By Lance Jenkinson
Green Gully’s National Premier League Victoria finals campaign was short-lived.
The Cavaliers bowed out at the elimination final stage after a 1-0 loss to Bentleigh Greens at Green Gully Reserve on Saturday.
The signs were not good early in the game, with key attacking player Matthew Fletcher subbed out with a leg injury.
The day got worse for Green Gully just before half-time when Bentleigh’s Daniel Stynes made something out of nothing to curl a first-time shot past Cavaliers goalkeeper Jerrad Tyson, giving the visitors the lead.
Green Gully seemed to have a lifeline in the second half when Stynes received a second yellow card and was given his marching orders.
PHOTO GALLERY: Green Gully vs Bentleigh Greens
The Cavaliers had the benefit of an extra man for 21 minutes in the second half, but could not find an equaliser.
The numerical advantage disappeared when Teeboy Kamara saw red for unceremoniously dumping Greens goalkeeper Ryan Scott with a forceful two-handed shove to the chest.
In NPL women’s, Calder United rounded out the regular season with a 7-2 win over Geelong Galaxy United at Stead Park. Angela Beard scored a hat-trick for Calder to take her season tally to 28 goals.
Calder heads into the finals top ranked after winning 24 of its 27 games.
