Sunshine George Cross suffered a third consecutive loss, this time at the hands of Dandenong Thunder, consigning them to the bottom of the NPL2 West ladder after five rounds of action.
Tony Ciantar’s men nabbed an early lead through Juso Julardzija in the 24th minute and looked to be in firm control of the contest until Veton Korcari switched momentum Thunder’s way after converting from the penalty spot in the 38th minute.
A Brandon Barnes hat-trick extended the home side’s lead before Chris Grossman scored a consolation goal in the 86th minute but it was too little, too late for Sunshine, with Thunder’s 4-2 victory ensuring all three points stayed at George Andrews Reserve.
Although out-performed in the second half, Ciantar admitted he was extremely pleased with his side’s performance in the opening 30 minutes, feeling his side were “well and truly in control of the contest” but says careless errors ultimately cost Sunshine.
“Our own little distraction allowed them back into the game – players not clearing their lines and not allowing our backline to settle – just trying to play too pretty,” Ciantar said.
“It causes problems – how can you let a side like Dandy Thunder get a sniff? It was always going to be difficult for us.
“Every spectator today saw that there was some great moments in that game for us and we also hit the crossbar twice – it could have so easily finished 4-4 in the end [but] these things happen,” he added.
With only a single win from five games and three consecutive defeats, the boys from Chaplin Reserve are in desperate need of a victory.
Ciantar believes that although his side have faced some hiccups early on, sticking to their game plan and believing in themselves will be the key to Sunshine’s turnaround.
Sunshine is currently facing headaches at the selection table with a large number of the club’s players out through injury and suspension.
However, Ciantar was quick to praise the efforts of stand-in goalkeeper Senad Ahmetovic, who put in a solid shift in his first appearance for the Georgies.
“We’ve got ten players out so it hurts – we’ve had a lot of injuries and we’ve had a lot of suspensions,” he said.
“Our goalkeeper broke his leg, in saying that, Senad [Ahmetovic] came in today, [his] first game for the football club and he was excellent.
“It’s a little depressing but that’s football.”
A winless Springvale White Eagles outfit will travel to Chaplin Reserve on Saturday and Sunshine George Cross will be hoping for the win that breathes life into their 2016 NPL2 campaign.
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