VW Premier Performer: Novak, Didic impress in Week 16 tally

2019-08-20

Marty Thompson, Digital Content Editor (@martythompson_)

Each week of the Fall season, CanPL.ca will highlight the top five Volkswagen Premier Performers of the Week, while updating the overall standings as players from across the league compete to top the table and win a new Volkswagen Jetta GLI.

Here are the 5 VW Premier Performers of the Week:

1) Anthony Novak (Forge FC) – 98.31

Valour FC match against the visiting Forge FC at IG Field, Saturday August 17, 2019 — Forge FC’s Anthony Novak (right) celebrates with teammates at IG Field, Saturday August 17, 2019

Two goals and an assist puts Forge centre-forward Anthony Novak top of the week’s tally. His brace came from four shots, all on target. His second was a real point-getter, out-muscling two defenders, poking the ball loose and smartly smashing one past last week high-scorer Mathias Janssens.

2) Amer Didic (FC Edmonton) – 92.84 pts

May 12, 2019; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Pacific FC midfielder Terran Campbell (14) defends a pass by FC Edmonton defender Amer Didic (55) during a Canadian Premier League soccer match at Clarke Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports for CPL

FC Edmonton’s tower at the back kept Cavalry to an Al Classico stalemate at Spruce Meadows. In a tough away assignment, Didic led a group that limited the Cavs to just two shots on target – his 11 clearances helped keep that number low.

3) Niko Giantsopoulos (Cavalry FC) – 85.81 pts

Canadian Premier League - Cavalry FC v FC Edmonton - ATCO field at Spruce Meadows, Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Aug 16, 2019 Tony Lewis/CPL — Canadian Premier League – Cavalry FC v FC Edmonton – ATCO field at Spruce Meadows, Calgary, Alberta, Canada – Aug 16, 2019 Tony Lewis/CPL

At the other end of Friday’s Al Classico duel, Cavs goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos preserved a clean sheet with a staggering eight saves, highlighted by a mad scramble, point-blank stop on Jeannot Esua.

4) Terran Campbell (Pacific FC) – 85.14 pts

Valour FC's Jordan Murrell and Pacific FC's Tarran Campbell battle for possession. (CPL). — Valour FC’s Jordan Murrell and Pacific FC’s Tarran Campbell battle for possession. (CPL).

Pacific FC’s bulky centre-forward took sole lead in the CPL golden boot race when out-framed York9’s Joe Di Chiara on an in-swinging free-kick, nodding home his league-leading eighth goal of the season.

5) Chris Nanco (Forge FC) – 84.32 pts

Forge FC's Chris Nanco battles for the ball with Valour FC's Marco Bustos at IG Field, Saturday August 17, 2019 (CPL) — Forge FC’s Chris Nanco battles for the ball with Valour FC’s Marco Bustos at IG Field, Saturday August 17, 2019 (CPL)

Forge’s out-and-out winger showed some superb individual effort for his goal on Saturday, cutting on his defender and finding the very bottom corner on a tight angle.

Top 5 Overall

RANK	PLAYER	CLUB	POINTS (Avg./match)
1	Marco Carducci	Cavalry FC	81.11
2	Nathan Ingham	York9 FC	78.17
3	Connor James	FC Edmonton	76.76
4	Michael Petrasso	Valour FC	75.12
5	Ryan Telfer	York9 FC	76.06

ANALYSIS: Connor James moves up from fifth to third spot as the only change in the top five – that aforementioned Al Classico clean sheet certainly helped matters. Marco Carducci is idle after resting on the weekend, while the other four moved up slightly.

Download the Centre Circle app and submit your prediction for each week’s VW Premier Performer, and check out the full, position-by-position Volkswagen Premier Performer tables here.