The complexity of Goulburn Valley Suns’ remaining season has been given a complete shake up.
A 4-1 loss to second-placed Caroline Springs George Cross on Saturday night has thrown a spanner in the works to the Orangemen’s promotion hopes, compounded by last week’s news from Football Victoria only two teams will be elevated to National Premier League Two (NPL2) next season.
The Suns needed a win to draw level with its weekend opponent, but came under assault in two, two-minute patches to drop into fourth on the ladder.
“I thought the first 25 minutes we were certainly in the game, but the two quick goals killed us a little bit,” coach Craig Carley said.
“Credit to the boys, they worked hard and got the equaliser and up until the third goal I thought we were still in the contest.
“Once the third went in it was an uphill battle, but kudos to Caroline Springs, they’re a good footballing side who work relentlessly hard and it’s obviously 10 (wins) on the bounce for them now, so no qualms with the end result to be honest.
“It’s just disappointing because we were in the contest and matched them for periods of the game.”
Though the Suns matched Caroline Springs in patches, the Georgies’ attacking waves could be accurately described using a superlative Carley has used in referencing what he desires from his own side ― ruthless.
A Suns move was flipped on its head as Russell Currie was dispossessed on the edge of the Caroline Springs’ box, with speedster Josh Whiteley latching onto a hopeful hoof forward and winning the footrace ahead of Joe Adoo-Peters and Tutu Taya.
Whiteley’s finish was clean, but he’d be outdone precisely 124 seconds later as fellow Georgies forward Dan Brammall cut inside from the right and whipped the ball over keeper Jake Angelovski’s outstretched arm.
A Suns reply was needed, materialising just before the half-time whistle.
Currie bullied his defender outside the area and drifted inside two defenders before squaring the ball to Taku Hishida who skidded in to score.
The Suns appeared the more dangerous of the two teams in the second half and rapped on the hosts’ door without finding the breakthrough.
A lifeline was granted to the Orangemen as Whiteley blazed a penalty over the bar, but the joy was short-lived as Lochlan Reus pushed the ball out from his feet and whizzed a 30-yard piledriver into the net during the 68th minute.
Whiteley then staged a carbon-copy imitation of his first goal as he flew forward and converted a long ball to deliver the dreaded killer blow Carley was desperate to avoid.
The Suns coach spoke out against Football Victoria’s late release of information regarding promotion regulations, labelling it “an absolute joke” receiving the knowledge with five rounds to play.
However, the focus now turns to the remaining four games with an outside hope of returning to NPL2 still mathematically possible.
“We just need to control what we can and that’s our own performances, our own games,” he said.
“We’ve got four games left and we’re looking for four wins.
“We’ve got a busy period coming up with the Australia Cup game as well, there’s still plenty to play for.
“It makes it that little bit harder losing that game on the weekend, but we’ve got quite a resilient group, so we’ll get ready and go again on Saturday.”
Against Caroline Springs, Greg Nash had yet another strong game at left back, while midfielders Hishida and Jake Brocklebank fought tirelessly.