Heidelberg begun where it left off last year, by winning yet another piece of silverware, when it defeated reigning NPL 1 champions Bentleigh Greens 4-1 at Kingston Heath last Friday evening.
It was some small measure of revenge for the Bergers after going down to the Greens in last season’s epic grand final, 2-1 after extra time. A powerful start by the Bergers saw it lead 3-0 at the break ensuring that this time the game wouldn’t go past the full 90 minutes. In some ways the score line reflected the fortunes of both teams since they last met in the grand final. Whereas the Greens have lost several key players in the off season, the Bergers have managed to keep its successful squad largely intact.
One exception has been the departure of striker Kenny Athiu. But his absence was hardly noticed as his replacement Tom Cahill scored a brace to get the Berger machine rolling in the first half, as well as ending up with the man of the match award. Bergers’ midfielder Alex Schiavo added a third before the break heading home a Jack Petrie free kick, to give the Bergers control after a physical and fiery first half in which Petrie and his Greens opponent Mitrovic received yellow cards and Bergers strongman Harry Noon and Greens’ Blake Thompson waged their own private battle.
Greens fans would have been gladdened by the return from a long injury lay-off, of striker Chris Lucas partnering Mat Thurtell up front. Although judging by his finishing on the night, Lucas may still need to dust off a few cobwebs from his radar.
The Bergers put the match beyond doubt with a fourth goal in the 58th minute when Noon headed home an excellent Schiavo cross. The Greens enjoyed more possession in the second half than they did in the first, and could’ve had two or three goals but were denied by the woodwork. In the end they settled for a goal to skipper Jack Webster.
After the match Bergers’ coach George Katsakis commented, “That first half was probably some of the best pressure football I’ve seen in a life time. Both teams were fired up, there was a lot of tackling going on. You know what, leading into the season, that’s a great game to have.”
Greens coach John Anastasiadis, speaking on Bentleigh Greens TV after the match, said: “Our biggest problem for us was out individual mistakes. We just got punished. Credit to Heidelberg. They bullied us in the first 15 minutes and we fell into the trap. And we talked about not doing that, but to play our football which we didn’t.”
“I don’t feel good at all. We’ve lost a trophy we’ve won the last two years. You worry why have we conceded four goals today. It’s just not good enough. We’re conceding too many goals. We’ll analyse the video. (…) See where the problem is. Hopefully relay that to the players and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”