Melbourne Victory relinquished a one-goal lead before succumbing to Green Gully 5-2 in a pulsating PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria affair on Saturday afternoon.
The opening exchanges were scrappy, with a stiff breeze making free-flowing football difficult to come by.
John Maclean had Victory’s best chance early on, making a daring run to latch onto Joey Katebian’s delicate pass.
But it was Gully which broke the deadlock courtesy of Liam Boland, who curled his set piece beyond the Victory wall and a helpless Lucas Spinella.
Matt Reid threatened to add a second with a glancing header that sailed over the crossbar just after the half-hour mark.
It was left to Katebian to bring Victory back on level terms. The captain converted from the spot after John Maclean was adjudged to have been held back as he approached the byline.
The joy continued just after the interval, when Reid handed Victory another favour, this time slicing the ball into his own net to hand the hosts a 2-1 lead.
It would be short-lived though, as Daniel Jones’ graceful lob dipped beneath the woodwork to level proceedings in the 66th minute.
Gully struck again soon after, taking the lead through Nick Krousoratis, who slotted the ball into a vacant net.
Krousoratis added another goal just seven minutes later, increasing Gully’s lead.
Evan Christodoulou added the final goal a minute into second-half injury time to confirm the result.
Victory travels to Olympic Village to face Heidelberg United in its next PS4 NPL Victoria match on Sunday, May 22.
Earlier, Victory’s under-20 team ran riot once again, putting five goals past Green Gully to no reply.
Seniors
Melbourne Victory 2 (Katebian 45′, Reid 46′ og)
Green Gully 5 (Boland 25′, Jones 66′, Krousoratis 77’/85′, Christodoulou 90+1′)
Under-20s
Melbourne Victory 5 (Cavallo 7’/74′, Hidic 17′, Stanisavljevic 52′, Sette 65′)
Green Gully 0
