Losing narrowly to the table-topping team shouldn’t feel as dispiriting as it did last Friday night. But against a weakened South Melbourne outfit shorn of all but five of its first-choice side, the defeat stung. Gully had their opportunities, but a couple of miraculous point-blank saves from Javi Lopez in the South Melbourne goal snuffed out their chances of salvaging a draw.
The result means Green Gully need to avoid defeat on Friday night, or else they will equal the club’s worst-ever start to a season, all the way back in 1979. The club survived relegation from the VPL that season, and began a dynasty of three straight Victorian titles just two years later.
Gully are by far the longest-tenured club in the Victorian top flight, with a proud record extending back to 1987, but to make it to 4 consecutive decades, a response is urgently required.
The Cavaliers travel to Kingston Heath to face Bentleigh Greens sitting 7th on seven points. The Greens earned promotion back to the NPL after winning the VPL1 title under George Katsakis last season. A 2-0 win over Avondale and another 2-0 victory at Altona Magic show they are compact and hard to break down. Maki Petratos netted a double in both fixtures, and shapes as the danger man on Friday night.
The expected return of defensive leader and former Bentleigh player Matt Crooks at right back could be a major boost for Green Gully, with only makeshift options available in the position so far this campaign.
Gully have beaten Bentleigh in all three of their most recent meetings, but the two sides haven’t faced one another since Bentleigh’s relegation in 2023. Bentleigh’s fall into VPL1 should serve as a cautionary tale for the Gully players: in NPL Victoria, no one can consider themselves “too good” to go down.
Last year, Round 6 was the turning point, as a 3-0 win over Melbourne Knights formed a springboard to a finals push. Gully have every opportunity on Friday night to repeat the trick.
