Green Gully Cavaliers coach Jeffrey Fleming is at a loss to explain his side’s disastrous first half in the National Premier League loss against South Melbourne on Saturday.
The Cavaliers trailed 4-0 at half-time before two goals from Mathew Sanders and one from Rodrigo Vargas in the second half made the score more respectable.
But Fleming was disappointed with the 5-3 loss at Green Gully Reserve.
“It was a pretty disappointing first half and in the end it cost us the game,” he said.
“I’m not sure what happened but South Melbourne put the pressure on right from the start and we weren’t prepared.”
Fleming said a couple of structural changes helped turned the flow late in the first half.
“I thought if we could get one goal we would be a chance to get a second,” he said.
“We got to 4-2 and thought we were a chance.”
But the Cavaliers’ momentum was halted when Stephen Downes and goalkeeper Kieran Gonzalez were both sent off.
“We had them under pressure and had a chance to score another goal but it’s hard with only nine players on the field,” Fleming said.
He said Sanders was the best for the side and Vargas showed leadership in the second half.
The Cavaliers next take on Oakleigh on Friday night.
“We need to refocus and we think that if we can put 90 minutes together we can win every week,” Fleming said.
