Sarkies says farewell

June 21 2014

Shepparton News

Kristian Sarkies is the latest player to depart National Premier Leagues Victoria outfit Goulburn Valley Suns.

The former Melbourne Heart, Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United midfielder opted for a return to Bulleen Lions, which plays in the second tier of the competition, NPL 1.

It comes less than a week after the Suns claimed arguably their most impressive result of the season in a 1-1 draw away to league leader South Melbourne and ahead of tonight’s clash with powerhouse Oakleigh Cannons.

Sarkies arrived as one of Suns’ marquee signings and made nine appearances, including last weekend’s draw with South, scoring two goals.

Suns coach Peter Zois said the loss was disappointing, but the club would move on.

‘‘We thanked him for his service and wish him well. He wanted to join Bulleen for personal reasons and we don’t stand in anybody’s way if they want to leave,’’ Zois said.

Brian Vanega will join former Green Gully teammate Ardian Vuniqi in the starting XI, having completed his transfer this week, while Zois did not rule out Simon Colosimo’s involvement, with his international transfer certificate still pending.

The Suns have also secured the services of American attacker Zack Foxhoven, but his status for tonight’s game has not been confirmed.

Zois knew Oakleigh well, having led the Cannons to the 2012 Victorian Premier League grand final, but said the team had changed significantly since his involvement.

‘‘There’s only one or two players left and I’m not sure of the philosophy behind the club at this stage,’’ he said.

‘‘They have different personnel since the Suns played them in round one and they’ve changed the formation a bit.

‘‘(Cannons coach) Miron (Bleiberg) is a high-profile coach in this league and he’s someone who can change a game as it goes along.

‘‘They are a strong team with their first XI and their depth on the bench and they can execute any plan, so it will be a tough game and we’ll have to play at our best.’’

Dean Piemonte scored the only goal of the match, as the Cannons held on to a 1-0 win in the season opener at McEwen Reserve in March.

Zois highlighted the speed of Nate Foster and the guile of Dusan Bosnjak as particular threats, but took confidence from his side’s performance last week.

‘‘We got one aspect of our game correct in how we defended as a team,’’ Zois said.

‘‘We’ll tweak a couple of things in our system, because we don’t want to be the same every week, but we won’t make many changes.’’

The Suns remain bottom of the table, while the Cannons are second, four points behind South.

The game kicks off at Jack Edwards Reserve at 6 pm, while the club’s junior teams take on South Melbourne at Albert Park tomorrow.