By Jordan Lim (@JordanLim24)

A late Tremayne Sadler wonder strike has earned a resilient Oakleigh Cannons a share of the spoils against Hume City in their PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria Round Four catch-up match at Jack Edwards Reserve.

Mid-season recruit Paul Harvey broke the deadlock in the first half with a well-taken goal of his own to take his tally to three goals in as many starts for the Broadmeadows based club.

The original scheduled clash between the two sides was called off after a shocking head injury to winger Ben Clarke, who lined up on the right in their second meeting.

It was Hume’s right winger who had the bigger impact however as new boy Theo Markelis displayed his trickery to find a man in the box.

Harvey was on hand to steer the first shot of the night towards goal, but he skewed his fourth minute strike narrowly wide

Mirjan Pavlovic registered Oakleigh’s first shot on goal with an audacious 45-yard volley before then firing wide from a GoranZoric cutback.

Oakleigh enjoyed good spells of possession throughout the match, but were caught out by Hume in the 25^th minute.

A quick burst of pace from Daniel Clark on the left saw the City man burn his defensive marker, before squaring up Harvey for a first time effort undera diving John Honos into the net.

Some resolute defending from both camps kept chances at a premium, the only one of note leading into half-time was a stinging drive from DusanBosnjak which Chris Oldfield held comfortably.

A reshuffle at half-time saw Oakleigh come into their own, as they began to find their rhythm.

However, they lacked incisiveness going forward, finding it hard work to link midfield to attack.

Hume were restricted to only a handful of opportunities, and captain Nick Hegarty nearly capitalised as he saw his powerful effort palmed away by a diving Honos.

At the other end, Goran Zoric threaded the eye of a needle to send Bosnjak through on goals, but the Oakleigh star saw his near post shot held by Oldfield.

Joey Franjic found himself in the warzone as tempers flared and frustrations boiled over, forcing the dynamic midfielder out of the game injured after a string of late tackles.

A set-piece from 25-yards presented a perfect opportunity for Oakleigh to grab the equaliser they so craved, but unlike on the weekend, Bosnjak was unable to hit the target as his free-kick sailed over the bar.

With time ticking into the red, a desperate long ball from the deep found an advancing Tremayne Sadler who struck viciously with his left boot inside the area.

The sweetly executed volley – a la Tim Cahill at the 2014 World Cup – went low into the bottom corner, as the defender took off in rampant celebration knowing that he’d earned his side a valuable point.

Match details:

Oakleigh Cannons 1 (Sadler 90’) drew with Hume City (Harvey 24’) at Jack Edwards Reserve [HT: 0-1]

Oakleigh Canons: 76. John HONOS (GK),18. Adam LE CORNU, 22. Matthew FOSCHINI, 3. John BLACK, 12. Tremayne SADLER, 15. Jake McLEAN (26. Lambros HONOS 81’), 6. Steve PANTELIDIS (5. Aron WILFORD 46’), 8.Dusan BOSNJAK, 19. Goran ZORIC, 14. Mirjan PAVLOVIC, 7. Ben CLARKE (10. Dean PIEMONTE 46’)

Unused Substitute(s): 21. Jakob WILLIAMS, 35. Evan KRALOGLOU

Yellow Card(s): Nil

Red Card(s): Nil

 

Hume City: 1. Chris OLDFIELD (GK), 2. Daniel CHAABANI, 13. Shane REXHEPI, 5. Petar FRANJIC, 3. Shaun TIMMINS, 39. Nick HEGARTY, 10. Joseph FRANJIC (11. Ivan PAVLAK 75’), 12. Daniel CLARK (17. Marcus SCHROEN 74’), 7. Jai INGHAM (19. Sam BENINATO 79’), 9. Paul HARVEY, 8. Theo MARKELIS

Unused Substitute(s): 16. Matt HENNESEY, 20. Tom BANFIELD

Yellow Card(s): P Franjic 52’

Red Card(s): Nil