By Ewen McRae
Hume City has lost touch with the top three NPL Victoria sides after a hard-fought loss to Bentleigh Greens last week.
Welcoming the second-placed Greens on a chilly Friday night, Hume City created a number of early chances but was unable to capitalise before the visitors held on to secure a 2-0 win.
Hume City captain Harry Monaghan returned from injury, his inclusion seeming to inspire the hosts as Marko Delic had the first shot of the night after just three minutes.
Unfortunately, his volley went wide and Bentleigh opened the scoring soon after, Matthew Thurtell getting on the end of a low cross in the 11th minute to grab an early lead.
While the Greens had a number of chances to extend their lead, the home side came closest to levelling things up when a flick shot from Marko Delic struck Greens keeper Ryan Scott in the face and ricocheted away.
The visitors doubled their lead just after the half-hour mark and never looked back as they defended grimly in the second half.
While Hume had a few chances to get on the scoreboard, the Greens defenders held firm and took all three points.
Hume City remains fourth place on the table, but five points behind Heidelberg United.
