Form is a fragile thing in this division, and a fortnight ago it was running against the Redbacks. Two wins later, the picture at The Web looks very different.
Eltham backed up last weekend’s 6-1 win away at Langwarrin with a 3-1 result at home over North Geelong Warriors, a second victory in a row that has turned a difficult month into a genuine push up the table. Billy Romas opened the scoring in the 12th minute to put the Redbacks 1-0 in front, and that is how the first half finished, the home side taking a slender lead into the interval.
Nicholas Edwards stretched the margin two minutes after the restart, his goal on 47 minutes making it 2-0 and giving Eltham a cushion to work with. North Geelong were not done, and Gevaro Nepomuceno pulled one back on 55 minutes to reduce the deficit to 2-1 and set up a nervy final half hour. The Warriors arrived in ninth, a mid-table side on 28 points, and they were never going to hand over three points cheaply.
The night carried a small flashpoint on 80 minutes when manager Alan Mulcahy was shown a yellow card from the technical area, a reminder of just how much was riding on the result. Three minutes later the game was settled. Josh Dennett struck in the 83rd minute to restore the two-goal buffer at 3-1, and the Redbacks saw out the remaining minutes to bank the win.
Context is what makes this one matter. The two wins have come after a testing run of one victory in five, a stretch that took in a draw with Melbourne Victory, losses to Brunswick Juventus, a draw with FC Bulleen Lions, and defeats to Brunswick City and Western United. Momentum in a season this tight can drain quickly, and the response over the past two rounds says plenty about where this group’s heads are at.
The result keeps Eltham fifth in VPL Men 1 on 31 points, level with fourth-placed Melbourne Victory and within touching distance of the pace being set at the top, where Melbourne Knights sit on 41 and Northcote City and Brunswick Juventus share second on 39. Six rounds remain, the margins are fine, and the Redbacks are squarely in the finals conversation with two wins behind them and belief restored.
There is no getting carried away here, and there does not need to be. Back-to-back wins, a home crowd sent home happy, and a side that has answered a rough patch with three points against a team that came to make life difficult. That is exactly the sort of run finals campaigns are built on.
Up the ‘Backs.