Picture: Live Pixel

By Teo Pellizzeri

Bentleigh Greens will play in the PS4 NPL Victoria grand final after a 2-0 Semi-Final win against Hume City at Kingston Heath on Friday night.

Having played in the last ever Victorian Premier League grand final held in 2013, the Greens will now play in the first NPL decider after no Victorian finals series was staged last season.

Goals to Wayne Wallace and Chris Lucas in the second half sealed the win while Hume City flagged as the game progressed.

Wallace put Bentleigh in front in the 57th minute as he rose highest to head in a Daniel Visevic corner.

Tyson Holmes nearly doubled Bentleigh's advantage within a minute but was denied by a good save from Hume City goalkeeper Chris Oldfield.

The goal marked a shift in the match with Hume resigned to the counter attack while Bentleigh steadily closed in on a sealing goal.

It would arrive in the 83rd minute when Holmes played Lucas through the left, advancing on Oldfield to squeeze the ball under the oncoming goalkeeper.

Earlier, the first half had been light on chances but heavy on challenges as a physical tone was set.

Midfield enforcers Wallace and Hume's Isyan Erdogan both had to reign in the aggression after early bookings.

Wallace's yellow for a foul on Shaun Timmins meant the Hume defender had to be subbed out with a lower leg injury in just the 13th minute.

Wallace would hit the wood work with a dipping long shot in the 25th minute, while Visevic followed in the rebound only to have the ball cleared off the line by Shane Rexhepi.

Tensions boiled over in the 32nd minute when Lucas left a boot in on Rexhepi as the Hume defender went to clear the ball. While the offense was punished only with a yellow card, the reaction led to an scuffle that took three minutes to clear.

Daniel Visevic was an ever-present threat to the Hume defence, while Hume's Nick Hegarty had most of his dangerous crosses thwarted by Bentleigh's Alistair Bray.

MATCH DETAILS

Bentleigh Greens 2 (Wallace 57' Lucas 83') Hume City 0

BENTLEIGH GREENS: 21. BRAY Alistair, 4. RUTHVEN Troy, 5. WEBSTER Jack, 6. McCORMICK Liam, 7. DE ABREAU Jamie, 8. WALLACE Wayne, 9. LUCAS Christopher (22. WONG Austin 90+3'), 10. HOLMES Tyson, 19. VISEVIC Daniel, 24. PILKINGTON Luke (11. KIRK Dion 82'), 36. TOPALOVIC Steven

Unused substitutes: 1. SCOTT Ryan, 12. MITKOV Dimitar, 17. LOVE Luke,

Yellow cards: Wallace 8' Lucas 34' Topalovic 54'

HUME CITY: 1. OLDFIELD Chris, 3. TIMMINS Shaun (2. CHAABANI Daniel 13'), 4. ERDOGAN Isyan (6. FAHIM Jordan 73') , 7. INGHAM Jai, 8. MARKELIS Theo, 11. PAVLAK Ivan, 12. CLARK Daniel (15. NEWMAN Liam 73'), 13. REXHEPI Shane, 16. HENNESSEY Matthew, 17. SCHROEN Marcus, 39. HEGARTY Nick

Unused substitutes: 20. BANFIELD Tom, 23. MARKOVSKI Josh

Yellow cards: Erdogan 6' Oldfield 34'