There’s no time to dwell on losses for Goulburn Valley Suns, as it’s out of the frying pan and into the fire for them.
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On Tuesday night the Suns hosted Heidelberg United in the Dockerty Cup semi-final and the two divisions of separation were as clear as day as the visiting Warriors booked their spot in the big dance courtesy of a convincing 5-0 win.
But for the Suns, more pressing matters remain.
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Whip it: GV Suns’ Taku Hishida. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 2 of 9
Anticipating: GV Suns’ Darcy Pawlik. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 3 of 9
Dictating play: GV Suns’ Jake Brocklebank. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 4 of 9
Get us up: GV Suns’ Greg Nash. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 5 of 9
Scanning: GV Suns’ Joe Adoo-Peters. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 6 of 9
Firing off: GV Suns’ Brandon Giaccherini. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 7 of 9
Scrambling across: GV Suns’ Jake Angelovski. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 8 of 9
Silky operator: Heidelberg’s Sean Ellis. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 9 of 9
Chalk on his boots: GV Suns’ Declan Kinnane. Photo by Aydin PayneCraig Carley’s outfit gases up the tank for an away match against Caroline Springs George Cross this Saturday.
A win draws the Orangemen equal with the second-placed Georgies on 34 points, however, a loss may just extinguish the promotion flame Carley and co have worked so hard to keep alight.
“They’re a quality side, they’ve won nine on the bounce now and are starting to hit their stride,” Carley said.
“We know what we’ve got to do, we can only concentrate on ourselves and if we can win our remaining games we give ourselves the best opportunity for promotion.
“We want to be playing the best teams and beating the best teams.”
The Suns got what they asked for on Tuesday night when referencing playing the best teams.
Squaring off against a Heidelberg side which not only sits two leagues above, but had also won the Dockerty Cup previously in 2017, six minutes was all it took for the traveller to take the lead as Cherif Aidara’s cute flicked header at the near post found the net.
Heidelberg hooked into the possession game as Suns were made to ball-chase, but were thrown a lifeline as Warriors skipper Adrian Zahra was red-carded just before the half-hour mark.
Brandon Giaccherini had a prime chance to level the pegging before the break, but instead opted for a square ball when he had the goal at his mercy.
Like the first half, six minutes was all it took for Heidelberg to rustle the net after the change of ends.
Joshua Pin controlled and finished on the one-two touch off a high through ball for 2-0, and it seemed the harder the Suns pushed back, the less slack they were provided by Heidelberg.
An egregious error from Taku Hishida gifted a goal to marksman Kaine Sheppard for the Warriors’ third, and the floodgates had opened as substitute Bilal Habib curled one into the corner not long after to make it a four-goal cushion.
Habib saved the best for last in injury time, skipping inside with a set of step overs before slamming the ball past Suns’ keeper Jake Angelovski.
Though the scoreline was unfavourable, Carley has made it clear cup runs are but a bonus for the Suns this season, with a return to Natioanl Premier League Two the sole goal.
With four of the top six sides awaiting in the Suns’ last five rounds, there is no backing down in the face of a giant summit to scale.
“I truly believe we perform better against the better sides in the competition,” Carley said.
“Again, it’s going to be a big challenge but the boys are right up for it. It’s a massive game (this weekend), if we can get the win we certainly put ourselves in the challenge for promotion ― that’s the carrot there for the boys.”
Senior Sports Journalist