Fresh off a 4-1 defeat last weekend at the hands of Manningham United Blues, Goulburn Valley Suns have no choice but to hit the reset button and focus all efforts on securing three points this weekend.
Werribee City is the next side to make the trip to McEwen Reserve and will be as eager for a win as the hosts, having not tasted victory since round three.
Suns coach Craig Carley is fully aware of the mountainous task ahead of his side.
“It’s a game that obviously we need to win this week, there’s no two ways about it,” Carley said.
“They’re a side that haven’t picked up a point since the first three games of the season when they won three in a row, it’s a good opportunity to pick up a win at home.”
A less-than ideal showing last weekend in a must-win clash with Manningham United Blues raised questions over a number of players, with Carley forced to pull the trigger on three changes at half-time.
“We can’t go into games giving the opposition a three-nil lead at half-time,” he said.
“We need to be a bit more ruthless and it shouldn’t take a rollicking at half-time to kick the boys into gear.”
Despite the result, Carley said a number of his charges showed glimpses of quality throughout the match.
“I was very impressed with Brandon Giaccherini, he looked very dangerous all game and was probably a shining light for us,” Carley said.
“Kevin (McEvoy) gives us great leadership in our backline for someone so young, he’s going to be a great addition, there’s no doubt about it.”
With the mid-season transfer window due to open on June 21, the Suns’ scouting network has been hard at work bolstering its ranks to aid in the fight against relegation.
“We’ve got a couple of signings lined up,” Carley said.
“We’ve got a striker arriving on Saturday who will take up one of our visa spots, we’ve also got an attacking midfielder coming in who plays in the local BASL competition and has vast experience at NPL1 level.”
A number of new attacking options are sure to offer Carley a solution to his side’s goal-scoring troubles, with offence perhaps the best form of defence as the side continues the hunt for a critical first win.
“We’re under no illusions of the importance of this game,” he said.
“We know there’s still 30 points to play for, it’s important for us to start picking up wins to avoid a relegation dogfight.”