Suns manage draw in spiteful clash

Matthew Galea

May 20 2014

Shepparton News

It took until Goulburn Valley Suns’ sixth home game of the National Premier Leagues season to record a point in Shepparton.

New coach Peter Zois called on Rossi Lagana in central defence for his first senior start, with Naum Sekulovski moving to left back.

Stipo Andrijasevic was forced out of the starting XI with a groin injury suffered during the warm up and was replaced by the industrious Fahad Alghazaly on the right.

A scrappy first half of few chances was quickly forgotten in the fire and brimstone of an entertaining — but at times nasty — second half.

It all kicked off in the 51st minute when Craig Carley narrowly beat Bentleigh’s offside trap and sped through to a one-on-one contest with Greens keeper Alistair Bray.

Carley beat Bray to the ball and was fouled in the process just outside the box, leaving the referee with little option but to send the keeper off.

The Greens still opened the scoring; taking a 1-0 lead after Lagana was adjudged to have committed a foul in the area, which Brent McGrath converted.

A scuffle broke out before the game could restart and it quickly became apparent the referee had lost control of the game.

Dangerous tackles flew in from both sides as tempers flared, but the Suns gave as good as they got, eventually winning a penalty when Daniel Chaabani was fouled running into the box to take on a square pass from Ben Clarke.

Carley stepped up and — for the ninth time this season and the eighth game in a row — found the back of the net to earn a point.

Zois was happy to see his players stand up for each other, but said they had to be careful not to lose track of the game plan.

‘‘It showed the boys are passionate, which we didn’t show last week, so I can see that side of it, but you have to stay in control too,’’ Zois said.

‘‘But from our side we’ve drawn 1-1 with a very good team. We’re not happy to go down to 10 men, but I’m pleased with the response.’’

Defensively, it was the Suns’ best performance.

Frankie Lagana anchored the midfield well and demonstrated fantastic leadership, while Carley worked tirelessly on his own up front until being forced off with a knock in the final 15 minutes.

Zois said the team’s ability to stick to defensive structures it had only practiced for a week was promising, particularly after conceding four goals the week before.

Greens coach John Anastasiadis took a dimmer view of the Suns’ game plan.

‘‘I felt one team was trying to play and one team wasn’t,’’ Anastasiadis said.