Warriors gearing up to face old enemy

Joseph Franjic

Heidelberg United will play away to Bentleigh Greens on Friday night at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex in Round 3 of the NPL Victoria men’s.

In the same boat as the Warriors, Bentleigh are looking to record their first win of the season following back-to-back defeats to Avondale and South Melbourne.

The Greens have been led by head coach Nick Tolios for the last four years, with 2019 being a rollercoaster of emotions. Tolios was the fourth coach to take the reigns of the club in the same season, but he was at the helm to win them the championship and got the club promoted to the first division.

Bentleigh Greens have strengthened all over the park, including signing a former Heidelberg player in Thomas Strickland, which will add creativity in their attack. Pierce Warang poses an attacking threat that the Warriors should keep an eye on, having scored a brace last time the two teams met. He was a significant re-signing for the Greens having vast attacking qualities

The acquisitions for the Bentleigh outfit in the backline include the signing of fullback Jack Andrews with an already impressive resume having experience at Perth Glory. He will make his presence known on the pitch both in the defensive and attacking flank.

The Warriors welcome Ajdin Fetahagic into the fold fresh from his one game suspension who is crucial to a vulnerable defensive backline that has leaked seven goals in the last two games – his absence was a crucial miss last time out. The backline will hope to be at their defensive best not to concede on Friday night.

George Katsakis will need to instil the mentality and determination for this new crop of players of the golden generation that dominated the NPL in three successive seasons topping the league table to get back to winning ways. The Bergers and Greens have been no strangers to the top of the table and while current standings don’t reflect that, we’ll still be in for a willing contest.

The head-to-head results between these two clubs in 2021 was a 1-1 draw at Kingston Heath (Round 7) and Bentleigh defeating Heidelberg at Olympic Park 3-0 (Round 20).

Match details:

What: NPL Victoria Men’s Round 3

Who: Bentleigh Greens vs Heidelberg United

Where: Kingston Heath Soccer Complex, Cheltenham

When: March 4, 2022 – kick-0ff 8:30pm

How to tune in: NPL.TV & HUFC Radio

The respective U21’s sides will kick-off beforehand at 6:30pm.