Portuguese striker set to play

Melbourne Knights’ new Portugese striker from Holland gets his first hit-out on Sunday against South Melbourne in Round Three of the Tynan-Eyre Cup at Knights Stadium.

Another new face lining up for the Knights is former South Melbourne and West Adelaide Sharks striker Jim Tsekenis.

And the side will be further bolstered by Dragi Nastevski, who returns from Olyroo duty, and Ransford Banini, who has recovered from injury.

Antonio Da Costa, better known by his nickname Toto, arrived in Melbourne last weekend and fought off his jet lag by training with the squad on Monday and joining a 72-hour high-intensity training camp in Cranbourne the following day.

Toto, who turned 27 in August, has been playing for Eindhoven in Holland’s second division.

He also played for Sporting Lisbon and Estoril – clubs in Portugal’s first division, and Belgium’s second-division side KVC Mol.

Toto’s arrival has sent ripples of excitement through the Knights as Vlado Vanis continues compiling a competitive team boasting a powerful attack force, with the aim of cementing a consistent top-six position.

Tsekenis will be on trial in the match that kicks off at 4pm, while Eastern Pride takes on Carlton at 2pm.

The Knights line-up:

1. Martin John (GK)
3. Rody Vargas
4. Saso Ognenovski
5. Jason Vukadin
6. Joey Rajher
7. Joe Kozic
8. Dragi Nastevski
9. Joel Porter
10. Xhezair Sulemani*
11. Anthony Pelikan
14. Paul Magdic
15. Ransford Banini
16. Michael Bosevski
17. Jasmin Sehic
18. Andy Vargas
20. Lupce Acevski (GK)
21. Zoltan Zold
22. Toto Da Costa
23. Ivan Razov
24. Jim Tsekenis*

* denotes guest player

The Knights need at least a draw to face South Melbourne in the Grand Final at the Veneto Club in Bulleen on Friday, September 29.

South Melbourne earned a place in the Grand Final by beating Eastern Pride 2-1 in Round Two (and Carlton 3-1 in Round One).

The Knights drew 1-1 against Carlton in Round Two and beat Eastern Pride 3-2 in Round One.

The ladder so far:

South Melbourne – six points
Melbourne Knights – four points
Carlton – one point
Eastern Pride – zero points

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