South Shock Hume, Go Second

Dandenong Thunder 3 (Luke Sherbon (2), Feston Azizi)
Victorian Training Centre 1 (Daniel Chaabani)
@ George Andrews Reserve 

DANDENONG Thunder made it back-to-back wins with a solid 3-1 victory over Victorian Training Centre.

 After a shocking run through the middle of the season, the Thunder are back within three points of the top five after their come from behind win.

The struggling VTC, who have now lost five on the trot, went ahead through Daniel Chaabani, but their lead lasted barely a minute.

Dandenong midfielder Luke Sherbon hit back a minute later before Feston Azizi gave them the lead moments prior to the interval.

Sherbon had nailed the winner against Springvale in their last league outing and he wrapped up the points by completing his brace.

Bentleigh Greens 2 (Ryan De Vries (2))
Dandenong Thunder 1 (Feston Azizi)
@ Kingston Heath Soccer Complex

A BRACE from Ryan De Vries gave Bentleigh Greens an important 2-1 win over Dandenong Thunder.

De Vries has found the net in the Greens’ last five outings, taking his season tally to seven and keeping Bentleigh firmly in the finals race.

It wasn’t before the Thunder went ahead though as Feston Azizi scored for the second time in as many games to give them a half-time lead.

Coming from behind at the break has been a near-impossible task this season with teams winning on only five of 90 occasions.

Bentleigh became the first side to do it twice as De Vries got the ball rolling with his scrambled goal on 52 minutes.

He sealed the win a quarter of an hour from the end with his second as Thunder’s finals aspirations were dealt a serious blow.

Melbourne Knights 4 (Jacob Colosimo (2), Josip Magdic, Kayne Vincent)
St Albans Saints 1 (Louis Fenton)
@ Knights Stadium

MELBOURNE Knights kept their faint finals hopes alive with a 4-1 win over St Albans Saints.

The scoreboard isn't reflective of how large periods of the game panned out, but the Knights capitalised in a brutal five-minute spell in the second half to find the net three times.

Forward Jacob Colosimo had given them a 10th-minute lead when he capitalised on an error from Saints goalkeeper Steven Pavlovic.

Midfielder Josip Kozic worked hard to whip in a cross from the right and Pavlovic fumbled Kayne Vincent’s looping header onto the bar, allowing Colosimo to tap in the opener.

Despite the setback, St Albans created several opportunities before Knights ended the contest, beginning in the 55th minute.

Colosimo played a pass into attacking midfielder Josip Magdic and he struck under the advancing Pavlovic.

The pair changed roles soon after as Magdic cut back from the right after a dazzling run, giving Colosimo the easiest of finishes to complete his brace.

Colosimo put Vincent behind soon after and it was 4-0 to the hosts after an hour.

Louis Fenton hit a late consolation for St Albans, beating the Knights offside trap before rounding goalkeeper Martin John to place home.

Knights are still relying heavily on other results going their way, but the win keeps their top five hopes alive.

South Melbourne 3 (Daniel Dragicevic, Sebastian Petrovic, Jesse Krncevic)
Hume City 1 (Richard Cardozo)
@ John Cain Memorial Park

SOUTH Melbourne recorded a confidence boosting 3-1 win over top of the table Hume City.

It was a second-straight loss for City as South moved into second, still five points adrift of the first-placed side.

South’s cause was helped when Hume goalkeeper Lupce Acevski was sent off after he conceded for the second time in the first half.

Daniel Dragicevic had given South the lead before Sebastian Petrovic struck and Acevski, having kicked the ball into an opponent, was given his marching orders.

Forward Jesse Krncevic made it three early in the second half before Hume’s Richard Cardozo scored a consolation goal, his 17th of the season.

The win ended a tough week for South when they had three points deducted and then re-instated.

Springvale White Eagles 1 (Goran Zoric)
Northcote City 5 (Gianni De Nittis (2), Trent Rixon, Dean Piemonte, James Kalifatidis)
@ White Eagles Stadium

NORTHCOTE City returned to winning ways with a 5-1 belting of Springvale White Eagles.

Having lost their last two, City still needed until the last 25 minutes to put the game to bed against the relegated White Eagles.

Striker Trent Rixon had given them a first-half lead but it only lasted until the 57th minute when Springvale attacker Goran Zoric put his side back on level terms.

But Dean Piemonte and James Kalifatidis found the net in the space of seven minutes before substitute Gianni De Nittis hit two more to boost their goal difference.

Northcote are seventh but should start the next full weekend of fixtures in the top five after their clash with Victorian Training Centre in the catch-up round of games.

Heidelberg United 0
Green Gully Cavaliers 0
@ Olympic Park (Village)

FINALS aspirants Heidelberg United and Green Gully played out a 0-0 draw.

Days after the Cavaliers knocked United out of the Mirabella Cup, they weren’t able to repeat the feat in their league encounter.

Gully finish the weekend in sixth, while Heidelberg are fifth on goal difference.

Oakleigh Cannons 1 (Frankie Lagana)
Richmond 2 (Nicholas Marinos, Devon Bonne)
@ Jack Edwards Reserve

A LATE penalty save from Richmond goalkeeper Stjepan Gal has helped his team to an important and upset 2-1 win over Oakleigh.

Gal denied striker Ricky Diaco, who had the chance to level, diving to his right to keep out his spot-kick.

Richmond forward Nicholas Marinos had put the Eagles up from the spot in the first half before Frankie Lagana equalised on 57 minutes.

Eagles striker Devon Bonne hit back from the edge of the area before Diaco missed his late chance.

Richmond have won four-straight games and are four points adrift of the top five with a game against Victorian Training Centre on Wednesday night.

Catch-up round
Wednesday (8.30pm): Victorian Training Centre v Richmond @ Knights Stadium
Saturday (3pm): Victorian Training Centre v Northcote City @ John Cain Memorial Park
Saturday (3pm): Dandenong Thunder v Melbourne Knights @ George Andrews Reserve
Sunday (3pm): St Albans Saints v Oakleigh Cannons @ Churchill Reserve

Alanic Victorian Premier League 2011 – League Table

* Please note Victorian Training Centre games are for points but the team cannot play finals or be relegated.
* Round Three: Heidelberg United docked three points for incidents stemming from their clash with Hume City.
* Round Nine: Dandenong Thunder deducted six points for incidents stemming from their meeting with Bentleigh Greens.
* Round 19: South Melbourne stripped three points for allegedly playing an ineligible player, on-loan Melbourne Heart midfielder Kliment Taseski, against Richmond, after his deal had expired.
* Round 19: South Melbourne’s three points reinstated after the club had agreed to a loan extension with Kliment Taseski’s club, Melbourne Heart.

Alanic Victorian Premier League 2011 - Leading Goal-Scorers
17 – Richard CARDOZO (Hume City)

12 – Saso ALEXOVSKI (Heidelberg United)

11 – Trent RIXON (Northcote City)

10 – Osagie EDERARO (Heidelberg United), James KALIFATIDIS (Northcote City)

9 – Jason HAYNE (Green Gully Cavaliers), Luke SHERBON (Dandenong Thunder), Jacob COLOSIMO (Melbourne Knights)

8 – Michael FERRANTE (Richmond), Steven WEIR (South Melbourne/Hume City), Mathew SANDERS (Green Gully Cavaliers)