Cavaliers coach Peter Ollerton was furious with his players' inability to find the back of the net in the first half after his side dominated for long periods in the opening 45 minutes.

The best chance prior to the break went to Hume City from the penalty spot. The visiting striker Zoran Petrevski shot low and hard to the bottom-right only for the shot to be saved by Gully goalkeeper Kenny Gerohchristodoulou.

At the opposite end, City gloveman Lupce Acevski made a string of saves to keep his side in the contest.

The match livened up in the second half with a strike from City midfielder Tansel Baser from the top of the penalty box rocketing past an unsuspecting Gerohchristodoulou.

Gully hit back through boom recruit Graham Hockless with a curling left foot strike which ended up with the spiders in the top corner, an early nomination for the VPL's goal of the year.

The killer blow came in the 75th minute when City's Richie Cardozo waltzed to the far post to header in a cross from player-coach Andy Vlahos.

Meanwhile, the Melbourne Knights have slumped to a 2-1 loss to the Dandenong Thunder on the road at George Andrews Reserve in Dandenong.

* For must-read interviews with a fired-up Gully coach Peter Ollerton and new recruit Graham Hockless, as well as a re-cap of round one action in the Victorian Premier League, check out the newspaper edition of The Advocate and North West Advocate or log on to www.the-advocate.com.au on Tuesday.