The first piece of silverware on offer in Victorian football in 2020 has been claimed, with Bentleigh Greens adding the 2020 Football Victoria Community Shield to its crowded trophy cabinet after triumphing over Hume City in a penalty shootout.
Though Head Coach Nick Tolios’ side, on the balance of play, edged proceedings on Saturday – Hume slightly more reliant on the counterattack for their most promising moves in the face of the Greens fierce press – both sides created more than their fair share of chances to win the game in regulation.
But holding their nerve in the crucible that is penalties after scores finished 0-0 at the end of regulation, the 7-6 shootout result secures the Greens the fourth Community Shield in their history, 2020 joining 2019, 2017 and 2016.
Ominously if you’re a fan of another NPL Victoria side, the previous two times the Greens have secured honours in the season’s curtain-raiser exhibition they have gone on to lift the NPL Victoria Championship.
Shield in hand, the thoughts of the Greens will now turn to their season-opening match-up against the newly promoted Eastern Lions at Gardiners Creek Reserve on Sunday afternoon.
Head Coach Nick Hegarty’s Hume will begin preparations for their round one encounter with Altona Magic, which is set for Friday night at ABD Stadium.
Belying the goalless nature of the contest to come, the Greens had a golden opportunity to open the scoring at City Vista Reserve after just 94 seconds of play on Saturday when Alex Caniglia, freed one-on-one by an inch-perfect through ball, was denied by Hume goalkeeper ‘Big’ Mike Weier.
Played through by a long ball over the top from Danny Dixon, James Brown attempted to answer back for the side in red minutes later but, following some ducking and weaving to open up some space in the area, his eventual shot was blocked by Greens’ gloveman Javi Lopez.
A free-kick won by new Hume signing Josh Bingham then gave Steve Hewitt a chance to break the deadlock in the 17th minute, but his effort flashed just inches over the bar.
Just over ten minutes later, streaming forward with a run that began from just inside his own half, the Greens’ Mathew Crooks fired off a long-range effort but could only watch on as it bounced off the post.
Pinching the ball off James Xydias as he struggled to wrangle on a long Weier goal kick five minutes later, Matt Lazarides had a chance to finally separate the two sides as he burst through one-on-one with Lopez but could only put his shot wide.
Starting the second stanza strongly, Caniglia flashed down the left flank and put in a dangerous ball for his Greens side in the 48th minute that was just begging to be turned in by two arriving attackers, only for Weier to stick a strong paw out to deflect the ball away.
Reflective of the strong chances being created by both sides, it was then the turn of Hume to imperil the game’s equilibrium when Mitch Cooper, bursting forward on the counter after a Greens corner, was brought down inside the box by Crooks – only for his shouts for a penalty to be ignored.
A Brown cutback into Bingham flashed danger for Tolios’ side in the 77th minute, only for Lopez – between the posts after the departure of long-time Greens first choice Ryan Scott to Western United – to get down and deny the former Central Coast Mariner twice.
Eventually, despite both sides continuing to create chances, a winner withing 90 minutes could not be found; the game proceeding directly to penalties in order to determine who would emerge victorious.
Kieran Dover, back at Kingston Heath after a stint at Dandenong Thunder, fired true for his side to open the shoot-out before Hewitt had his attempted answer – after a Fred Flintstone-style run-up – crash off the post.
Marco Jankovic then made it two from two for Bentleigh, before Danny Dixon answered back with Hume’s first.
In a Sampson-like turn of events, a newly shorn Corey Sewell had his penalty saved by Weier and allowed Brown to tie things back up at two penalties apiece when he fired into the roof of the net.
Captain Jack Webster promptly wellied his penalty home to steady the Bentleigh ship and Cooper ensured that Hume would keep pace when he sent Lopez the wrong way.
With an almost casual disdain, former Socceroo Brent McGrath then put Bentleigh back ahead and put the pressure on Mark Ochieng. The Hume right-back, though, was up to the task and ensured the shoot-out went into extras with a well-taken Panenka.
Newly signed Damian Iaconis proceeded to keep things going for the Greens, only for newly signed Hume man Andy Brennan to then answer immediately before Jacob Alexander put the onus back on Hume when he fired home. His opposite left-back Lazaridis, however, was able to answer for the side in red.
But with the tension mounting, the lethal error finally came when Harry Monaghan, looking to answer back after Josh Wallen’s successful penalty, fired his attempt over the bar and sent the shield to Melbourne’s south-east.