The preview warned you. Brunswick City are chaos. They are ten goals conceded, nine scored, and a 5-0 demolition of Port Melbourne sandwiched between two losses. They are the most volatile team in VPL1. Friday night at The Web was never going to be straightforward.
Eltham Redbacks 2-2 Brunswick City. Round 4. A point apiece. And plenty to argue about on the way home.
Trent Skapetis had been flagged as the danger. Three goals in three rounds heading into the match, and the kind of movement that pulls defenders out of shape. It took him 17 minutes to prove the point. Brunswick built through the middle, Skapetis found space, and the finish was clinical. 1-0. The Redbacks fell behind.
Not for long.
Five minutes later, Finn Diamond reacted quickest to get on the end of a flick on from a set piece and headed home to level it. The Kiwi centre-back, signed in the off-season to add steel to Eltham’s backline, delivered exactly that. His first goal for the club, at a moment the side badly needed a response. 1-1, and the crowd was back in it.
It stayed that way until half-time. Both sides had chances. Both sides gave the ball away cheaply in spells. The kind of match that could have tipped either way.
Billy Romas is making a habit of this. A goal against Bulleen on Monday night. Another here in the 60th minute to put Eltham ahead. Back-to-back goals for a player who keeps turning up in the moments that matter. 2-1, and the Redbacks had done the hard work. The Web was rocking.
It lasted five minutes.
Skapetis again. The 65th minute. 2-2. And this is where the frustration set in. Eltham felt there were fouls in the build-up to both Brunswick goals. The kind of challenges that go unnoticed in real time, but gnaw at you when you watch the replay.
Whether the officials got it right or wrong is beside the point now. What matters is that a side that had fought its way to 2-1 saw the lead ripped away within minutes of taking it, and the circumstances left a sour taste.
Brunswick’s discipline unravelled as the match wore on. Dylan Alshon was booked in the 70th minute. Skapetis followed in the 74th. Kobe Timms, the Brunswick captain, picked up a yellow in the 79th. Austin Wong joined the list in the 87th. Then, deep in stoppage time, Timms collected a second yellow and was sent off. Five bookings and a red card across Brunswick’s squad. It was that kind of night.
Eltham threw on Muginga Mpota and Mehmet Uysal late to try and find a winner, and Fletcher Caponecchia replaced Lewis Collins in the 71st minute as Pace and Mulcahy reshuffled. Chances came. The winner didn’t.
Seven points from four rounds. Fifth on the ladder. Unbeaten at The Web. Those are the facts, and they are solid.
For the Redbacks, the response matters more than the result. This squad has answered every question VPL1 has thrown at it so far. The next one comes soon enough.