Oakleigh roll on as Richmond fade

By Jack Henty

Sunday’s clash between the Oakleigh Cannons and Richmond S.C. at Kevin Bartlett Reserve was the setting that displayed Oakleigh’s dominance over the home side and sent out warning bells to the rest of the competition as the Cannons demonstrated that they are poised to threaten the remainder of the VPL competition.

Richmond began the game in an attacking fashion looking to break through the Cannons’ strong defensive zone.

Michael Ferrante looked to create early opportunities for the home side attempting to involve his team mates in the match and linked up well with Chris O’Hare, however they were unable to trouble Oakleigh’s goalkeeper Peter Zois.

Oakleigh began to gain some momentum going forward although they too were spraying the ball wide. After a few impressive plays however both sides were wasteful in front of goal.

Richmond took risks coming out of defence in a bid to open the scoring, attempting to move the ball through the middle of the pitch.

Unfortunately for the home side this tactic proved unsuccessful and in the 34th minute Dane Milovanovic of Oakleigh found the bottom left corner, converting a penalty bringing the match to life.

For the remainder of the first half Oakleigh Cannons continued to press forward and put pressure on the Richmond defence which were able to hold strong for the rest of the half. As both sides walked in for half time the scoreboard read 1 -0 in Oakleigh's favour.

The second half began how the first ended with the Cannons continuously pressing and causing a threat to extend their lead.

In the 47th minute Billy Damianos had the opportunity to extend the lead to two goals through a free kick from beyond the box but was easily saved by Stjepan Gal.

Damianos continued his good form for the remainder of the half consistently trying to create opportunities for his side and was unlucky not to register a goal in the 48th minute.

It only took until the 56th minute for the inevitable second goal for Oakleigh as Frankie Lagana was able to put the ball in the back of the net from just metres out after support from Craig Goodwin.

In the 67th minute Dane Milovanovic again had the opportunity to convert a penalty and register two goals for the match however the ball was brilliantly saved by Stjepan Gal.

To Richmond’s credit they continuously attempted to take something from the game and take the game on through Michael Ferrante however Oakleigh’s defence was just too strong. At least Richmond can take from the game that they can challenge top sides even without Jason Hoffman who missed the match due to an Australian under 23 training camp.

With Easter holiday falling next weekend both sides have the week off however the following week Richmond will partake in the clash at Knights Stadium on Friday as they attempt to get back on the winners’ list. Oakleigh are at home against the in-form Hume City which will be match of the round.



Match Highlights courtesy of The Football Sack Media Partner, Football Federation Victoria.