Melbourne Knights FC Official Website Melbourne Knights look to reach their first ever NPL Victoria Grand Final when they go up against Avondale in Preliminary Final action at Avenger Park on Saturday afternoon.
A Grand Final berth would cap a historic week for the club after already reaching their first NPL Preliminary Final and first Australia Cup Quarter Final with wins over Port Melbourne and Campbelltown City in the past seven days.
The week so far has been the highpoint in an increasingly impressive 70th anniversary season which has seen Knights match their best ever NPL Victoria season finish of fourth while scoring a club best 51 goals along the way and also setting a club record eight match unbeaten run.
Knights booked their spot in the Preliminary Final with a 2-0 victory over Port Melbourne last Friday night thanks to goals from Mitch Hore and Gian Albano in a commanding performance at Knights Stadium.
Four days later Ben Cahn’s side backed it up with another 2-0 win at Knights Stadium, this time against Campbelltown City in the Australia Cup Round of 16 with Hore and Mohammad Sumaoro finding the back of the net.
There are just three non A-League sides still standing in the cup and Knights are set for an all NPL Victoria affair in the Quarter Final, having been drawn at home against Heidelberg United.
In contrast to Knights busy schedule, Avondale’s last outing was the final day of the 2023 regular season which resulted in a 2-1 win over Bentleigh Greens as the Avengers were crowned NPL Victoria Premiers for the first time.
Knights and Avondale have already met twice this season with the Avengers taking the points in Round 7 before the pair traded goals through Luka Kolic and a Yusuf Ahmed penalty in a 1-1 draw in their most recent meeting.
The winner of Saturday’s match will face either South Melbourne or Oakleigh Cannons in the 2023 NPL Victoria Grand Final at Olympic Village on Sunday, September 10.
Saturday’s NPL Victoria Preliminary Final kicks off at 2:30pm and will be live streamed on NPL.TV. Knights fans are encouraged to arrive early to the facility for quick entry.
MATCH DETAILS
NPL Victoria 2023 – Preliminary Final: Avondale FC v Melbourne Knights
Avenger Park, Avondale Heights
Saturday, August 2 (2:30pm KO)