Melbourne Victory’s Senior NPL side were outdone in a tough 4-1 loss to Green Gully.
Coming off two consecutive narrow 2-1 defeats to Port Melbourne and Melbourne Knights respectively, Victory had a big task on their hands taking on the NPLM Victoria finals-contending Green Gully.
Just one change was made to the Round 20 starting XI, with defender Aaron Bazenski promoted from the bench to make his fourth start of the season.
Kicking off action at Green Gully Reserve, the Young Vucks came out strong and confident against a top side.
In the ninth minute, Bazenski almost certainly provided Victory the lead with an excellent headed effort, but goalkeeper Jerrad Tyson pulled off a miraculous clawing save to keep the game scoreless.
Centimetres away from opening the scoring, the painful fine margins were the difference once again for the Navy Blues.
Just two minutes later, Gully went up the other end and star winger Aamir Abdallah curled home the opening goal.
Despite falling behind to the hosts, Victory persisted and did not drop their heads.
A cleared corner delivery fell to defensive midfielder John Radimisis, who fired his effort just wide of the goalframe.
Victory’s resiliency would pay off, scoring a well-worked goal in the 24th minute.
Progressing the ball from deep, Parker Williams’ pass to Tobenna Obani created space centrally for Charlie Gorevski, whom Obani expertly spotted with a ball inside.
Receiving the ball in between the lines, Gorevski played a slick through ball to Daniel Lazarevski, who clipped the ball across goal to the arriving Patrick Wall for a simple tap-in.
It was an excellent display of the technical ability and positional awareness possessed by the talented young group, creating the opportunity for Wall to score his sixth goal of the season.
Rewarded for their play, Victory’s equaliser saw the remainder of the half tightly contested between both sides.
Making just his second start at Senior NPL level, goalkeeper Kasper Fonsboel made a number of important saves and interventions to ensure the score remained level entering the break.
While Victory recorded nearly double the amount of shots and shots on target than their opponents in the first 45 minutes, it would ultimately be a tale of two halves in Keilor Downs.
Green Gully would reclaim their lead just three minutes after the restart, with Scott Lochhead’s precise finish providing the hosts with the momentum they needed for the remainder of the second half.
While substitutes James Lackay and Nikolas Cevizovic were introduced on the hour mark to spark a change for the Navy Blues, Gully would soon add a third.
Beating Fonsboel to a lobbed header with a remarkable towering leap and header, Dor Jok stunned all in attendance in the 63rd minute.
Seeking to respond quickly, Victory came close three minutes later after Jack Mihailidis’ free-kick delivery was powerfully headed goalwards by captain Damien Bozinovski, but Tyson in goals came up big once again.
In the ascendancy, Gully’s pressure continued to pile on as they pushed to extend their lead.
While defender John Paikopoulos was provided with his Senior NPL debut off the bench, the ruthless Green Gully made it four in the 87th minute.
Cutting in and bending an excellent strike from the left wing, former Victory Academy graduate Josh Hope put the icing on the cake for his side with minutes to spare.
A long-range strike that threatened the ‘keeper by Daniel Lazarevski, along with late cameos from Tommaso Minutoli and Alexander Houridis rounded out the final moments of the fixture; a difficult day out for the Young Vucks.
Despite recording a promising 5-2 win away from home against Oakleigh a few weeks back, the loss to Gully is Victory’s third consecutive loss in the league.
Meanwhile, just five games remain in the season with the Young Vucks currently five points adrift of survival in Victoria’s top flight, requiring a strong finish to the season.
Returning to action in two weeks’ time, Victory will next face 11th-placed St Albans Saints in what is set to be a season-defining relegation six-pointer on Sunday, July 20.
Match Details
NPL Victoria Men Round 21
Green Gully 4 (Abdallah 11′, Lochhead 48′, Jok 63′, Hope 87′)
Melbourne Victory 1 (Wall 24′)
Melbourne Victory Starting XI: 40. Kasper FONSBOEL (GK), 4. Damien BOZINOVSKI (C), 10. Jack MIHAILIDIS, 11. Daniel LAZAREVSKI, 20. Parker WILLIAMS, 21. Jonathan KELLIS, 22. Patrick WALL, 28. Charlie GOREVSKI, 29. Tobenna OBANI, 32. Aaron BAZENSKI, 36. John RADIMISIS
Substitutes: 42. Oskar VON SCHRENK (GK), 9. Tommaso MINUTOLI (90′), 13. John PAIKOPOULOS (85′), 15. Nikolas CEVIZOVIC (60′), 24. James LACKAY (60′), 38. Alexander HOURIDIS (90′)
