Another formidable force in the form of Kingston City stood waiting for the Goulburn Valley Suns’ juniors at McEwen Reserve on Saturday, with only one side managing a win from the five age groups.
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A robust defensive performance from the under-18s helped the side claim a maiden clean sheet in a 2-0 win against the travellers.
Marcus Thomas found the ascendency for the Suns in the 14th minute when he snuck in behind the Kingston defence and coolly slotted the opener away.
It was deja vu 20 minutes later when the rapid forward breached the opposition back line yet again as he latched on to a clever through ball and made no mistake, hitting the back of the net to bag his brace.
A lion-hearted effort from a 10-strong Suns unit couldn’t stop City nicking three points off the under-16s with a man short.
Kingston exercised control of possession for the majority of the first half, but couldn’t pierce through the heart of the young Suns defence, as both teams headed into the sheds with nothing to separate them.
Invigorated after the break, Billy Marshall’s side began slinging a set of industrious passages of play together, but just as the Suns looked to be gaining traction the game took an unexpected detour.
James Niewenhuizen rushed out from between the sticks to make a challenge outside the box, but in doing so collected his man and was consequently shown red.
Kingston made full use of the advantage and took the lead in the 62nd minute thanks to a defensive lapse, with the goal separating the sides at full-time.
The under-15s suffered a loss in a white-knuckled affair where 10 goals were shared between the two teams.
Kingston looked hungry for the three points from the whistle and went into a scoring frenzy, sending four into the Suns’ net within 40 minutes.
Tutu Taya looked to mount a comeback sending two goals past Oliver Cooper-Wallis, but Kingston was armed with a counterpunch that stunned Glen Wilson’s side.
A 61st minute strike from Hassan Alhilfi provided a glimmer of hope, but the game was decided in the following 10 minutes as City scored two more to end the game at 7-3.
After scoring their first goals last week, the under-14s were searching to build on the positives from the previous fixture and came out of the gates with a new found passion.
Although having conceded three at half-time, the young Suns were determined to push on for a goal of the their own, but in doing so they allowed Kingston the invitation to attack and double its tally with Jacob Lever’s side eventually going down 6-0.
Despite a gruelling start to life in NPL junior competition, the under-13s have failed to drop their heads and showed some of that resolve when the side came away with a goal from the weekend’s fixture.
Dante Mori brought some life back into the team when he made the scores 2-1 in the 24th minute, but the side was simply outplayed for the rest of the game as Kingston went on to finish five more chances.
