The Melbourne Knights take on an in-form Oakleigh Cannons XI at Somers Street in NPL round 11 action.
After a NPL round Knights’ fans would rather forget, going down 3 -1 to Dandenong Thunder, round 11 brings with it the opportunity to carve out some more resilience when the Knights take on Oakleigh Cannons FC at Somers Street.
The Cannons no doubt come into the match with an opposite perspective to the Knights after defeating Bentleigh Greens SC 1 – 0 and making it a four-game winning streak which they will hope to continue.
As of round 10 there is a large gap between the two sides on the NPL table, the knights sit in mid-table 8th position whilst the Cannons sit almost at the top in 2nd three points behind latter leaders South Melbourne. For the Cannons this match presents itself as an opportunity to go top of the table and for the Knights, the match presents an opportunity to bounce back and close the gap on the top teams.
The last time the two sides faces each other was back in July of 2021 at Somers Street. The match ended in a 1 -1 draw with Joe Guest scoring from a penalty in the 54th minute and Mohammed Sumaoro equalising in the 64th minute.
After last weeks effort, the Knights will be without Jack Marth and Thiery Iradukunda due to red card suspension. Head Coach Steve Bebic will have to reorganise the back to midfield to cover the deficit and find new ways to utilise in form striker Gian Albano up front.
The Knights will need all the support they can get this match to bring home the three points against an in-form Oakleigh Cannons. Round eleven action kicks off at 7:30PM! Aside from first team action, the U21s face off against the Cannons on Saturday the 30th of April at 3pm. Additionally, the Knights enter round 4 of the Victorian Premiere League Women’s competition also on Saturday against Whitehorse Unites SC, with reserves kicking off at 1pm, and seniors at 3pm at Terrara Park.
Melbourne Knights FC:
Squad: 1- Harry Cakarun (GK), 2- Jack Marth, 3- Fuki Ishibashi, 4- Theiry Iradukunda, 5- Ayden Brice (C), 6- Anthony Duzel, 9- Luka Celic, 10- Gian Albano, 11- Justin Micallef, 12- Andy Robertson, 14- Anthony Frangie, 16- Mohammad Sumaoro, 17- Trevor Ssemakula, 18- Jack Morton, 19- Luka Kolic, 21- Thomas Manos (GK), 23- Steve Sokol, 24- Ivan Miletic, 77- Lionel Masudi
Head Coach: Steve Bebic
Oakleigh Cannons FC:
Squad: 1-Nick Feely (GK), 5- Oskar Dillon, 6- Jacob Eliopolous, 7- Scott Lochhead, 8- Tyson Holmes, 10- Joe Guest, 11- Wade Dekker, 13 – Hamish Millar, 14- Aryn Williams, 16- Nick Niagioran, 18- Matt Thurtell, 19 – Oliver Kubilay, 20- Daniel Clark, 23 – Matthew Foschini, 24- Chris Licas, 28- Joe Knowles, 31 Lachlan Hart (GK)
Head Coach: Chris Taylor
– Ryan Schopp