GV Suns' Brandon Giaccherini and Callum Schorah both hit the back of the net against Box Hill United.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
It took a whole lot of mucking in, but Goulburn Valley Suns have pulled off a monumental victory to keep the sniff of promotion alive.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Muck being the operative word, because there was plenty of it.
Saturday thrust the Suns into a Victorian Premier League Two clash against Box Hill United in muddy, miserable conditions, where slick football took on an entirely different meaning.
However, when the final whistle sounded and a 3-1 victory was in the books, the only person left worrying was the Suns’ kit man.
Coach Craig Carley heaped praise on his charges for a full-faceted display, one which lifts his side into fifth with three rounds remaining.
GV Suns' Mangara Munguakonkha shouts for a call to be made by the ref.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Image 2 of 7
GV Suns' Liam Kielty rises high to put his head through the ball.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Image 3 of 7
GV Suns' Brandon Giaccherini looks to trap the ball in the wet.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Image 4 of 7
GV Suns' Danny Edwards opened the scoring in little more than a minute.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Image 5 of 7
GV Suns' Laywi Niyonkuru chases down Box Hill’s keeper.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Image 6 of 7
GV Suns' Cailyn Trask loads up a long throw in.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Image 7 of 7
GV Suns' Matthew Lelliott played a fine game in midfield.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“The boys were sensational; I thought it was a ruthless performance, they were disciplined, they stuck to the game plan and were fantastic in very trying conditions,” he said.
“We didn’t shy away from our game plan, stuck to keeping the ball as best as we could.
“To score that early goal within two or three minutes without them touching the ball was huge in shaping up how the game progressed later on in the evening.”
Danny Edwards’ early opener showed Box Hill the Suns had come to play.
As it happened, they’d also come to prep the pitch.
With excess water on the field cancelling the under-19 and under-23 fixtures scheduled for earlier in the day, those players — alongside the seniors — grabbed pitchforks and gloves to help transform McEwen Reserve’s greens into a playable surface.
By 6pm, the field was ready.
And so were the Suns.
As the clock nudged past the minute mark, Brandon Giaccherini’s cross was half cleared into the path of Edwards, who finessed the ball into the back of the net.
Box Hill pushed back and did assert a degree of dominance during a period of the first half, but once that was addressed at the break, it was back to the grindstone for the Suns.
Giaccherini was in the mood and, on the hour mark, he cashed in.
A sharp turn in the box preceded a cannon strike goalward that deflected through traffic and in, giving the Suns a two-goal buffer.
That was cut back down to one seven minutes later when Hideyuki Ochi attempted to clear a dangerous ball, but instead prodded it into his own net, setting up a tense last 20 minutes.
A steadying effort to see out the game was capped by Callum Schorah, who slotted his ninth of the season near the death to hand the Suns a crucial win.
Carley lauded Edwards’ performance as well as the shift put in by midfielder Matt Lelliott and, with a genuine six-pointer against Essendon Royals approaching, the Suns will need to bring their A-game against a “hit and miss” opposition.
“They are certainly one of the best teams we’ve played — obviously results haven’t quite fallen for them lately for one reason or another and hopefully we can go down there and capitalise on that,” he said.
“It’s a game we certainly don’t want to lose to give us hope of securing one of those promotion spots.”
7°C