Relegation a step closer as Northcote City inflicts more pain

Damen Francis

May 27 2014

Shepparton News

Goulburn Valley Suns slipped deeper into the National Premier Leagues drop zone with a 3-0 defeat away to Northcote City on Sunday.

Unable to make the most of a promising opening half hour, the Suns fell behind in the 35th minute and conceded again on the stroke of half-time to trail 2-0 at the break.

City added a third late to condemn the visitors to an eighth defeat in 10 games.

The loss left the Suns five points from relegation safety, with fellow struggler Melbourne Knights securing a come-from-behind win against Port Melbourne Sharks.

Suns striker Craig Carley said the concession of sloppy goals continued to plague the battling side.

‘‘We were well in the game, but two goals just before half-time really took the sting out of the game,’’ Carley said.

‘‘I think it was my man that lost me from a corner and had a free header from there and their second goal came from a set piece as well.

‘‘We’re playing catch up now and relegation is an absolute no-no for us this season, so we’ve got to start getting some results.’’

Suns coach Peter Zois showed faith in the team that secured a 1-1 draw with Bentleigh Greens last time out.

The only change was Stipo Andrijasevic starting in place of Fahed Alghazaly, who was not part of the match-day squad, as was the plan last week before his precautionary late withdrawal with a groin injury.

Kristian Sarkies was deemed fit enough for a place on the bench, while Carley shook off a sore knee to take his place up front.

Ben Clarke, Hernan Espindola and Naum Sekulovski went close to breaking the deadlock, but once again it was dead-ball situations that brought the Suns undone at the back.

Northcote skipper Adrian Chiappetta headed home a corner to open the scoring, before James Kalifatidis’ free kick took a wicked deflection off the defensive wall and left Suns stopper Phil Petrovski with no chance.

Zois sent Sarkies on in an attempt to get the Suns back in the game and, while he shored up the midfield, it was City substitute Evan Kounavelis that had the greater impact.

Kounavelis’ 84th-minute cross found Trent Rixon, who rounded out the scoring and killed off any chance of a Suns comeback.

Carley maintained every game was winnable in the league this season, but, with time ticking away, three points against second-last Pascoe Vale at McEwen Reserve on Saturday night is not negotiable.

A number of the team’s best players were in Melbourne playing in the Suns’ under-20 1-0 win against Northcote City, which made the second-half comeback all the more admirable.

The Suns left a favourable impression on the FFV coaches and staff.

‘‘They were very surprised their under-13 girls lost, and they were impressed with our under-14 team,’’ Kielty said.