The Melbourne Knights Football Club’s senior men’s team kept their winning streak this week with their 4-1 victory against St Albans Dinamo. The Croatian derby in NPL Victoria always attracts a solid crowd, with a turnout of over 600 spectators on Friday May 19th despite the cold Melbourne weather.
Following a 5-0 victory against Heidelberg, Head Coach Ben Cahn kept his 4-3-3 formation consistent for the Croatian Derby, with the backline staying exactly the same and proving effective with Corey Sewell, Josh Phelps, captain Ivan Franjić, Jack Morton, and Chris Oldfield in goals. Steve Whyte and Luka Kolic started in the midfield, with a swap from Mitch Hore to Anthony Đuzel. Star strikers Gian Albano and Ciaran Bramwell led the frontline this match, with a swap from Gevaro Nepomuceno to Mohammed Sumaoro.
With St Albans Dinamo following a 1-0 win against Green Gully, Head Coach Ryan McGuffie also maintained the 4-3-3 formation, with the starting squad consisting of Christopher Dib, Aaron Oppedisano, Troy Ruthven, Mouad Zwed, former Melbourne Knights striker George Ott, Zelfy Nazary, Joseph Monek, Ivan Razumić, Joseph Čolina, captain Michael Grgić, and Jasko Keranović in goals.
A goal in the 26’ minute from Luka Kolić set the Knights into the lead, with Josh Phelps bringing in the second goal to make it 2-0 before halftime. Former A-League player Ciaran Bramwell brought up the score to 3-0 in the 70th minute, with an own goal from each side bringing the final score to 4-1.
With possession being fairly even in the first half of the match, the initial two goals for the Knights set the tone for the rest of the game. With Dinamo receiving a red card in the 62nd minute, it became difficult for them to keep up with the Knights, since Knights now had the lead in goals scored, and number of men on the pitch.
The results from Friday’s match kept the Knights’ standing at 4th, increasing their goal difference by 3 (31:17), whilst Dinamo stayed in 10th place, with a goal difference of 16:28.
Both teams have tough, but important matches coming up this week in round 15 of 26. The Knights take on Oakleigh (away) this Friday May 26th with kick-off at 20:30, and Dinamo will face Dandenong Thunder (home) this Saturday May 27th with kick-off at 15:00.
For Croatian football fans in Victoria, the next derby matches will be played on the 9th of July (North Geelong Warriors vs. Melbourne Knights), and the 29th of July (St Albans Dinamo vs. North Geelong Warriors).
