NOW that’s more like it. Two-time reigning champion Green Gully Cavaliers pole-axed Heidelberg United 4-0 in their Victorian Premier League home-opener at Green Gully Reserve on Saturday to prove their dreadful three-goal loss to Bentleigh Greens eight days earlier was merely an aberration.
Cavaliers general manager Raymond Mamo said a rediscovery week on the training track was needed before his club got down to the business of opening their 2012 account.
“It was good to see them bounce back,” he said. “They worked hard during the week to rectify the situation. They were much better at keeping the ball and playing to a system.”
The Cavs were markedly better on the defensive end. That was a given with the injection of big-name recruits Rodrigo Vargas and Ante Cicak.
Vargas, 33, signed on the dotted line with the Cavs on Friday.
It could not have come at a better time, with the two-time A-League premiership star and former Socceroo rushed into the starting line-up to fill the defensive void left by the injured Cameron Drake.
Mamo hailed the significance of the signing. “He’s a high-profile player to have at the club.
“His experience is second to none and he’s more than a professional because football is his life and it shows on and off the park.”
RESULTS
VPL: Green Gully 4 Heidelberg United 0
SL1: Dandenong City 0 St Albans 0
SL2: Keilor Park 5 Altona East 1
SL3: Cairnlea 2 Avondale Heights 1
PL1: Westvale 1 Essendon United 2, Maribyrnong Greens 2 Northern United 1
PL3: Heidelberg Stars 4 Brimbank Stallions 1; Balmoral 0 Melbourne City 0