By Riley Beveridge (@RileyBev)

Bulleen has overwhelmed a struggling Brunswick City outfit at Dunstan Reserve on Saturday afternoon, winning 5-0 following an emphatic second-half performance.

City defended stoutly in the opening period, only to concede right on the stroke of halftime to the in-form Joseph Katebian of Bulleen.

A second-half brace from Paul Harvey, added to by goals from Alex Dao and Joshua Sabidussi, then sealed a five-star performance from the Lions.

Despite an evenly matched first 20 minutes, Bulleen initially looked tidier in possession and worked the better openings.

A slick one-touch passing move between Harvey, Matteo Ballan and Davide Cardamone sliced through the Brunswick defence, but the latter just missed the target when presented with a shooting opportunity.

Takanori Nishimoto’s pinpoint cross then picked out Harvey in the middle, but his header crashed against the post.

Brunswick was made to battle for its chances, but when it did Dimitri Vithoulkas looked the most likely. The striker never stopped working up front in a tireless first-half display.

Yet it was still Bulleen which appeared on top. Katebian carved through the defence with a slaloming run, only to angle his shot off the inside of the post.

Moments later and on the stroke of halftime, the Lions took the lead. In a carbon copy of the chance just gone, Katebian powered through down the right and shot across the ‘keeper, this time finding the bottom corner.

Just two minutes after the interval and Bulleen had a second. A defence-splitting pass from Badhi Hysoli sent Nishimoto through and the No.10 unselfishly squared for Harvey to double the advantage.

The Lions were now well and truly in the ascendency and became relentless in their search for a third. Katebian had a 30-yard volley pushed clear by Mason Interlandi, while the Brunswick ‘keeper also saved from the toes of Harvey.

But 10 minutes after the break and Bulleen inevitably broke through once more. Unsurprisingly it was Katebian and Harvey combining again, with Harvey the recipient of another unselfish pullback from his teammate.

An efficient Bulleen side was now overwhelming Brunswick. Katebian’s side-rule pass teed up Alex Dao 20 yards from goal, with the Lions midfielder sweeping the ball into the bottom corner.

Bulleen’s lead could have been more if not for Interlandi. The City ‘keeper was soon on hand to thwart Dao again after Cardamone slid him through.

After being on the end of two tap-ins, it was only fitting that Harvey eventually provided an assist. Put in the clear down the right, the striker picked out substitute Sabidussi in the middle. He was left with a simple finish to make it five and seal a comfortable win for the visitors.

MATCH DETAILS

Brunswick City: 44. Mason INTERLANDI (GK), 4. Manny KARAS (16. Abdallah ABDALLAH 69’), 11. Admir KOLAKOVIC, 45. George MARKELIS, 14. Denis SADIK, 18. Rob SCHIAFONE (27. Christopher SCAVO 62’), 8. Nick TEREZAKIS (6. Oktay OZTEKIN 57’), 3. Michael VARKOPOULOS, 99. Dimitri VITHOULKAS, 24. Sam MAZZOLINI, 10. Christopher VELLUTO

Unused Subs: 22. Costas THANOS, 20. Rojdar ZENGIN

Yellow Cards: Denis SADIK (42’)

Red Cards: None

FC Bulleen Lions: 41. Fraser MACLAREN (GK), 2. Dean ROMAS (4. Sam BORGHESI 69’), 5. Lewis WADDELL, 6. Alex DAO, 8. Matteo BALLAN, 9. Badhi HYSOLI, 10. Takanori NISHIMOTO (19. Joshua SABIDUSSI 66’), 35. Matt DIMECH, 21. Paul HARVEY, 20. Davide CARDAMONE, 33. Joseph KATEBIAN (13. Dean LORENZI 75’)

Unused Subs: 1. Gian TAPIA

Yellow Cards: Paul HARVEY (33’)

Red Cards: None