By Lance Jenkinson
Green Gully is powering to the finish line in the NPL Victoria regular season.
The Cavaliers’ hot form has put them into third place on the ladder with one home-and-away round to play.
The Stephen Downes-coached Cavs can lock up a top three finish with a win over fifth-placed Oakleigh Cannons on the road at Jack Edwards Reserve on Sunday.
Green Gully enjoyed a thumping 6-2 win over Dandenong Thunder at Green Gully Reserve on Saturday.
It was the latest in a string of high-scoring wins for the Cavaliers, who have scored a massive 15 goals in their past four games for three wins and a draw.
The Cavs have scored 55 goals at an average of 2.2 goals a game this season – second only to Avondale.
Goals to Matthew Fletcher and captain Nick Kalmar had Green Gully ahead of Dandenong Thunder by 2-1 at half-time on Saturday.
Four more Cavaliers goals – a second from Fletcher, one to Teeboy Kamara, an own goal and one to Jonathan Bounas – completed the rout.
The Thunder played the last 12 minutes a man down after goalkeeper Pierce Clark was sent off for a late challenge.
Green Gully will be desperate to stay in third place and secure a home elimination final.
PHOTO GALLERY: Green Gully vs Dandenong Thunder
Meanwhile, Melbourne Knights’ rough patch continued with a 2-1 loss to finals-bound Hume City at Knights Stadium on Sunday.
Trailing to a Mitch Cooper goal after four minutes, the Knights hit back when Adrian Tardio scored in the eighth minute.
The scoring dried up until Daniel Dixon found a winner for Hume City in the 71st minute.
In NPL 2 west, St Albans Saints pulled off a miraculous comeback in a 3-2 win over Eastern Lions at Churchill Reserve.
Staring at a two-goal deficit, the Saints seemed down and out, but they scored in the 87th minute, through Michael Grgic from the penalty spot, in the 89th minute, through a Grgic header, and in the fifth minute of stoppage time through a Josip Konyit header.
In women’s NPL, Calder United has claimed its second piece of silverware in a row.
Six days after taking out the Nike FC Cup, Calder won the premier’s plate with a 5-0 win over Southern United at Monterey Reserve on Saturday. Aleksandra Sinclair scored two of Calder’s goals, while Golcan Koca and Angie Beard got in on the scoring act, with an own goal thrown in.
Calder will use the final two rounds of the season to prepare for the finals.
Coach Mark Torcaso and assistant Ian Williamson have signed contract extensions through to the end of the 2020 season.
