Bentleigh Greens strode confidently into the nationwide round 32 of the FFA Cup and into the Dockerty Cup semi-finals, by brushing aside league leader and arch rival South Melbourne with a 4-0 win in their round 7 FFA Cup clash at Kingston Heath on Tuesday night.
The Greens were unstoppable in the end, despite South Melbourne attempting to have a go at the home team from the start, producing a game of high tempo from the outset.
But the Greens had winners all over the park on Tuesday evening from out wide on the flanks, where youngster Kieran Dover rarely put a foot wrong even in heavy traffic, right to the middle of the park where the trio of Wallace, Ruthven and Holmes once again got the better of their counterparts, so much so that South’s Jawadi and Hatzikostas, so often the fulcrum of Souths’ attacking moves in the past, were pressured into giving away the ball in crucial areas, which led to goals for the Greens. The first came when South defender Brad Norton turned in a dangerous Holmes cross in the 38th minute. Holmes then scored against his former club, after the break and his goal was followed by a goal each to Lucas and Wallace to complete the scoring.
In attack, the speed and mobility of Christopher Lucas proved telling, with Lucas harassing opposition defenders, scoring and providing an assist. In defence, the Greens proved resolute even when South threw numbers at them late in the match. Fullbacks Pilkington and Kirk were able to nullify the impact of South’s wingers, whilst keeper Ryan Scott gave a near flawless display between the sticks.
Admittedly, South’s cause wasn’t helped by the 57th minute sending off of skipper Eager, but the game had turned in the Greens favour before the dismissal, with the home team on the front foot, leading 2-0 and exerting considerable pressure on the South defence.
After the match, Bentleigh Greens coach John Anastasiadis praised his team’s performance: “I think today was a complete performance”, he said. “It’s the only way I could sum it up. From the first whistle to the 95th whistle, we were on top of the game. We fought hard, we tackled hard, we played exceptionally smart today. We didn’t do anything silly. Obviously, it was a training session in the end. It was comical at times. It was a great win against a massive opponent and we look forward to the draw of the final 32… I can’t be more proud of them. We tasted the sweets two years ago, when we got to the semis. For some reason, there’s a burning desire to go that extra step.”
A disappointed South Melbourne coach Chris Taylor said after the match: “We’ve had two or three really poor ones ( performances) this year,and it’s hard to put a finger on it. We capitulate defensively which we’ve never done. We open right up. And then we did the same again today-people aren’t accountable for their jobs. We lose the shape. I suppose sometimes in a cup tie you’ve got to go for it. We went for it and were outgunned in the end. The problem is there’s so much emphasis on the FFA Cup now, which makes today’s result really hard to swallow. Three points clear at the top of the league. For some people, that doesn’t matter. For us, that’s what we play our season for. We’ve still got things to play for. But we’re disappointed with the way we’ve gone out in this tournament, that we wanted to do well in. We’ve just got to go away and lick the wounds and get on with things.”
Bentleigh Greens join Green Gully, Hume City and Melbourne Knights as the four Victorian teams through to the national round of 32.
The Knights were too strong at home for Port Melbourne Sharks winning 2-0 on Wednesday night, thanks to a Cvitkovic brace. On the same night, Hume City scored twice in each half to knock Richmond out of the qualifying race 4-0, with goals to Harris, Walker, Cahill and Markelis.