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The Green Gully Soccer Club Board, Players and Members send our deepest condolences to Ed’s wife Lyn, his sons Jonathan, Lewis and Ryan, his Mum and Dad and his brothers and sister.

Ed’s passing will be felt by all that knew him, the Caroline Springs George Cross FC where he held lifetime membership, as well as Football Australia, Football Victoria and the wider Football Community.

Ed will be remembered for his kindness, humility and passion for the game. A man greatly respected, wonderfully loved and will be sadly missed.

We will be forever grateful for Eddie’s contribution to the football community.

RIP Eddie Gauci

Image Curtesy of Caroline Springs George Cross FC

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I hope you are all keeping well.

This has been, and remains, a very challenging time for all of us. All activity at the club was stopped in March by government directive, suddenly and without any ability to plan properly for it. This was a huge financial, social and psychological blow to employees, footballers, coaches, the club itself and all families associated so closely with the club. As well, social restrictions are having an enormous impact on so many aspects of our lives, perhaps in ways we do not yet know or understand.

However, nothing can keep a good club down! An enormous amount has been done, practically speaking and in terms of planning for trading in a socially restricted environment, behind the scenes in a quiet, composed and considered manner, with a view to putting us in the strongest possible position to resume club activities on and off the field.

We were able to put 34 employees on JobKeeper, which, while it is easy to say now, was quite complex to implement in the early days when there was a lot of uncertainty. The club, I believe, has benefited from doing this both in the venue itself and in relation to football activities.

The venue has been cleaned in preparation for re-opening. The carpets have been steam cleaned, offices and boardroom tidied. A stocktake has been done. The outside grounds were maintained and mowed.

The bistro will re-open for the first time for dinner on Thursday 25 June 2020. Bookings are preferred as it makes it easier then to comply with distancing requirements. Please support the club. We do have capacity to sit quite a few people for meals. More about this will be posted on our various social media platforms.

Our junior and senior footballers returned to non-contact training three weeks ago. We were the first NPL club in Victoria to do so and, I think, probably one of the first football clubs generally in Victoria to return to training.

It is expected that the junior football season, NPL and community teams, will commence in late June and early July.

Seniors at this stage are expected to commence playing competitive matches in mid-July; however, many of the other NPL clubs have not been willing to resume playing this season so the form of the competition to be resumed remains uncertain. Green Gully SC, however, will be participating in a competition.

Today, the Premier made an announcement that allows us from 20 July to re-open the whole venue, with strict distancing, cleaning and hygiene requirements. I know that we had already started planning for a reopening of the entire venue but now having a target date will be very helpful.

I can proudly say that all these things happened, and are continuing to happen, because we have loyal, caring, intelligent and hard-working employees, in all departments and at all levels in those departments, who appreciate and understand the importance of team work. I thank them for their effort and leadership.

I hope to be able to see more faces around the club in the not too distant future. It is time for us to show that we are all Green to the core! C’mon Gully!

Anthony Klotz

President

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An in-depth week of planning preceded our Friday clash with the Oakleigh Cannons, leaving us well prepared for the difficult match-up.

Oakleigh had a strong squad – all the way to the 20th man – hence why they were undefeated before last week’s game.

We stuck to our game plan throughout the full 90 minutes, giving us the upper hand and eventual victory. 

We did not rest on our first half performance, came out and upped the ante again in the second half. 

It’s a game that we can take a lot of confidence from in and out of possession.

Oakliegh will not lose 3-0 at home by many teams.

We are all loving the winning feeling right now, but we know the work and mental fortitude must continue to build.

We plan to welcome back Sean Timmons and Teeboy Kamara for our upcoming clash with Altona Magic this week.

Check us out Saturday afternoon when we return home for Round 6.

For the full gallery from Round 5 be sure to check out our Facebook page.

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It wasn’t the result our Under 20’s had hoped for last Friday – going down 3-0 to Oakleigh on the road after a loss the week before.

Though from the beginning we were determined to make amends.

We opened with intent and control – mostly playing in our forward half with a few good looks up the wing.

Though a lapse in concentration saw us give a free in close, allowing Oakleigh’s first for the evening.

Down 1-0, we worked hard for the equaliser as we approached the break.

Though Oakleigh clamped down and limited our line on goal, forcing us to find their keeper almost every time.

After half-time we drew an error out of our opposition, allowing ourselves a one-man advantage.

We looked to capitalise, but fell to the wrong side of a few no-calls for the next 20 minutes.

