GV Suns’ Callum Schorah wheels away following a memorable strike to down the Lions.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Goulburn Valley Suns’ Callum Schorah was the hero as he earned his side passage to the seventh round of the Australia Cup with an acrobatic wonder-strike against the Eastern Lions.
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The boys in navy blue have already enjoyed a fairytale run in the competition this term, following on a giant-killing victory over Green Gully, alongside gaining the bragging rights over local rival Murray United in the last round.
The Shepparton outfit has successfully navigated maintaining a long-standing unbeaten run in the VPL 2 alongside its cup commitments in what has been a spellbinding campaign to date.
Having dispatched of top three rivals Bayside Argonauts a couple of days earlier in the league, this clash represented a major test of mettle for the Suns – especially after the Lions inflicted on the Suns earlier in the VPL 2 campaign.
Amid a carnival atmosphere down at McEwen Reserve, the visitors from Melbourne showed seldom signs of listlessness after making the 200km trip up to the Goulburn Valley in midweek.
Four minutes into the knockout encounter, the visitors threatened to spoil the party as they opened the scoring via Taylor Last.
From there, the Suns were tasked with demonstrating the same degree of game-management that has been integral to their success on all fronts this term – and their patience was finally rewarded on the stroke of half-time.
With seconds remaining before the interval, towering centre-half Liam Kielty stooped with a trademark header at the back post to convert a well-weighted corner and regain parity in the tie.
The sense of relief among the players was palpable and Suns head coach Craig Carley later provided insight into the mood within the dressing room as the game remained in the balance at the break.
“The Eastern Lions have obviously had a managerial change over the weekend and came out with a point to prove,” he said.
“It was a case of them putting their best foot forward and I felt thought they were really aggressive in the first half hour and pressed us really high.
“We weren’t able to stick to our identity at times – but credit to the boys, they found a way to get the result.
“Liam (Kielty) has been exceptional in the last two or three months in terms of his leadership both on and off the field and it was great to get that equaliser on the stroke of half-time.”
The GV Suns’ Callum Schorah scored one of the standout goals in the Australia Cup this season
Photo by
Megan Fisher
The boss’ words of wisdom appeared to make the difference, as the home side finally assumed the ascendancy in what had been a hard-fought battle with Callum Schorah firing the hosts into the lead in the 55th minute.
The No. 0’s ingenuity will live long in the memory in these parts, as he scored arguably the goal of the season so far with an improvised acrobatic finish, completed while still on the deck with his back to goal.
The creative attacker refused to be jostled off the ball just outside the 18-yard box, backing into the opposition defender before swivelling and volleying a sumptuous chipped finish past Keegan Coulter to make it 2-1 heading into the final half-hour.
In an attempt to see out the victory, Carley introduced a quintet of reinforcements from the bench including the free-scoring danger man Mangara Munguakonkhwa as the Suns put in a dogged display in the closing stages.
Eventually, Schorah’s moment of magic proved to be the difference between the two sides, as he secured the Suns’ place in round seven of the cup in consummate style.
Paying tribute to his match-winning maestro, Carley waxed lyrical about the finish from the former City of Liverpool FC ace.
“He’s a little magician and he sets the benchmark with his performances,” he said of the Liverpudlian’s heroics.
“He just finds pockets of space, he scores outrageous goals and we get to see that every session.”
The Suns will return to their league campaign in round 13 of the VPL 2 up against Box Hill United Pythagoras, with an away trip to Wembley Park kicking off from 3pm on May 16.
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