Coming into the clash, the mood in the Shepparton side’s locker room was buoyant following on from a 5-2 victory over local country Victoria rivals Murray United in the Australia Cup.
A gruelling 400km round-trip down to Melbourne represented an arduous turnaround for Craig Carley’s charges, just one week on from a top of the table clash against league pacesetters Malvern City.
On the eve of a third game in just seven days, the Suns boss had acknowledged the challenge facing his boys in navy blue as they endeavoured to keep the pressure on their title rivals versus the Bees.
The visitors had seldom time to settle into the game down at Costas Mitre 10 Park as Werribee looked to push on following back-to-back wins over Moreland City and Nunawading City in the past fortnight.
The Bees struck first in the encounter via Dau Akol just before the half-hour mark to give the hosts the early advantage in proceedings - as they maintained their lead heading into half-time.
Following the interval, coach Carley demonstrated his tactical acumen once more, introducing Laywi Niyonkuru from the bench before Curtis Hughes continued his rich vein of form in front of goal with a timely equaliser in the 67th minute.
With just under a quarter of an hour left of regular time, there was no doubting the desire of both sides to gain a foothold in this captivating tie.
Just when it appeared that the clash was set to end in a stalemate, the Bees restored their lead in the closing stages as Nicholas Georgopoulos struck in the 88th minute, appearing to have broken Suns hearts at the death.
However, the Goulburn Valley side simply refused to leave Melbourne without something to show for what had otherwise been a gutsy display on the road, and that resilience paid dividends as substitute Niyonkuru earned the visitors a point in injury time.
Suns boss Carley acknowledged that he derived a great deal of satisfaction from the goalscorer’s cameo after he entered the fray in the place of Sean Grant in the final half hour to earn his team a 2-2 draw.
“Laywi (Niyonkuru), is an absolute nightmare for defenders as he's so physically strong and can run all day long, so he's really having that impact when he is coming onto games,” he said.
Providing his overall verdict on how his troops fared in what proved to be a major war of attrition against the Bees, Carley was satisfied with what he had witnessed.
“We were probably a little bit under the pump within the first half and I think there was two different contrast in styles of play as well,” he said.
“We were trying to play - it probably wasn't our best football - whereas they seemed to probably bypass their midfield a little bit more so yeah look we had to deal with that onslaught.
“After that pressure in the first half, we knew that we'd have the wind in the second half and that we would be able to play a more attacking brand of football.
“The boys got back into the game with the equaliser, then there was only one team pushing for the win, but then we obviously got hit with a late goal on the counter-attack.
“Credit to the boys after bouncing back with another equaliser late into injury time - I'm really proud of the boys for you know showing that resilience.
“They've done themselves proud, showing that never-say-die attitude as Werribee is a very difficult place for teams to go and pick up points.”
In what could be a major catalyst in the Suns’ title charge, this dramatic leveller kept the away outfit in touching distance of ladder frontrunner Malvern City, leaving them seven points adrift of the VPL2 summit after 11 rounds.
Sitting in third place in the standings, next weekend’s opponents Bayside Argonauts will present a major test of the Suns’ premiership credentials - with the Cheltenham side currently occupying second place in the table.
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