Goulburn Valley Suns threw their weight around to clinch a see-sawing affair over North Geelong Warriors in a National Premier League Two classic on Saturday.
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A game with plenty of weight attached, the 4-3 win broke a three-game losing streak for the Suns which coach Craig Carley was more than happy to allay.
“I’m very proud of the boys, they were brave in the way they played and produced some brilliant attacking football which has let us down in previous games,” Carley said.
“In my opinion, the game was won with our attacking-based brand of football in the final third.”
The kingmaker of the Suns’ attacking football was undeniably Vani Shamoon, who played a hand in all four goals.
But it was North Geelong's Ryan Oppermann who made the first impact, after a mistake from Matt Lelliott gifted the Warriors a free run on goal inside five minutes.
Zac McLeod stood tall to parry the initial effort, but Oppermann reacted quickest to tap home the opener.
Half an hour passed until the Suns’ reply.
Shamoon contested a header which rattled off the bar and dropped perfectly to George Murrihy who couldn’t miss from six yards, squaring the ledger as half-time loomed.
Following the break, Shamoon knocked down a ball into the path of Adam Gatcum while the the second period was still young.
As he has proved capable of doing all season, the wingback blasted his chance into the roof of the net before raising a few eyebrows by wheeling out Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration.
The Warriors barely had time to blink before two became three.
Minutes after the restart Murrihy slipped in Shamoon, who left his man for dead before slotting past North Geelong keeper Hamish Flavell with a delightful drive on goal.
The Suns were sailing under seemingly clear blue skies — but the drama had only just begun.
When Greg Nash was deemed to have handled the ball inside his box, the door drifted ajar for North Geelong to enter into the contest once more.
Jamie Noggler converted, placing one foot inside for the Warriors.
It was only when Yuji Kin turned in North Geelong's third that the door had well and truly been busted off its hinges — the game was alive and kicking once more.
And with scores locked at 3-3, there was a creeping sense the Suns’ misfortune of late would resurface.
But Shamoon, who shone all night in the number nine role, later latched on to a through ball to slot the match-winner with absolute confidence in the 85th minute.
Overjoyed with the Suns’ offensive output, Carley was relieved at how his side rallied to remedy a lacklustre few weeks in front of goal.
“We asked the boys before the game to get the ball forward more and take risks and they certainly done that. We created plenty of chances which was pleasing to see,” he said.
Earlier, goals to Willie Sauiluma and Brandon Giaccherini secured a point for the under-21s, while Marcus Thomas’ double was ultimately in vain as the under-19s fell 5-2.
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