South Melbourne FC and Heidelberg United FC opened the new Victorian National Premier League season with wins, while Bentleigh Greens FC suffered an away setback and unlucky Oakleigh Cannons FC went down at home.
On Friday at Olympic Village, in the opening match of the 2026 National Premier League season, Heidelberg United defeated Green Gully 2-1 despite falling behind. After a goalless first half, the match came alive in the 63rd minute when J. Regague headed Green Gully into a 1-0 lead.
From that point, Heidelberg United’s players lifted their performance and responded with two goals. In the 76th minute N. Duarte equalised with a header (1-1), and in the 85th minute Lesiotis converted a penalty to seal a 2-1 win for Alexander.
The following day at Avenger Park, South Melbourne produced a strong performance against Avondale, winning 2-0 away from home. The “Blue and Whites” controlled most of the match, never looked in danger, and could have scored more.
In the 32nd minute Max Mikkola struck from 25 metres to make it 1-0, and in the 76th minute T. Giannakopoulos finished from the edge of the box to make it 2-0.
Later at City Vista Pavilion, Bentleigh Greens were held to a 0-0 draw by George Cross. The Greek-Cypriot side created good chances but failed to find the net.
Finally, Oakleigh suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Preston. The final score was harsh on the Greek side, who took the lead in the 4th minute through J. Guest, missed a penalty soon after, and wasted several chances.
Preston equalised in the 40th minute through C. Cuba, and within three minutes (79’, 82’) L. Brook scored twice to give Preston an unexpected 3-1 victory.
