Oakleigh Cannons 3

Whittlesea Zebras 0

THE logjam at the top of the Foxtel Cup Premier League ladder continues to grow with the Oakleigh Cannons dismissing Whittlesea Zebras 3-0 on Friday night, courtesy of a Frankie Lagana hat-trick, while Richmond drew with the AIS in Canberra on Saturday.

The result means that before yesterday's games the Cannons, Richmond and the Melbourne Knights were tied on 24 points in second spot, four behind leaders Green Gully Cavaliers, which recorded a whopping 6-0 demolition of Fawkner on Saturday.

Richmond fought back from being 3-0 down in Canberra to earn a draw.

The Cannons and the Knights have a game in hand, in Oakleigh's case the long-delayed match against the Preston Lions which Football Federation Victoria is trying to reschedule at a neutral venue.

Lagana was the difference on Friday night in a game which could have gone either way for the opening 20 minutes.

His nose for the net was perfect when, after 22 minutes, the ball was crossed in and he was able to side foot past goalkeeper Kyriakos Gerohristodoulou.

Then the soccer gods smiled on the Cannons.

An appeal for hand ball was turned down at the other end. Lagana picked up the ball in midfield, ran hard at the Zebras' defence and was brought down to be awarded what looked like a soft penalty. He made no mistake and the Cannons had the game in the bag.

His third came late in the game, the result of a well-worked move on the edge of the area which saw him with space to slide past the advancing Gerohristodoulou.

With striker Juan Nilo sidelined for four to five weeks with a knee injury, coach Stuart Munro was delighted to see Lagana in touch.

''He is that kind of player. He makes things happen.

''In some ways he is like Tim Cahill, he is always in the right place at the right time.''

Munro said he was happy but surprised that Lagana had not yet been picked up by an A-League club. ''I hope we can hang on to him for a while. He is the sort of attacking midfielder that makes the game good to watch.''