Friday night's 2-1 defeat of the Whittlesea Zebras was the Cannons' first win at the Jack Edwards Reserve since they hammered Preston Lions 3-0 in round six early in April.

Since then they have been good away from home but indifferent on their own turf.

Writing in the program, Cannons' coach John Anastasiadis was scathing of his team's home-ground performances, calling the 0-2 loss at home to Hume in May one of the worst games it had played.

But things have picked up since then, with the Cannons going seven weeks without a loss.

Goals to Juan Nilo in the 16th minute and Jerry Karpek early in the second half warmed the disappointingly few supporters who braved the cold on Friday night. They would not have been so happy with the defensive lapse which allowed former Cannons' striker Taxiarhis Apostolikas a free header from a corner to score inside the near post in the 80th minute, but Whittlesea was never able to really threaten in the last 10 minutes.

Impressive on Friday night was Oakleigh's stand-in goalkeeper Scott Augustin, 22, who replaced the injured Adrian Cagalj. Augustin could not have done anything about the goal, but was authoritative for the rest of the night.

Three points, along with the point earned on last Sunday week from the 0-0 draw with the Melbourne Knights, bolster the Cannons' hopes of finishing in the top five.

The next two games could be decisive. This Saturday (3pm) the Cannons meet Sunshine George Cross at Chaplin Reserve and, after a week's break, are then away to Preston Lions on July 12.

Both games are winnable and would place the Cannons well for the final five rounds and the finals series.