The boys in navy blue came into the clash basking in the glory of a long-running unbeaten run in the division, tasked with facing an opposition that has impressed in the opening 11 weeks of the term.
The Argonauts made the 200km trip from Melbourne boasting a one-point advantage over the Shepparton side as they looked to close the gap on premiership front-runners Malvern City at the summit.
In front of a capacity crowd down at John McEwen Reserve, the hosts appeared eager to put down a marker in the championship chase as they struck through Laywi Niyonkuru in the 14th minute.
Fresh from earning Craig Carley’s charges a valuable point on the road last time out versus Werribee City, the forward demonstrated his keen eye for goal after carving out space down the left flank, before slotting the ball past Lewis Cotsopoulos.
Just nine minutes later, English attacker Danny Edwards doubled the Suns’ advantage to create some breathing space in the battle, with a sumptuous finish following a deft cross into the box.
However, just when it appeared that the home side would be sauntering to all three points, Argonauts ace Jesse Makarounas halved the deficit, scoring on the stroke of half-time to plant a seed of doubt in the contest.
Speaking after the game, Suns coach Carley explained what his message was for his troops as he looked to guide them to victory in one of the toughest tests of the season so far.
“The boys came out, and they were on it from the first minute, peppering their goal in those first 25 minutes,” he said.
“It was some of our best attacking play of the season, I think we ended up with 26 shots to their three - all credit to the boys, they keep raising the bar each and every week.
“It was disappointing to concede just before half-time, but it was a good opportunity to go into the dressing room and reset as I thought Bayside were playing themselves into the game.
“We talked about what we’re focusing on - they have a lot of A-League experience in there with Scott Jamieson in the middle, so we didn’t want to give them time on the ball.
“If we could arrive on Marcus Schroen early too, it would help to stop them building up play, so I reiterated that to the players.”
His words of wisdom seemingly hit home as the hosts continued to dominate proceedings before Mangara Munguakonkhwa put the result beyond doubt in the 77th minute.
Sparking rapturous celebrations on the field and the touchline, the forward latched onto a loose ball outside the 18-yard box, before curling a beauty of a strike into the top corner in a finish reminiscent of Mohamed Salah in his pomp.
“It was great to get that third goal, a bit of a sealer, there was a moment before that where he probably should’ve squared it to Danny (Edwards), but then he produced the magic and put the ball in the top corner,” Carley said.
“We know what Mangara is all about; he produces those moments of brilliance, and we just need to keep getting the ball to him in the right positions where he can deliver.”
Having presided over another impressive win, Carley was pleased with the efforts of his players as they dug deep to issue a major statement of intent to VPL 2 ladder leaders Malvern.
Next up, the Suns will turn their attentions to a much-anticipated round six Hahn Australia Cup clash with the Eastern Lions at McEwen Reserve, which kicks off at 7.30pm on May 12.
“We really want to progress as far as we can, they’ve had a managerial change from the weekend so they’ll come out with a point to prove,” the Suns helmsman said.
“They are one of the sides that beat us earlier in the league season, and we don’t want to be beaten twice by any team in a season - that’s the standard we set.
“This gives us the perfect opportunity for redemption, they’re a good side, and we know it’s going to be tough.
“We won’t take anything for granted, and we want to get the win and do anything possible to progress to the next round.”
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