Photo: Mark Avellino
Melbourne Knights’ finals dreams are becoming less apparent after a heavy 3-0 defeat at the hands of finals contenders Hume City.
A late second half surge of goals left Andrew Marth’s men startled as their reach on both the game and the top six was gradually slipping away, subsequently near warranting a finals position for Hume.
The result left the travellers a fair nine points behind their opponents, while a victory would’ve crept them as close as three points in reach of the fourth place Hume.
A quiet first half on the scoresheet – but an eventful half on the pitch – saw an end-to-end contest being played out, which could’ve sent the fixture either way.
Nick Hegarty drove his shot high and wide in the 16th minute when Kristian Trajceski played the midfielder through on the right wing.
Merely two minutes later it was Hegarty with another opening, swinging in a free kick that found the head of Shane Rexhepi at the back post – the defender nodding wide.
At the opposite end, Chris Oldfield highlighted his abilities when the ball fell to Damien Miskulin inside the box in the 27th minute, although the defender drove the ball right at the legs of the Irish custodian.
Trajceski was proving a main catalyst for surges forward for the home side alongside efforts on goal, the midfielder nearly attributing his name to the scoresheet two minutes from half-time, but an unexpected poor touch prevented him from finishing Hegarty’s follow up.
Arguably the most promising chance for the travellers was squandered when James McGarry – who scored a brace last fixture – failed to put away Robbie Zadworny’s cross at the far post in the 56th minute.
Hegarty was also proving a prevalent option on the pitch, both establishing chances as well as being on the receiving end of countless opportunities.
The Englishman reaped the rewards of his constant persistence when two minutes later his cross found former Richmond forward Tom Cahill, who drove his shot past the reliable Fraser Chalmers.
The 71st minute saw Lou Acevski’s men double their advantage when Trajceski intercepted a promising Hume attack, sending Hegarty through on the right wing who squared the ball up for Theo Markelis in the centre.
Cahill added salt to the travellers’ wounds when he capitalised on a defensive mistake and placed the ball calmly to net his second of the fixture.
Talisman Cahill scored his fourth and fifth goal of the campaign as of yet, attributing his form to performing a number 10 role which involves a lot of interplay with counterparts Hegarty and Markelis.
“We’re getting used to playing with each other a little bit, [Craig] Carley’s up there and scoring.
“I’m playing the number 10 now, which is a little bit different for me, with [Nick] Hegarty and Theo [Markelis] it’s coming together.
“The number 10 is a little bit more mobile than the number 9, so it means a little bit more running.
“It’s not as fun but we’re getting there together in training and working on that and with the wide men as well.”
After biding his time to feature in the Hume XI after protracted Visa issues at the club, Cahill has hit his straps, which has also coincided with the club’s upturn in fortunes in the league.
Looking ahead to a huge FFA Cup fixture against former NSL champions Marconi Stallions, Cahill exclaimed his team’s ability to perform at any level given the task – also admitting his desire to be a part of another long Hume FFA Cup run.
“I’m excited to be a part of it, we know what we want to achieve this year and I want to be a part of it.
“Whoever [we play] we know what we want to achieve out of those games, as long as we keep hitting the levels we want to hit, we know we can get results.”
Acevski’s outfit face a fired up Pascoe Vale side, who have picked up a 13 out of 15 possible points from their last five fixtures, while the finals hopes of Knights aren’t done any favours as they host a freshly first-placed Bentleigh Greens this coming weekend.