s woes will most likely be compounded in this fixture, facing three games in a week and a fired up Heidelberg seeking to atone for its recent dropped points. 3-0 to the Bergers.