One club. Two finals.

Get ready for a huge weekend of Grand Final action!

Our senior men’s team will face the Bentleigh Greens in the NPL Victoria championship decider while our senior women’s team will face Port Melbourne for the State League 4 title!

Avondale clinched their spot in the NPL grand final with a dominant 2-0 win over the Oakleigh Cannons, while Bentleigh stunned Heidelberg United 2-1 to book their ticket to the big dance.

The two sides will meet at AAMI Park on Sunday, with kickoff at 6:30pm. Click here to purchase your tickets, kids under 13 are free. 

The Avondale fans will be packing out Bays 52-54 on level 1, so make sure to wear your Avondale colours and bring the noise as we go for our first ever NPL title! 

Busses will depart from Avenger Park to take fans to the stadium. There are a LIMITED number of spots available, so make sure to contact Despina to book your seat!

Avondale fans will also be meeting at The Precinct Hotel in Richmond from 2pm for some pre-game food and drinks, before walking to the stadium prior to kickoff.

After the match, come back to the Members Lounge at Avenger Park to celebrate a fantastic season with the players and coaches. Food will be available on the night, with drinks available at bar prices.

Entry to the stadium will be via gates 1 & 2, with public parking available across the road from the stadium on Olympic Blvd.

Our senior women’s team will be out to claim another piece of silverware this weekend when they face the Port Melbourne Sharks in the State League 4 championship match.

Avondale advanced to the championship decider after a crushing 9-0 victory over RMIT FC. The Avengers will come up against a much tougher opponent this week however, as they face fellow powerhouse Port Melbourne.

The Sharks finished atop the State League 4 South, winning 17 games and losing only one while scoring an impressive 106 goals.

The game will be played at 2:30pm on Sunday at Hillsview Recreation Reserve. Make sure to head down to show your support as the the team chases more silverware this season before heading in to AAMI Park!

Semi Final – REVIEW

Avondale have clinched a spot in the NPL Victoria Grand Final after a dominant performance saw them claim 2-0 win over the Oakleigh Cannons at Avenger Park on Saturday.

Headed goals from Scott Hilliar and Stefan Valentini powered the Avengers past the Cannons, securing Avondale a grand final berth for the second-straight year.

Avondale will face the Bentleigh Greens at 6:30pm on Sunday at AAMI Park in the grand final as they look to secure the club’s first NPL championship.

With everything to play for, Oakleigh entered the semi final matchup in league-best form. The Cannons were undefeated in their last 17 games – an incredible run that saw them climb from 12th on the ladder to third. 

But despite their opponent’s stellar form heading into the game, Avondale took the ascendency early. The home side controlled possession from the outset and created an early chance on goal for Stefan Zinni, but his well-hit shot was wide of the target.

The chance was a signal of things to come and soon the Avengers opened the scoring. Liam Boland flicked the ball on from a beautiful James Riccobene corner, with Hilliar in the perfect position to head the ball home.

The goal was the New Zealand international’s second in as many games after he also found the back of the net against Bentleigh in the last game of the regular season.

Bolstered by the lead, Avondale carried on their momentum and had numerous opportunities to add to their advantage. Boland, Brandon Lundy and Yusuf Ahmed all had shots that just missed, while Joey Katebian’s close-range strike flew past Oakleigh keeper John Honos but couldn’t avoid a well-placed defender on the goal line.

Meanwhile, Oakleigh struggled to create any dangerous chances of their own as they were held to just two shots in the first half, with Tasuku Sekiya doing an outstanding job in nullifying danger man Joe Guest.

After the break, Avondale continued to dominate proceedings. Jonathan Germano’s curling effort crept just over the bar, while Lundy delivered a superb cross to find a wide-open Boland in acres of space inside the area, only for the big man to head his effort wide.

Ahmed too had another chance to double his side’s lead after he made a penetrating run into the box, but his well-hit shot failed to hit the target.

A second goal for Avondale felt imminent, and soon another brilliant cross from Lundy made it a reality. Lundy skipped past two defenders near the touchline before whipping in a perfect ball to find an unmarked Stefan Valentini on the back posto head it home.

Oakleigh had struggled to generate anything meaningful going forward and the second goal all but wrapped up the result. The Cannons’ finally managed some sustained attacking pressure late on, but it was too little too late as the Avengers help on to book their ticket to AAMI Park.

After the game head coach Zoran Markovski described the match as his team’s best defensive performance of the season, complementing the crucial defensive role Sekiya played in limiting Guest and Oakleigh.

Elsewhere, the Bentleigh Greens defeated the minor premiers Heidelberg United 2-1 to secure their spot in the grand final to face Avondale.

The Greens made the grand final in 2017, defeating Heidelberg 2-1 in extra time.

By Bransen Gibson

Congratulations to our state reps!

Avondale FC would like to congratulate the following junior Avengers for selection into state squads that will represent Victoria at the upcoming nationals in Coffs Harbour:

Danidu Aluthjage
Isaac Vanderkley
Dominic Burchea
Nicholas Magarelli
Lucas Inglese

Furthermore, we have a number of juniors that were selected for TIDC squads throughout the year and some who are still trialling with Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City. 

We would like to once again congratulate all the boys on their progress, and also thank the current coaches for their commitment in developing talented footballers and leaders within the youth development football programme at Avondale FC.