Gully Share Spoils with South in Lakeside Stalemate
In football, fine margins can often decide everything – on Sunday evening at Lakeside Stadium, Green Gully’s finals ambitions took another slight stumble as they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with South Melbourne.
The Cavaliers arrived knowing that only a win would realistically keep their playoff hopes alive. They started brightly, nearly breaking through early after a frantic goalmouth scramble ended with an effort fizzing just over the bar.
Gully kept the pressure on, with Scott Lochhead finding space from a corner moments later, but his header drifted agonisingly wide of the post. Kasper Hallam, always lively, then tested South keeper Javi Lopez with a sharp turn and fierce shot, which Lopez did well to parry away.
Against the run of play, it was South who drew first blood. A penalty awarded midway through the first half allowed Ren Nagamatsu to step up and calmly slot home, shifting momentum to the home side.
But the Cavaliers, refusing to buckle, found their deserved equaliser just before halftime. Elioan Kifle received the ball outside the penalty area and, spotting his moment, unleashed a sublime curling strike that nestled into the corner, sending the visiting fans into celebration.
After the break, both sides continued to create openings. South nearly retook the lead from a corner, but some desperate goal-line defending kept Gully level. The Cavaliers then responded with Abdallah firing from distance, but Lopez comfortably gathered.
Substitute Dor Jok almost stole the headlines for Gully with ten minutes remaining, racing through on goal only to see his effort flash inches wide of the far post.
In the dying embers, South Melbourne came close to a dramatic winner, but their final shot drifted narrowly wide. The full-time whistle brought a mix of relief and frustration for both sides – an entertaining draw, yet ultimately one that does little to bolster either side’s league ambitions.
With just two games remaining, Green Gully’s path to finals football now hangs by a thread, needing victories and results elsewhere to keep the dream alive.
The Gully boys are four points off sixth-placed Hume City who also failed to pick up three points at the weekend.
We have a week off this week, with our next game also being our final home game of the season against Preston Lions.
With a bumper crowd expected ONLY ONLINE TICKETS are available for this game.
