NPL R7 Preview – Avondale v Knights

Round 7 sees the Melbourne Knights travel to Avenger Park on Saturday afternoon for a top of the table clash with Avondale FC.

After a nail bitting 90 minutes last Friday night against the Port Melbourne Sharks, the Knights held on and pocketed all three points thanks to goals from skipper Marijan Cvitkovic and a double to Gian Albano.

It was a Knights first for Albano, who opened his account in style against the Sharks with two decisive goals in the 7th minute and in the 54th minute. Speaking on scoring his first goals for the club, Albano had this to say to KnightsTV:

“I’m very happy to get on the score sheet finally after a lot of hard work in training”

The Knights go into Round 7 full of confidence. Last week’s win pencilled in another three points for the side who through hard work on and off the pitch, have been able to string three wins in a row, only recording one loss to date. It marks a vast change under Colina, who believes a winner’s mentality is key to maintaining the strong start to the season.

Key to the Knights success have been Goalkeeper Harry Cakarun, and the lethal forward line partnership of Hamish Watson and Gian Albano, all of who will be available for selection this week.

Avondale have proven to be the team to beat this season, who remain undefeated this season. With that in mind, their run into season 2019 has been considerably easier than the Knights, with all wins coming against teams in the bottom half of the ladder (sans Green Gully who sit 7th). Despite this, the side has been compact at the back with only five goals conceded, and they don’t seem to have difficulty in finding the back of the net either, with 19 goals of their own. Of course, it helps if the current leading goal scorer of the league Liam Boland is on your roster, with Liam Boland netting eight for himself (3 penalties). Negating his presence should go leaps and bounds in helping the Knights prevail.

Over the last eight matches between the two sides, the Knights have only won once, but drawn three times, with the side’s best result against the Avengers coming early in 2015, when the Knights hosted Avondale and won 3-1.

Last 5 Matches against Avondale FC:

2018 NPL Rd 23: Avondale FC 4-3 Melbourne Knights

2018 NPL Rd 10: Melbourne Knights 2-2 Avondale FC

2017 NPL Rd 20: Melbourne Knights 1-1 Avondale FC

2017 NPL Rd 7: Avondale FC 3-0 Melbourne Knights

2016 NPL Rd 25: Avondale FC 5-0 Melbourne Knights

However, matches played in round seven tend to go in the Knights’ favour, much like round six, with the Knights achieving a 41/23/36 win/draw/loss split.

Last 5 Round 7 Results:

2018 NPL: Heidelberg Utd 1-0 Melbourne Knights

2017 NPL: Avondale FC 3-0 Melbourne Knights

2016 NPL: Melbourne Knights 1-0 Hume City

2015 NPL: Melbourne Knights 0-3 Bentleigh Greens

2014 NPL: Hume City 2-0 Melbourne Knights

Round 7 Match Details

Date: Saturday 30th March 2019

Kick-off: 3:15pm

Venue: Avenger Park

Match Official: Lachlan Keevers

Forecast at 7:45pm: 14 degrees, showers

Open training session

We invite all club members and supporters to attend an open training session this Friday night, the 29th of March. The clubrooms will be open for Friday night dinner from 5pm onwards, with the open training session to begin at 6:30pm. Come on down and give you messages of support to the team before Saturdays top of the table clash.

Round 7 Match Screening

Just the thought of this top of the table clash should be enough to wet the mouths of the Knights faithful, and it will be the side’s toughest test to date. Bearing this in mind, and in light of recent events involving Avondale FC, the club urges all club members and supporters to refrain from attending this week’s Round 7 fixture away to Avondale FC. Instead, the Under 20s and Seniors matches will be shown live & free on the big screens inside and outside with food and drinks available at regular prices. This will be the first time the club will be showing a match at the clubrooms since the National Soccer League and despite the circumstances, we’re excited to host our army of fans in the comfort of our home ground.

Round 7 Match Details

Date: Saturday 30th March 2019

Kick-off: 3:15pm

Venue: Avenger Park

Match Official: Lachlan Keevers

Forecast at 7:45pm: 14 degrees, showers

 

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