Image courtesy: Steve Starek
By Christian Fazzari
A stand out second-half performance has enabled Green Gully to continue their impressive run of form by trouncing the Bentleigh Greens 4-0 at Green Gully Reserve on Saturday.
It was important match for both teams, as the Greens were hoping to make it two wins in a row, and the Cavaliers were looking to continue their winning ways.
Green Gully were missing some important players from the match, as key playmaker Jason Hayne was ruled out due to personal issues, and was replaced by Mathew Sanders. Captain Jeffrey Fleming, who is currently serving a three match suspension, made way for Daniel Jones, but the captain’s arm band was passed down to Andy Vargas for the all-important clash.
It was a tough day for both teams, as the windy conditions made it very difficult to read the flight of the ball, but Bentleigh had the advantage as the wind was blowing toward the Gully goal in the first half.
Despite their advantage, the Greens couldn’t get any momentum as the Cavaliers dominated possession in the first ten minutes. However, most of their final through-balls and crosses were going astray because of the conditions.
It was Bentleigh who had the first real opportunity of the match in the 10th minute from a corner. Dean Piemonte played a short one-two with a team mate as he made his way to the edge of the six yard box and unleashed a strike through a sea of players that narrowly missed at the near post.
Both teams continued to struggle throughout the half, as Green Gully were looking to play the ball along the ground, and Bentleigh were playing advantage to the wind with long balls, but with no real effect.
Green Gully then turned on the pressure as the forwards began to find space in the final third. Sanders squared a ball in for last week’s three goal hero Josh Groenewald, but he couldn’t get enough power on his mistimed strike and the ball was cleared off the line.
Then in the 32nd minute a big shout for handball was waved away by the referee, as Graham Hockless’ shot hit a Bentleigh defender inside the six yard box, after he did well beating two defenders.
In the 38th minute the most clear cut opportunity of the half fell to stand in skipper Andy Vargas after he got in behind the Bentleigh defence and headed straight in on goal but unfortunately his powerful strike from close range narrowly missed.
The half time whistle went with Green Gully having the better of the half, but failing to put on any score board pressure, and Bentleigh were disappointed that they didn’t capitalise on their wind advantage in the first half.
The second half kicked off with a bang with Green Gully scoring the opening goal in the 47th minute through Sanders as he headed home from an excellent free kick by Steven Burton.
Three minutes later Sanders added a second after Groenewald cut through the Bentleigh defence. The defenders failed to clear their lines as the loose ball fell to Sanders who struck home from close range.
Immediately after the goal, Bentleigh made a substitution by replacing Johnny Sapazovski with Kurt Crnic.
Green Gully coach Paul Harris’s half time speech must’ve done wonders as his team absolutely dominated play from the opening whistle, continuously moving the ball forward and denying Bentleigh any space.
Andy Vargas was relishing his role as captain as he was one of the standout performers for Green Gully in the second half, with his blistering runs down the left wing. In the 60th minute he layed the ball off for Jonathan Munoz who blasted his shot over the bar.
The result went beyond doubt in the 70th minute as Hockless played on from a corner before whipping in a great cross which found Burton, who headed home. It capped off a great day for the defender who added a goal to his one assist for Sanders earlier in the half.
Five minutes later Sanders had the chance to score a hat-trick after a loss of concentration in the Bentleigh defence gave him a clear shot on goal, but goalkeeper Damir Salcin made a great save for the ball to deflect narrowly passed the post.
It proved to be the last action for the Bentleigh goalkeeper as he collided with Brent Fisher when both players went for the ball during a goal-mouth scramble. Salcin was forced off with a rib injury and was replaced by Clifford Henry.
The last 10 minutes of the match saw the Cavaliers take the foot off the pedal which allowed Bentleigh to gain a bit of possession in their opponent’s half, but again couldn’t get past the brick wall that was the Green Gully defence.
In the 84th minute Sanders was allowed a rest after his blistering two goal brace at the beginning of the second half and was replaced by exciting youngster Michael Anderson.
This substitution capped off a great day for Green Gully, as in the 90th minute Anderson latched onto a long ball in the final third, his pace too much for the Bentleigh defence, and he perfectly struck the ball past replacement goalkeeper Clifford Henry hitting the far bottom corner of the net. It was a marvellous goal for the exciting prospect, who was immediately surrounded by his team mates after his fantastic effort.
The final whistle couldn’t come any sooner for the Bentleigh Greens as they were again beaten by a dominant Green Gully who are proving to be one of the great attacking sides of the competition. Their four goal haul takes their scoring tally to 11 goals in their past four outings.
For the Greens, they face an important match against Dandenong Thunder next Friday night at home, which could prove pivotal for the run in to the finals. The Cavaliers will be tested against Northcote City next Saturday.
Green Gully Cavaliers: Nikola ROGANOVICH (GK), Daniel JONES, Steven BURTON, Timothy GOULD, Joshua GROENEWALD, Graham HOCKLESS, Matthew SANDERS, Ryan OLLERTON, Mile MEDJEDOVIC, Andy VARGAS, Jonathan MUNOZ. Brent FISHER (65’), Nicholas ROBINSON (77’), Michael ANDERSON (84’). Unused subs: Kyriakos GEROCHRISTODOULOU, Cameron DRAKE
Goals: SANDERS (47’) (50’), BURTON (67’), ANDERSON (90’)
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
Bentleigh Greens: Damir SALCIN (GK), Craig SMART, Sammy DE VITO, Con ANTHOPOULOS, Alex ROJAS, Adam FADLJEVIC, Jack WEBSTER, Johnny SAPAZOVSKI, Dean PIEMONTE, Anthony SELEMIDIS, Damir LOVANCIC. Kurt CRINIC (50’), Brad SCOTT (68’), Clifford HENRY (82’)
Unused subs: Vasilios NATSIOULAS, Nicholas SCHWAL
Goals: nil
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
Last updated: Sunday July 11, 2010 1:08PM
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