Ante Jukic takes you through all the action from Round 19 of the Victorian Premier League, including a handful of upsets and yet another Thunder win
ANALYSISBy Ante Jukic
Results
Bentleigh Greens 1-0 Moreland Zebras, Oakleigh Cannons 1-3 Melbourne Knights, Richmond 1-2 Southern Stars, Green Gully 0-1 Hume City, Heidelberg United 1-1 Northcote City, South Melbourne 1-2 Dandenong Thunder
| THE WEEKEND STORY |
Compared to the lack of surprises in last week's matches, Round 20 almost provided the complete opposite. Two upsets on Friday saw Southern Stars take the points from KB Reserve, defeating Richmond 2-1, while Melbourne Knights dented Oakleigh'’s minor premiership aspirations in their 3-1 win. But Moreland will officially join Heidelberg in State League One next year, after their 1-0 loss away to Bentleigh. Hume City got to within a win of the finals spots, beating Green Gully 1-0, while a Kristian Konstantinidis strike salvaged a point for Northcote away to Heidelberg. In the final game of the round, Luke Sherbon's 88th-minute goal handed Dandenong the win and possibly the minor premiership, as the Thunder overcame South Melbourne 2-1.
| THE STANDINGS |
|
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
|
1 |
Dandenong Thunder |
19 |
13 |
4 |
2 |
43 |
13 |
+30 |
43 |
|
2 |
Oakleigh Cannons |
19 |
11 |
3 |
5 |
33 |
23 |
+10 |
36 |
|
3 |
Green Gully Cavaliers |
19 |
10 |
3 |
6 |
28 |
22 |
+6 |
33 |
|
4 |
Bentleigh Greens |
19 |
9 |
4 |
6 |
32 |
23 |
+9 |
31 |
|
5 |
Northcote City |
19 |
8 |
6 |
5 |
26 |
27 |
-1 |
30 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
Hume City |
19 |
8 |
3 |
8 |
22 |
20 |
+2 |
27 |
|
7 |
Richmond |
19 |
6 |
7 |
6 |
26 |
25 |
1 |
25 |
|
8 |
South Melbourne |
19 |
7 |
4 |
8 |
27 |
28 |
-1 |
25 |
|
9 |
Melbourne Knights |
19 |
8 |
1 |
10 |
24 |
28 |
-4 |
25 |
|
10 |
Southern Stars |
19 |
6 |
5 |
8 |
21 |
33 |
-12 |
23 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
Moreland Zebras |
19 |
3 |
2 |
14 |
21 |
37 |
-16 |
11 |
|
12 |
Heidelberg United |
19 |
2 |
4 |
13 |
20 |
44 |
-24 |
9 |
| GOALS |
17 - Luke Sherbon (Dandenong)
10 – Nate Foster (Dandenong)
9 – Ricky Diaco (Oakleigh)
8 – Osagie Ederaro (Green Gully), Nick Hegarty (Hume City)
| PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEKEND |
Southern Stars
Despite their dramas off the field throughout the course of this season, which came to the fore on the eve of the transfer window amid the ensuing departures of Mark Leech and Karl Brown, Dean Hennessey's side continue to pick up points somehow. Making it mathematically impossible for Moreland to now stay up with their 2-1 victory over finals hopefuls Richmond, the Stars did what they set out to do at the start of the season, and survived. Even though their finals chances faded weeks ago, the Stars in the process managed to throw the proverbial spanner in the works for calculations, with Hume, South Melbourne and Melbourne Knights still now maintaining slight hope.
| AFTERTHOUGHTS |
It's that time of the year again, and followers of Victorian football just can't help but to associate the side from Jack Edwards Reserve with the dreaded 'c' word. No, not that one, ladies and gents. With the VPL minor premiership up for grabs, Oakleigh put in a lifeless and uninspiring performance against the Knights - a side coming into the game hurt by injuries and suspensions. Co-coach Peter Zois was far from happy with his side following the loss, criticising some for a lack of effort as the Cannons were second to the ball for most of the match. Whether they can dispel their traditional late-season failings and shake that choke tag remains to be seen this year, but this week’s clash with the Thunder means a great deal for both heading into the finals.
| THE NUMBERS |
5 - The number of goals, out of 14 in total, scored in the last ten minutes of Round 19 matches
3 - The number of teams out of a possible four in the past two seasons to have come up from State League One and immediately suffer relegation
1 - The only home win in Round 19, which came in the form of Bentleigh's win over Moreland
| TWEET OF THE WEEK |
@steventalevski - After tonight's results, both @MorelandZebras & @HUFCWARRIOR are relegated from the #VPL
Follow Ante Jukic on 
Goal Australia has its own and 
account, so for all the latest news and features on Australian and world football follow us by clicking on the above links.
