GV Suns’ Brandon Giaccherini shows his passion after netting the winning goal against Boroondara on Saturday night.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
GV Suns’ Sean Grant gets on the move.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
GV Suns’ Christian Ntambwe pings the ball down the line.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Last week, Goulburn Valley Suns coach Craig Carley said his side is “good enough to win every game we play”.
GV Suns’ Liam Kielty wins a defensive header to get it up the park.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
GV Suns’ Danny Edwards steams after a loose ball.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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One match in, he stands vindicated.
GV Suns’ Callum Schorah and Mangara Munguakonkha get around each other.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Following the opening foray in the new Victorian Premier League Two campaign, the rooms at McEwen Reserve were bouncing with a full-bodied rendition of the Suns’ club song, spurred on by a 1-0 victory over Boroondara Eagles.
GV Suns’ Matthew Lelliott gets the ball under his spell.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
GV Suns’ Brandon Giaccherini wheels away in celebration after scoring.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
The goal arrived from usual suspect and homegrown talent Brandon Giaccherini — although not from his regular post.
Carley deployed the skilful wide man as a bombarding left-back in game one of the new season, and his second-half strike was a justification of some outside-the-box thinking by the Suns’ coaching staff.
GV Suns’ Sean Grant gets on the move.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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GV Suns’ Christian Ntambwe pings the ball down the line.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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GV Suns’ Liam Kielty wins a defensive header to get it up the park.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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GV Suns’ Danny Edwards steams after a loose ball.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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GV Suns’ Callum Schorah and Mangara Munguakonkha get around each other.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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GV Suns’ Matthew Lelliott gets the round thing under his spell.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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GV Suns’ Brandon Giaccherini wheels away in celebration after scoring.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“He’s learning a new position and to pop up with the goal in a pattern of play we’ve sort of been working on in isolating him and get him high and in beyond, I was really pleased for the rest of the coaching staff who put in a lot of time behind the scenes,” he said.
“It’s a new role and at times he can be a little bit defensively frustrated, but for me, he’ll be the most attacking left-back in this competition.
“You certainly won’t find a left-back who’ll score more goals than him.
“We know how versatile he is and we know what an attacking threat he’s been for us the last couple of years, so we’re just trying to develop his all-round game.”
Boroondara, equipped with danger men of their own, probed at the Suns during a “cagey” first 15 minutes of play on Saturday night.
The Orangemen weathered the early sparring and created chances of their own in the first half, but it took until the second period for the deadlock to be broken.
Guaranteed, Giaccherini wasn’t shying away from a chance to bomb forward.
A surgical passage through the midfield eventually saw the ball played out left, which Giaccherini latched on to and dispatched across the keeper.
The Suns remained robust at the back to grind out the 1-0 result, and to Carley’s delight, retain a clean sheet for the first time in the league since July 2024.
“It’s something that’s been hard to come by for us over recent years, but in terms of the last three games, building on the two games from pre-season, this is our third clean sheet in a row,” he said.
“We’re certainly building some momentum with our defensive structure.
“I think if we can consistently put in the performances like we did against Boroondara, who are a very dangerous side, I think we’ll get our just rewards this season.”
Carley singled out right-back Cailyn Trask for an “unbelievable” man-of-the-match performance, while also crediting Liam Kielty and Callum Schorah for their efforts.
Up next for the Suns is an away day to Altona City, a side which fell to Essendon Royals 2-1 in its own season opener.
“I’ve had a bit of a scout report from their game at the weekend and they’re a very decent side,” Carley said.
They had their goalkeeper sent off in the first half last week, but by all accounts, (they’re) a very good footballing side.
“We’ll approach it like we approach every game, we’ll do our homework on them and work out where we can hopefully get some success.”
