Hamid Basma was a hero for Green Gully, scoring two goals after coming off the bench. 69919 Pictures: EMILY LANE
BY DEJAN KALINIC
CHAMPIONSHIP-winning Green Gully coach Ian Dobson admitted his team’s lacklustre first-half performance forced him to introduce two-goal hero Hamid Basma earlier than planned.
The tactician, who won his seventh state title, brought striker Basma on at half time with the Cavaliers trailing 2-1.
Basma netted twice, including the winner in extra time, as Green Gully sealed back-to-back Victorian Premier League (VPL) crowns.
Dobson said his team’s problems in the first half contributed to bringing on Basma, Jason Hayne and Jonathan Munoz, all on the comeback trail from injury, before the 75th minute.
“I didn’t want to bring them on so early, but we were forced to do it because of the lack of performances in certain areas and we started to get injuries and cramps,” Dobson said.
“We had a lot of problems in the first half even though we took the lead. Oakleigh were dictating the play, we had a lot of defensive problems. We also had problems up front where we weren’t holding the ball up.”
Basma’s introduction proved to be a masterstroke from Dobson as Oakleigh counterpart Arthur Papas, the VPL Coach of the Year, held his changes until late in regulation time.
Dobson, who is unsure what his role will be next year, has long been touted to coach at A-League level, but he said that was unlikely to happen.
“As a coach, you never stop having ambitions. The realism of it is – it will never happen for me,” he said.
Previously the technical director of coaching, Dobson took the reigns after the departure of coach Lubo Lapsansky before the major semi-final win over Hume City.
Meanwhile, goal-scoring hero Basma said he was surprised Cameron Drake’s cross fell to him for what proved to be the winning goal.
“When I got on, I felt like I would score. To score two goals – it’s all right,” he said.
“I wait for the defence to make any mistakes and it came to me. Football is about chances.”
Jimmy Rooney Medallist Stephen Downes, deployed in the centre of midfield, was thrilled to win the title in his first season at Gully.
“It’s been fantastic since I’ve been here. The lads are tremendous and what a good performance we put in,” he said.
“You seen there at the end, the lads were down on their knees but we still got through and we got the win.”
