GREEN GULLY 1 ( NIKOLIC 80' )

SUNSHINE GEORGE CROSS 1( CINI 8' )

 Line Up: JOHN, AZZOPARDI, OPAZO, NAPOLI, TSOUMERKAS, TALEVSKI, CINI, MAGNACCA (KALMAR 53'),  DELIC, GILMOUR, ESPOSITO (MARKOVSKI 70'). SUBS NOT USED: TRPCEVSKI, RUSSELL, FIORENZA


In an untidy match that featured 46 fouls, or a foul every 2 minutes, it was Cross goal keeper Martin John that was clearly man of the match with no less than six spectacular saves to deny the Gully attack time after time.

Once again, like in the match against Essendon the week before the Georgies opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes, but this time the unlikely hero was young midfielder/defender Matthew Cini, who from a Goran Talevski throw in found himself free in the box and punished the Gully defence from close range on 8 minutes.

However from this point till half time and indeed most of the entire match it was a bombardment of the green kind as the services of John were called upon to keep the score sheet intact. The corner count reflected Gully's attacks on goal registering 8 corners up till half time.

However Gully's equaliser was less than spectacular as a goal mouth scramble resulted in Nikolic virtually on hands and knees, getting a foot on the ball to poke it in just inside the post with about 10 minutes remaining.

The Georgie's one and only corner came deep in stoppage time as the football pin-balled in the six yard box before the Gully defence cleared its lines denying the Cross what would have been a winner.

As far as derbies go, the match had all the build up and tension one would expect of a Cross-Gully encounter. The Georgies were keen to make amends for their lack lustre display in the soured 60th anniversary celebrations at home on Labour Day when Gully embarrased the Georgies 2-0.

The dramatic derby victory of a year ago over the Greens was still fresh in the Cross fans seeking a repeat of that eventful August night, but a second placed Gully was not going to be an easy affair in 2007. Despite the odds the Cross, took the lead, and extracted a result which although not a win, some would say "it would have been a result they would have signed for"

away from home against the team that is play-off bound near the top of the table.

The Cross now backs up to another season defining test against the expensive line up of the Oakleigh Cannons at home at Chaplin Reserve

CAUTIONS: GILMOUR 10'