Oakleigh Cannons v Altona Magic Elimination Final Preview
SUMMARY
Oakleigh Cannons and Altona Magic will face off tonight in the first-second Elimination-Final at Jack Edwards Reserve.
Altona comes into this clash winning three of this final five matches, including a 2-1 victory over Oakleigh in Round 23, however, in the last round of the season, they suffered a 4-0 defeat against Port Melbourne.
Oakleigh has only won two out of its past five NPLM matches, although, in the last round of the season, they proved they are back to their best with a 5-0 victory against Moreland City.
This do-or-die clash will be such a big clash, with the defending Champions coming up against Altona who have nothing to lose and are equipped with the NPLM Golden Boot winner Jonas Markovski up forward.
The Cannons are undefeated in their last 10 matches at Jack Edwards Reserve and have kept a clean sheet across their last three games in that span – their longest run of successive clean sheets at the venue across the last three seasons. The Magic have only been able to manage five wins from 12 away matches this season.
WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR?
Round 10: Oakleigh Cannons 5-1 Altona Magic
Goals: Connor Hampson (OC) 36, 44, Jonas Markovski (AM) 42, Daniel Clark (OC) 56, 83, Chris Lucas (OC) 85
Round 23: Altona Magic 2-1 Oakleigh Cannons
Goals: Stefan Valentini (OC) 46, Charlie Leech (AM) 66, 72
Oakleigh Cannons
Oakleigh Cannons look to go back-to-back after defeating South Melbourne 5-0 for the NPLM Victoria Championship in 2022.
Chris Taylor's men finished third at the conclusion of the home and away season with 18 wins from 26 matches.
The Cannons head into this weekend on the back of a convincing 5-0 victory against Moreland City Chris Lucas scoring a brace.
Wade Dekker (penalty), Alex Fiechtner and Emlyn Wellsmore all found the back of the net in the massive victory, while Joe Guest and Cameron McGilp controlled the midfield.
The Cannons have the second-best attacking record in the league with Alex Salmon and Stefan Valentini leading the club with nine goals for the season.
Alex Fiechtner and Wade Dekker have found the back of the net eight times, while Chris Lucas has also scored on seven occasions - highlighting all of the goal-scoring options Chris Taylor has in his arsenal.
Oakleigh may have the second-best attack in the league, but their midfield is the envy of the competition with Joe Guets controlling central midfield and Oliver Kubilay providing defensive cover alongside Cam McGilp.
The Cannons' defence led by Brodie Boyce and Anton Mlinaric has also been rock solid this season, conceding the third least amount of goals in the competition.
Altona Magic
Altona secured its first finals berth in the NPLM in season 2023, finishing sixth with 13 wins from 26 matches.
The Magic have an ace up their sleeve heading into the finals series, with striker Jonas Markovski in a rare vein of form; scoring 19 goals for the season.
“Jonas has done really well, he’s scored a lot of goals for us, he’s done his job, he’s scored, he’s assisted,” Altona Magic Head Coach John Markovski told Star Weekly on his son.
“All the forwards have done really well, not only Jonas but the whole team has done well, starting from the keeper to even the ones that come off the bench.
“I’m happy with all the boys’ seasons.”
Markovski explained he was proud of his club for reaching the NPLM final six for the first time in club history.
“Yeah it’s good for the club, it’s good for the players, it’s good for all of us, to be involved in finals is what you work hard for from the start of the season,” he said.
John Markovski's men head into the finals series winning three of its final five matches; however, in Round 26 they fell to Port Melbourne 4-0 away from home.
Despite possessing the Golden Boot winner in their side, Altona has the eighth-best attack in the league with Markovski (19 goals) leading all-comers with Tommy Semmy (9 goals) and Cian Cuba (6 goals) the next most dangerous in front goal.
Cian Cuba will provide an attacking flare through the midfield for the Magic this Friday night, with Charlie Leech, Robert Harding, Daniel Duzel, and Ashton Ahluwalia looking to provide plenty of cover against the dangerous Cannons outfit.
Despite managing to finish in the top six, Altona has the 11th-best goals-against record in the league and coming up against the likes of Alex Salmon, Stefan Valentini, and Wade Dekker; Magic defenders Thomas Woerndl, Aaron Anderson, Miki Gamo and John Stojcevski will need to play the game of their season to ensure their side goes through to the next round.
NPLM Elimination Final
Oakleigh Cannons v Altona Magic
Date: Friday, 25 August
Venue: Jack Edwards Reserve
Kick-off Time: 8:00 pm (AEST)
Broadcast: NPL.TV