Saturday night saw the Suns suit up for the Victorian Premier League Two semi-final, and at half-time, leading 1-0 and having dominated Brunswick Juventus for 45 minutes, things seemed pretty rosy for the Orangemen.
But football has a funny way of shaking things on its head.
A second-half double to Juventus’ Lachlan Smith consigned the Suns to defeat and denied them the chance of a promotion play-off, with the final score reading 2-1 in the host’s favour.
“It was certainly a game of two halves and definitely one that got away from us,” Suns coach Craig Carley said.
“In the first half we were unbelievable, (we) carved them open and dictated exactly how we wanted to play.
“Football’s all about moments and we didn’t manage to take our opportunities when they arose.
“In the second half, Brunswick come out and dictated the game and done what we did to them in the first half. We just didn’t have the solutions on the night.”
All season, Carley reinforced the importance of being ruthless at both ends.
Hindsight is 20/20, but had the Suns converted just half of their chances, the end result may have been wildly different.
Early in the game, Brandon Giachherini saw his header skid off the post before Callum Schorah’s effort was cleared off the line despite protests it had crossed the chalk.
However, Schorah wasn’t to be denied twice.
Five minutes before the break, the Englishman struck a sweet half volley that Juventus’ keeper could only flap at, and after it bounced through, the referee had no choice but to award the goal.
After such a dominant opening 45, the Suns were then caught off guard by a revved up Brunswick in the second half.
Smith netted his first on the hour mark off the back of a contentious free kick, sending a dangerous ball into the box that spiked off the turf and in untouched.
And with less than 10 minutes remaining, he capitalised on a series of missed Suns tackles and slotted the ball home following a one-versus-one situation.
A late keeper blunder by Juventus almost gifted Sean Grant the chance to level it late, but a crucial deflection thwarted his strike and allowed the hosts to grind out a victory.
It marks the end of a roller-coaster season for the Suns, but considering just 12 months ago the side was fighting relegation instead of promotion, the positives far outweigh the negatives in Carley’s eyes.
“I’m proud of the boys, I’m proud of what they’ve achieved this year,” he said.
“Obviously it’s always gutting to lose in a semi-final. Certainly in that first half we showed glimpses of why we are capable of being the best footballing side in the league.
“The boys can hold their heads high. It’s been a growth opportunity this season and hopefully now we can reflect and build towards next year.”
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