Three games to play, four points to make up: with the window for finals football closing fast, only a Gully win on Sunday will keep the dream alive.
The Cavaliers showed tenacity and resolve to come back from a two-goal deficit on Friday night and take a point against St Albans, but will still rue what might have been. Aamir Abdallah almost gave Gully the lead inside 90 seconds, and Josh Hope had a great chance on the volley before Joey Monek gave Dinamo the lead in spectacular fashion.
The game looked over and done with when Joey Colina slammed in a second on the half-hour mark, but the Gully boys found a lifeline in first-half stoppage time, from an unlikely source. Receiving the ball just outside the ‘D’, centre back Josh Heaton swivelled onto his right boot and curled an audacious long-range effort into the far corner for his first goal in green and white.
Midway through the second half, Dinamo defender Gideon Arok lost possession on a forward foray to Gianluca Iannucci. From well inside his half, Iannucci picked out the perfect pass over the Dinamo defence to find the run of Abdallah, who took his touch in stride before slamming the ball into the roof of the net. The goal was Abdallah’s 10th of the season, ranking him fifth in the golden boot standings.
There was no doubt the spectators in Keilor Downs got their money’s worth: all four goals were top class, and the end-to-end affair was thrilling from start to finish. The result, however, does little for either side marooned in the mid-table.
This Sunday sees Green Gully visit Lakeside Stadium – a venue where they haven’t tasted victory since 2018. However, Gully did defeat South Melbourne 1-0 in their last meeting, thanks to a blistering long-ranger from Paul Hodges.
It’s been a hectic fixture list for South, who took a point off league leaders Heidelberg in their last outing, after facing plenty of logistical headaches on their midweek trip to South Hobart in the Australia Cup.
After suffering a relegation scare earlier in the season, South Melbourne have well and truly hit form under caretaker boss Sinisa Cohadzic, winning four of their last six in all competitions.
Marco Jankovic is set to return from a two-game ban after he was dismissed against Altona in R22. Karl Imazi will return for Gully, after serving his suspension for a fifth booking of the season.
Kickoff is set for 5pm on Sunday at Lakeside Stadium, while the U23s play on Saturday at 2pm at Warner Reserve in Springvale. Let’s get behind the Gully boys down the final stretch!
