Green Gully Shares the Points with Oakleigh Cannons in Home Opener
Green Gully picked up its first point of the 2025 NPL Victoria season after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Oakleigh Cannons at Green Gully Reserve. In a game of two halves, both teams had their chances, but ultimately neither could find the decisive goal to secure all three points.
Oakleigh started brightly, forcing Gully goalkeeper Liam Driscoll into action early with two key saves to deny the visitors.
The Cannons controlled much of the opening stages, but Gully gradually grew into the contest, with their best opportunity of the first half coming in the 36th minute.
A swift attacking move saw Scott Lochhead drive forward from midfield before linking up with Gianluca Iannucci and Deklan Wynne, who delivered an excellent cross into the box.
Aamir Abdallah met it well but couldn’t direct his volley on target.
The halftime whistle blew with the scores locked at 0-0, but Gully emerged strongly after the break.
Their persistence was rewarded in the 50th minute when Iannucci was brought down in the box.
Abdallah stepped up to the spot and confidently slotted his penalty into the middle of the goal, sending the Oakleigh keeper the wrong way and giving the home side a deserved 1-0 lead.
The goal sparked a strong spell for Gully, with Iannucci trying his luck from distance in the 59th minute after another well-worked passage of play.
However, the momentum was halted just two minutes later when Oakleigh equalised.
A failed clearance from Gully’s backline allowed Joe Knowles to pounce, producing a delicate lob over Driscoll to bring the Cannons level at 1-1.
Gully responded well to the setback, pushing forward in search of a winner.
Paul Hodges nearly restored the lead in the 62nd minute with a powerful strike from outside the area, only for the Oakleigh keeper to tip it wide.
Five minutes later, more positive play from Gully saw Iannucci take another shot from range, but he was unable to hit the target.
Despite both sides pressing for a late goal, the match finished level, with neither team able to find a breakthrough in the closing stages.
The Cavaliers will now shift focus to their next fixture as they look to convert performances into wins and climb the NPL Victoria ladder.
In the Under-23s game on Saturday, Green Gully proved big winners, defeating Oakleigh 4-1.
The Under-19s took to the field on Sunday, earning a 2-2 draw against the Cannons, ensuring an undefeated matchday two across the board for our NPLV Men teams.
