ONE minute is all it took for Sunshine George Cross to grab the lead over local rivals St Albans Saints and the table toppers were set for a commanding 3-0 win in the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 1 at Chaplin Reserve on Saturday.
Tom Cahill, an old-fashioned English centre forward with an uncanny knack of scoring goals, pounced in the opening 60 seconds to score a goal into gale-force winds that saw the first half action played almost exclusively in the Saints’ attacking third.
Nic Scerri, a livewire forward who played well in tandem with Cahill, made it 2-0 against the run of play on 30 minutes to leave a wasteful Saints feeling slightly hard done by when looking towards the scoreboard.
Click on the image below for our gallery of the big clash.
“St Albans probably had about 12 corners in the first half,” Georgies assistant coach Paul Donnelly told the Weekly.
“We had to weather a bit of a storm.”
Who better to get the Georgies off to a flyer than Cahill?
The imposing striker has three goals in five league appearances and a hand in numerous others.
The 25-year-old arrived at the Georgies by chance, impressed in a preseason trial against top-flight South Melbourne and has not looked back.
“He sort of landed on our doorstep during the preseason,” Donnelly said.
“It’s funny because just at that time we were looking for a striker.
“He is an old-school central striker, holds the ball up well, he’s got quick feet and an eye for goal.
“If he sees an opportunity, he’s greedy, which we like, and he fits into our system.”
The story of the first half was not the exploits of the Georgies’ attacking unit.
It was their watertight defence which withstood a flurry of Saints’ forward moves.
Barry Devlin, Zeljko Popovic, Ben Cogger and Steve Martin repelled time and again.
Goalkeeper Martin John was also called on to make a number of telling saves.
“Loads of experience,” Donnelly said of his back line.
“They’re just running the show at the moment.
“They’re shutting down opposition strikers with ease.”
The second goal broke the spirit of the Saints.
Leo Shin and Eduardo Soares began to dictate in the centre of the park.
Wingers Trent Waterman and John Kim overlapped to create an outlet.
A third insurance goal would come in the second half from Heo Wookburn.
The Georgies have begun the season like a house on fire to sit on top after five weeks.
Their two most recent performances have seen the Tony Ciantar-coached side lift an extra notch.
“We’ve got a fantastic squad to work with,” Donnelly said.
“It was just a case of us finding the right starting XI and we’ve done that in the last two weekends.”
