By Steven Chang (@Gixibyte)

Oakleigh Cannons pulled off a devastating 6-1 conquest over Green Gully on Friday night, leaving the hapless visitors stunned at Jack Edwards Reserve.

An enlivening match began brightly and remained an intense affair, with the home side lashing three goals past Green Gully in the first half, including a brace by Nate Foster and a sumptuous free kick from Andreas Govas.

Gully replied with a consolation goal in the second stanza, but it was ultimately a minor blip amid a deluge of destruction that saw Oakleigh fire off a trio of strikes to polish a triumphant rout.

Despite the final score, it was the Cavaliers who fashioned the earliest chance just moments after kick off.

Jason Hayne tried his luck with an over-hit chip, unsuccessfully attempting to embarrass an onrushing John Honos who had raced off his line.

Oakleigh returned fire, as Govas delivered a lofted pass to Dean Piemonte, who unleashed a fierce strike from a tight angle which blazed over the crossbar.

Although the two sides shared an even slice of possession, Green Gully was largely limited to launching speculative shots from outside the penalty area.

Oakleigh declared a ferocious attacking intent, opening its account when Foster emerged from a goalmouth scramble to bundle the ball home.

Emboldened by Foster’s early goal, Oakleigh escalated the pressure, with captain Evan Christodoulou firing narrowly wide of the woodwork.

The Cannons’ momentum vaulted them into a 2-0 lead when Foster nimbly latched onto Andreas Govas’ calculated aerial pass and dinked a crafty ball over Gully’s second-string custodian, Akim Abdul.

The intensity heated up a notch, with Aron Wilford and Daniel Jones each cautioned by the referee for a pair of crunching challenges in midfield.

Possession remained evenly balanced, but Oakleigh was coldly clinical with its opportunities.

Miron Bleiberg’s troops resumed their goalscoring rampage when the exemplary Govas curled a masterful free kick, which nestled into the top corner.

Bristling with confidence, Oakleigh marched into the break 3-0 up and returned precisely where it had left off.

Just two minutes had passed when Oakleigh top scorer Dusan Bosnjak bulldozed his way through the Gully defence, barrelling past a gauntlet of green shirts and peeling free to blast another Oakleigh strike home.

The persistent Gully refused to abandon hope despite the mammoth task ahead of it, valiantly fighting and coveting possession.

Consequently, it pulled one back through a Mitchell Bissinger header to claw the scoreboard back to 4-1, but his teammates’ solemn absence of celebrations betrayed their true position in the contest.

The Cannons offered no quarter in their merciless assault. Christodoulou rifled another goal home and it was patently the end of the road for Green Gully.

Oakleigh struck one final killer blow through a lightning-fast counter attack orchestrated by former Dandenong Thunder championship winner Foster.

The Canadian striker supplied substitute Goran Zoric, who raced into the box and buried the ball home emphatically to round out an astonishing 6-1 triumph.

Victorious coach Miron Bleiberg was in a demanding mindset despite Oakleigh’s crushing win.

“The truth? [Not happy] with the first half. Tactically we didn’t play well. We were not organised the way I instructed the boys,” the former A-League coach mused.

“In the second half I was happier because we kept our shape. We played disciplined football. The result reflects that we won through our fighting spirit and confidence.”

Brian Vanega fronted the cameras for Gully, and insisted that his side’s defensive catastrophes were a collective issue.

“Two weeks in a row we’ve made it tough for ourselves. We’re letting in goals far too easily,” Vanega said.

“That’s not to blame the defence. It’s a team game, we attack together, and we defend together.

“For the fans, we thank them for their support and ask they stick by us. We’ll keep producing the effort and it’ll turn around soon enough.”

A bevy of midweek fixtures await NPL sides. Oakleigh Cannons will travel away to face Dandenong Thunder on Wednesday night, while Green Gully ventures to Cheltenham to take on Bentleigh Greens on the same night.

MATCH DETAILS

OAKLEIGH CANNONS 5 (Foster 15’ 21’, Govas 31’, Bosnjak 47’, Christodoulou 58’, Zoric 82’) defeated GREEN GULLY 1 (Bissinger 53’) at Jack Edwards Reserve [HT: 3-0]

OAKLEIGH CANNONS: 1. John HONOS (GK), 5. Aron WILFORD, 7. Bonel OBRADOVIC, 18. Adam LE CORNU, 23. Dominic D’ANGELO, 20. Jordan LOWDON, 11. Evan CHRISTODOULOU (c), 17. Dean PIEMONTE, 21. Andreas GOVAS, 8. Dusan BOSNJAK, 14. Nathaniel FOSTER

SUBSTITUTES: 2. Thomas LAKIC, 19. Goran Zoric, 10. Veton KORCARI, 35. Evan KRALOGLOU, 4. Ian KAMAU.

YELLOW CARDS: Aron WILFORD (25’).

RED CARDS: None

GREEN GULLY CAVALIERS: 1. Akim ABDUL (GK), 2. Daniel JONES, 4. Mitchell BISSINGER, 5. Rodrigo VARGAS (C), 7. Jeffrey FLEMING, 8. Jason HAYNE, 12. Mathew SANDERS,16. Sean HARDING, 17. Andy VARGAS, 20. Osagie EDERARO, 21. Brian VANEGA.

SUBSTITUTES: 9. Brent FISHER, 18. Cameron DAVIS, 11. Jem BERKANT, 10. Ratip CILELI, 23. Dilen IBRAHIM.

YELLOW CARDS: Daniel JONES (25’), Rodrigo VARGAS (39’).

RED CARDS: None

Pictured: Andreas Govas looks to the heavens after scoring a wonder free kick (image credit: Peter Psarros)