The Oakleigh Cannons’ road to the Dockerty Cup Final saw them go up against a diverse range of NPL and lower league opposition, with their closest competition coming perhaps when they least expected.
An early string of away matches forced a fair bit of travel through the early rounds, but success followed them wherever they went, before returning home to book their tickets to the 2024 Final.
Round 4: Port Melbourne ‘Sharks’ away, 0-0 (8-7 on pens)
There was to be no easy introduction for the Cannons when they joined the competition in the fourth round, straight away being drawn up against fellow NPLM opposition in Port Melbourne.
That theme would ring true during the match, as neither of the top tier outfits could find a breakthrough in 90, and then 120 minutes of regular play. In the end it went down to the dreaded penalty shootout.
The sides traded blows all the way down the team list, in what is one of the longest penalty shootouts in Dockerty Cup history, Oakleigh eventually prevailing 8-7.
Round 5: Westvale Olympic away, 5-1
The Cannons would draw a more favorable opponent in the fifth round, Men’s State League Two (fifth tier) side Westvale Olympic in the fifth round. As would be reinforced later on, you can never afford to underestimate your opposition, but a convincing win at this stage helped propel a run of good form in the Cup.
A hattrick from Alex Salmon was the highlight, who would then quite literally hand over goalscoring duties when he was substituted for Moonib Adus in the 65th minute, who would go on to score a brace of his own and cap off the Cannons’ five-star performance.
Round 6: Moreland City away, 3-0
A return to NPLM opposition would come in the form of Moreland City in the sixth round of the competition.
However, with Moreland struggling for league form throughout the 2024 campaign, Oakleigh entered in as firm favourites, and backed up that tag with a 3-0 win to propel themselves into the latter stages of the tournament.
The goalscoring duties were spread wider in this victory, with Joe Guest’s early opener complementing Stefan Valentini’s penalty conversion to give the Cannons a 2-0 advantage as early as the 15th minute. A late sealer from Adus, the cherry on top.
Round 7: Avondale home, 3-1
The seventh round handed the Cannons a tie against the reigning NPL Victoria Champions, Avondale. A stern test against one of the state’s best outfits awaited.
It was captain fantastic Joe Guest with a first half brace to give Oakleigh the half-time advantage, his second a well-converted finish as the ball fell to him on the edge of the box.
It was then Alex Salmon capitalising on a well won turnover high up the field to make it 3-1 and seal off the tie in the final minutes.
Semi Final: Melbourne Srbija home, 1-0
On paper, drawing a team from two leagues below in a Cup tournament should make for relatively comfortable passage, but that was not the case for Oakleigh as they were handed one of their sternest tests of the competition against VPL2 side Melbourne Srbija in the Semi-Finals.
A tight, heavily contested fixture was ultimately decided by an early first half goal from Max Bisetto, a header off a lofted cross the difference maker, sending the Cannons through to face South Melbourne in the Dockerty Cup final at the Home of the Matildas.