Goulburn Valley Suns fail to cash in on lead and split the points with Nunawading City

First came joy.

The Suns led 2-0 at half-time with their feet firmly pressed to City’s throat, at short odds to come away with a crucial win.

Then it was anguish.

At 3-3, a twice-earned lead had evaporated for the second time and, an almost guaranteed, three points had been shaved down to one.

After stewing on the result for a couple of days, the feeling sweeping up Suns coach Craig Carley was that of missed opportunity.

“On reflection, it probably feels like two points dropped rather than a point gained,” he said.

“I felt like we were in control of the game for long periods, had some really good opportunities to score and obviously didn’t capitalise and then got punished with some soft goals in my opinion.

“That’s probably the areas where we need to be a little bit better at the moment; if you’re scoring three goals at home, you should expect to come away with the three points, but it wasn’t to be on Saturday.”

The Suns couldn’t have asked for a better start against a side fluent in passing football.

Just shy of the quarter-hour mark, Hassan Alhilfi sent a corner dipping into the near post which caught City’s keeper off guard, floating over the line and in.

One became two five minutes from the break as Alhilfi, making his first senior start for the season, drove into the box and slipped a reverse pass into Russell Currie’s feet.

Suns fans knew how that poem was going to end.

The big man turned, took one touch on the swivel and lashed a strike sweet-as-a-nut off the bar and in for his first goal back at McEwen Reserve since August 2023.

However, the wheels began to wobble in the second stanza despite coasting with a two-goal buffer.

Miki Gamo was left free to bash home a corner from point blank range and, not long after, Alhilfi caught the back leg of his marker inside the box and the referee blew for a penalty.

Alex Kubenko converted with a stutter step technique and caressed the ball into the bottom right for the equaliser.

The Suns thought they’d won it as Callum Schorah produced a stylish finish from Brandon Giaccherini’s counter, but in the 84th minute, City substitute George Margaritis crashed home through a sea of bodies for 3-3.

A few gilt-edged chances — including a Currie back heel and Schorah header — went begging late, leaving Carley pondering what could’ve been if the Suns hadn’t allowed Nunawading back into the match.

“I was full of confidence going into the game,” he said.

“The effort and attitude of the boys has been spot on; we prepared really well for Nuna and I thought we executed the game plan perfectly in the first half.

“Once we conceded to go 2-1, that was the changing point for me.

“We sort of went away from what had got us into that position.

“Like it has been all season really, it was just a bit of a cagey affair and we never really stamped our authority on the game again.”

One bright spark in the draw who caught Carley’s eye was Alhilfi.

The 19-year-old, while still raw, showed real signs of promise on Saturday with a goal and assist and staked his claim for meriting a starting spot when the Suns meet Doveton in this weekend’s season-defining fixture.

“I thought he was really good. There’s obviously a lot to work on Hassan’s game, but we know all about him,” Carley said.

“He can break lines, he’s got that bit of quality about him where he can open up a game, I’m just really pleased for him.

“There is no doubting his potential in what he can do with the ball, we’ve just got to nurture that talent in the right way and hopefully he can go on to bigger and better things.”