Until last night, that was the last game I attended that was abandoned due to heavy rain/flooding. It was on Saturday July 29, 1995 (one day before my birthday) in State League Division Two. Moorabbin City were hosting Springvale White Eagles in a top of the table clash at Kingston Heath. It was before the current facility was completed, as evidenced by the portable cabin dressing rooms behind the goal Moorabbin are attacking, and the temporary clubrooms on the far side on the right. Even the trees on the hill at Capital Golf Course have yet to be established.
Springvale White Eagles had scored in the first half before the above goal from Iain Stirton (proud father of current Bentleigh Greens star David) equalised in the second period after the heavens had opened up. The referee, Dennis Voutsinis I think, abandoned the match which was replayed on September 16. In the replay Moorabbin triumphed 1-0 with a goal from Mickey Maguire, to seal promotion, with White Eagles having already clinched the championship.
Stirton was pipped for top goalscorer honours in the league that season by Waverley City's (now Eastern Lions) Alex Livingstone by a goal, with big Stirts getting 16 for the season. The White Eagles pair of Michael Michalakopoulos and Zlatko Mihajlovic both got 14 for the campaign. The NSL was won by Melbourne Knights, with Mark Viduka winning the golden boot with 18 goals. Altona Magic defeated Bulleen 3-2 in the Grand Final to win the VPL in the year Port Melbourne dominated but stumbled in the Finals. Oakleigh City (now Cannons) were relegated from Division One, with South Dandenong (now Thunder) promoted as runner's-up in Division Three.
Last night at Kevin Bartlett Reserve it was Green Gully leading Richmond 2-1 at around the 72nd minute when Luke Brennan pulled the pin. Apart from flooding, there was also thunder and lightening making things frightening. If the referee's report indicates the game was stopped due to thunder, it is highly possible that the FFV will deduct further points from Dandenong Thunder as well as fine them.
The pageviews counter indicates not too many people are reading the blog, and comments are virtually non-existent. But I take heart from the fact that since my last post on Thursday, the VPL Live TV icon alongside the club logos on the VPL website has disappeared. Co-incidence or not?
It's easy to get obsessed with post counts. Just keep posting what you do, and be sure that a dedicated audience will read it, even if it's a small one.
ReplyDeleteI'm not obsessed yet, and I know people are reading but a few more replies would be nice.
ReplyDeleteOh that, well, that's always an uphill struggle unless you're Walter Pless.
ReplyDelete