Spirited Suns fight hard, but are unable to tame Sharks

Matthew Galea

July 15 2014

Shepparton News

Goulburn Valley Suns looked an organised and more spirited unit in David Davkovski’s first game as senior coach, but it was not enough to avoid defeat in Port Melbourne on Saturday.

Port Melbourne Sharks took the three points from a game courtesy of a well-taken finish from substitute Luka Prelevic in a game that did not offer much in terms of incisive attacking play.

Former Melbourne Heart player Kamal Ibrahim provided the moment of inspiration on 75 minutes, going on a mazy run and beating Cody Sellwood to the by-line, before cutting the ball back for Prelevic to smash home beyond the helpless Phil Petrovski.

The result, and the performance, was an improvement on the previous two, in which the Suns conceded nine goals, but it edges them closer to relegation, with 12 points separating the Suns from third-bottom Werribee City.

The mature, assured performances of Simon Colosimo and Naum Sekulovski offered plenty to be positive about, with the centre-back duo giving the Suns a solid base to build from.

A lack of fitness hindered the Suns and forced Dav kovski to play a 4-5-1 for mation instead of a 4-3-3.

‘‘The first half was super for us. We moved the ball around nicely and were confident,’’ Davkovski said.

‘‘We had to sustain a bit more pressure in the second half . . . but I’m not going to lie, we need to improve fitness.

‘‘We’re just not fit enough. It’s why I have to play one up front, because ideally I’d play three up there, but with our fitness, I can’t do that.’’

Craig Carley was tireless up front, but, with a lack of service, essentially performed a more defensive role, hassling the Sharks’ defenders in the hope of forcing a mistake.

However, the Sharks were assured in possession and Daniel Chaabani and Frankie Lagana had to work hard in midfield to win the ball back.

When they did, they could rely on American import Zach Foxhoven to provide a strong outlet on the left-hand side, while Hernan Espindola was also industrious on the right, though neither offered much penetration.

The loss of Ben Clarke to illness certainly did not help the Suns, but Dav kovski saw enough to be positive.

‘‘I probably over did Cody a bit today, and Ben would have given us a different angle because we thought their side was a bit weak defensively, so it would have been nice to have him,’’ Davkovski said.

‘‘We will try and get points every week and we’ll do it for the people in Shepparton.’’