And though Goulburn Valley Suns’ 1-1 draw with Essendon Royals contained more drama than a Christmas pantomime, it’s more a case of one point gained than two points lost.
Danny Edwards’ 18th minute strike hoisted the Suns into a 1-0 lead before Essendon levelled the ledger in the build up to half-time.
A Royals red card with 30 minutes to play suggested the Suns could’ve clawed more from the contest, but coach Craig Carley was content to galvanise his side’s foothold within the Victorian Premier League top six.
“I think it was a point earned,” Carley said.
“It’s a tricky one because they (Essendon) are on our tails in terms of fighting for a position in the play-offs, so not losing against a team like that is really important.
“The boys were fantastic in the first half certainly; the game changed in the second half and (we) didn’t play as cleanly or as well as we could’ve when we had the extra man.”
Rashid Hayek’s 56th minute send off was a talking point in the grand scheme of the match — and it wasn’t the only one, either.
The Suns were denied a penalty inside 10 minutes as Laywi Niyonkuru was wrestled to the ground and no foul was given.
Yet, that only spurred the Suns on.
Brandon Giaccherini had a shot smartly saved at the near post in the 17th minute and, in the following phases, Edwards ripped one from 30 yards that left Essendon’s keeper rooted to the spot.
Later, Edwards was chopped down on the half-hour mark by an already cautioned Royals player.
No card was shown and the sting worsened when Essendon’s Jordan Adeyemi scored in the 42nd minute before Edwards was forced off at half-time to hospital for stitches.
In the second half, Giaccherini almost lifted his side ahead, striking the inside of the post from the free kick resulting from Hayek’s expulsion.
At the other end, the Royals would’ve stolen the lead if not for a fantastic save by Ashton Bonsall on Adeyemi, complementing his earlier one-on-one block, to keep the score locked at 1-1.
Bonsall received top marks from Carley for his performance on Saturday night and throughout his debut season at the Suns.
“He was phenomenal; he made a couple of brilliant saves,” Carley said.
“For me, he’s the best keeper in the league and we fully expect him to poll well come the end of the season and is someone we want to lock in and keep at the club.”
On the flip side, Carley expressed dismay at the referee’s inaction, labelling his decisions around the potential penalty and red card offences as “disappointing”.
However, the result has locked in fifth place for the Suns, with a bye week off to prepare for ninth-placed Werribee on August 16.
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