The boys in navy blue came into the re-arranged round 18 clash down at Melbourne’s Keilor Park Recreation Reserve on August 8 off the back of a first defeat in over three months.
A week previously, the trip to the state capital proved to be in vain as Malvern inflicted a 3-1 defeat to leapfrog the Suns into first-place with just four games left of the campaign.
That result meant that the Shepparton side started the weekend in second, separated from the pacesetters by a single point.
The first half in Keilor Park proved to be a war of attrition between the opposing sides but the visitors did gain an early foothold in the encounter, as the Eagles’ Andrew Miano put through his own net just 19 minutes into the action.
From there, a defence shepherded by immovable skipper Liam Kielty shut out the hosts, maintaining the one-goal advantage heading into the interval.
Suns head coach Craig Carley revealed what his message was to his troops following a promising first 45 minutes.
“It was a game I was worried about, I make a big emphasis of ensuring we don’t lose twice to any one team in a season,” he said.
“All credit to the boys, they’ve managed to achieve that this season - Keilor Park are a very tough side to play and they don’t concede many goals.
“It’s a tough place to go, right by the airport, so it’s really windy and we had to battle, we missed a couple of chances in the first half that could’ve settled the nerves.
“We got a bit complacent towards the end of the first half but we were able to address those things at half-time.”
It was clear that Suns ace Mangara Munguakonkhwa was in no mood to allow the home side an opportunity to get back into the game, as he doubled the lead in the 64th minute to set up a grandstand finish.
Then, attacker Laywi Niyonkuru got in on the act, putting the result beyond doubt with just 12 minutes remaining, before Mangara put the seal on the four-goal triumph as he earned his brace in stoppage time.
“They were unbelievable second half, they just came out of the blocks and it probably could’ve been more that 4-0,” Carley said of the second half showing.
“Mangara’s got magic moments in him and full-credit to Laywi too, the work rate from the boys throughout was unbelievable - I was really impressed with both.
“They didn’t give any of their defenders any time on the ball and that allows us to be so fluid in that midfield area.”
Having returned to the top of the VPL 2 ladder, the Suns are now just a victory away from automatic promotion - with the title destiny in their hands with just three league games remaining after Malvern dropped points at home against Eastern Lions.
Carley’s charges face Werribee City next in the division, as they aim to potentially claim passage to Victoria’s top tier by gaining maximum points at John McEwen Reserve on August 15 from 5pm.
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