A scuffle on the field – initiated by a push off the play from an Oakleigh player – was ignored by the referee despite a linesman entering the field to stop it.

In the moments preceding, the same player tunnelled our defender in the air, making this a repeated offence.

Beyond that, and a few minor instances throughout, we were caught off-guard.

Our players were frustrated and not receiving reward for effort.

It was around this time that we conceded two goals – both kicked on tight angles – to see out the 3-0 result.

It wasn’t the result we wanted but our boys lifted plenty from last fortnight’s slow start.

Full credit to Oakleigh’s defensive structures and execution – it’s obvious to see why they have conceded so few goals in 2020.

For us, our intensity was there early but we just couldn’t get the chips to fall.

We are determined to return to form next week when we face Altona Magic at home.

Be sure to get down and support the boys this Saturday.

For the full gallery of images check out our Facebook Page

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This Friday our Senior Men travel to Jack Edwards Reserve to face a top-end competitor in Oakleigh Cannons.

Last week our boys defied the odds with a big second-half to take out Heidelberg United.

Matthew Fletcher was pivotal in front, kicking our first to set the scores at 1-1, allowing Kristian Brymora the second for our first win of 2020.

Our keeper, Jerrad Tyson, played exceptionally throughout; doing well to pick out a top corner strike mid-dive to help us to see out the 2-1 result.

So far, this week’s opponents have proven difficult to beat, boasting three wins and one draw leading into Round 5.

Last week they bounced back from a 0-0 tie with South Melbourne to take out Altona Magic 5-0.

By the 17th minute Oakleigh already had three goals, and by the end of the game, boasted five different goalscorers. 

In the preceding game, they lost Lucas Portelli to a red at the 17th minute but still managed to hold the draw.

They drew a fairly difficult fixture to open the season but have still proven better against most.

They sit second under Hume City but lead the league in goal difference (8) and goals for (11).

Currently, Green Gully sit 10th with games against lower positioned sides, Altona Magic (14th), Dandenong City (12th) and Melbourne Knights (11th), to come following our clash with ninth-placed, South Melbourne, next week.

If we can secure a win over a quality side like Oakleigh, our next month presents a huge opportunity for us to win back some points and build momentum heading into the back-half of the season.

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This Friday our Under 20’s take the pitch against the Oakleigh Cannons at Jack Edwards Reserve.

It was a hard fought 0-2 result against Heidelberg which ultimately ended our clean sheet last week.

Despite a valiant second half – controlling the pace and possession – our efforts weren’t enough to break pass our red card disadvantage.

We head into this Friday without Goran Sljivic, having lost him to a red late in last week’s opener.

Though despite a key piece, our outfit is solid and spirit unbroken.

Our Under 20’s have been presented an opportunity to reclaim top spot against the current league-leaders.

Last week, Oakleigh picked up their second win with their highest goal difference this season (3-1).

Noah McGrath and Christian Vanas opened the Cannons’ win with goals in the 24th and 25th minutes, before captain, Luca Pignalosa, drove the knife in midway through the second.

Prior to last week’s outing, Oakleigh had picked up two draws and a tight 1-0 win.

They boast the best defensive end in the league with only three goals conceded from four games.

Comparatively, we lead the league offensively with 10 goals despite kicking nothing in last week’s affair.

This week it will be a battle for supremacy as our Under 20’s look to lead in our Senior Men with a win over the home side.

Get down and support them at 6:15pm!

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After a tough week on the track prior to our game against Heidelberg, we sensed the boys were adamant that the losing streak needed to end.

The older boys kept super positive during the week, driving training to give us every possible chance of success come Friday. 

With the leadership group taking initiative in that space, the rest of the group followed suit. 

Come game day, we knew we were on as soon as the boys arrived.  

Despite the high intensity and a small lapse in concentration leading us to a 0-1 deficit, we felt our boys were well in control.

We could never write off the 2019 minor premiers, even when we controlled most the possessions, but we could feel our boys building.

After we went down 0-1 we stepped it up another gear and pushed relentlessly until we got the equaliser.

After that we hoped the boys would push hard for the winner, as we knew they were fitter and more motivated than ever.

Straight after the restart it was clear to see that our boys wanted three points not one.

Full credit to the group, they remained focused even when things were not falling our way and showed spirit to win the game – it’s for this reason they all have my respect. 

We knew it was only a matter of time till we got off the mark.

 We know in house what we are capable of and Friday showed just a small snippet of what these young athletes are capable of. 

Three points well deserved, now let’s move up this table. 

You can view the full gallery of images by visiting our Facebook page.

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