Goulburn Valley Suns prevail over Altona City courtesy of a first-half goal scoring frenzy

Taking on Altona City in the round 15 Victorian Premier League Two encounter, an opening-half blitz had seven goals shared by the sides before a totally contrasting second half stalemate.

Happy to bank a 5-2 win, making it nine goals scored in two games, Suns coach Craig Carley spoke about the ruthless edge his side is starting to discover in the final third.

“It’s an area we’ve been focusing on and bringing it to the boys’ attention,” Carley said.

“We are getting plenty of entries into the opposition box and it’s good to finally get that reflected on the scoreboard.

“It was a little bit chaotic in that first half, but I thought in that second half we killed the game quite well and managed best we could — and obviously came away with the win, which was fantastic.”

In a first half that yielded seven goals, it’s no surprise the first arrived shortly after the whistle.

Sean Grant blasted the ball into the top-right corner three minutes in before Danny Edwards made it two, tapping into an empty net after starting the move on the break.

But Altona, which had rattled the bar twice by then, was about to make the Suns’ lead vanish.

City’s fast break down the right flank was squared across and finessed home by Carter Ramsay and just after the half hour mark, an identical play mirrored down the left had a cut back fizz off the crossbar and into Jordan Lam’s path, who looped a header in from close range.

The hosts’ emotions had already gone from animated, to anxious, then annoyed.

Next came aggression — the Suns were about to load up and open fire.

A high press had Altona cough up the ball in the defensive third, Callum Schorah popping up in the right place to score his sixth of the season and restore the lead.

Two minutes later, Tommy Blennerhassett thundered in a volley from a corner before Stefan Pigatto capped the scoring frenzy with a marauding run forward, completing a one two with Grant and poking the ball home into the roof of the net to earn praise from Carley.

“Stef, he’s been brilliant which is why he’s still playing,” Carley said.

“He’s stepped up, he plays with aggression, he leaves everything out there.

“He’s solid in his defence first and foremost, so I’m just really pleased in his transition from the 23s to the seniors — it’s been a long time coming for him.”

The Suns went largely unchallenged throughout the second half with a City goal ruled offside the only scare, holding the Orangemen in sixth place on the ladder.

A date with joint-top Eltham Redbacks awaits and Carley expects a genuine performance on artificial turf when time comes for his side to hit the road.

“It’s a massive game against Eltham this week; I think we’re just flying under the radar a bit which is just how I want it to be,” he said.

“We’re playing on an artificial pitch, but I truly believe that suits how we like to play — we’re a ball playing side that wants to keep the ball on the deck, so hopefully that will speed up our game.

“I try and make it a point to the boys that ensuring we don’t lose home and away games to any one particular team.

“We corrected that this weekend with the win against Altona and, hopefully, now we can start pushing those teams that are a little bit higher than us and really stamping our authority on this league.”