By Brad Hutchings (BradHutchings_)

Sunshine George Cross has missed a golden chance to make it three wins from three, as it was held to a 1-1 draw against Whittlesea Ranges in a hot-tempered match at Chaplin Reserve on Saturday.

A missed penalty and a goal not given ruined the home side’s perfect record as it was held by a plucky Whittlesea Ranges outfit searching for its second win of the season.

Delfin Mosibe got Sunshine off to a bright start after 22 minutes as he headed home a delightful Muhamad Chawk cross, only for Daniel Giogha to level the scores from the penalty spot in the 56th minute.

Sunshine came out of the blocks firing as it looked to attack a youthful Whittlesea outfit from the opening whistle.

That hot start was somewhat tempered as it was forced into an early substitute with Bozidar Lojanica going down with what appeared to be a hamstring injury in just the 12th minute.

Chawk caused Whittlesea barrels of grief in the first half with a busy display down the left flank. It came as little surprise that the goal came from that side of the field, with Chawk delivering a perfect cross that fell on top of Mosibe, who finished easily inside the six-yard box.

Sunshine thought it had extended its lead in the 38th minute as substitute Jordan Brown’s delicate chip over Whittlesea ‘keeper Anthony Raspudic was deemed not to have crossed the line.

Brown was played in on goal from Chawk with his chip bouncing down off the crossbar onto the line, but the ball was adjudged as not crossing entirely over the goal line, which would prove to be a controversial decision.

The second half started much like the first with Sunshine seemingly in control of proceedings.

That all changed in the 55th minute with Whittlesea awarded a penalty when ‘keeper Robert Santilli took down Daniel Peluso in the penalty box with the attacker clean on goal.

Giogha stepped up to the penalty spot and expertly dispatched his effort to give the visitors a lifeline.

Sunshine looked certainties for a second goal with a penalty of its own in the 83rd minute.

But just like in the first half, the crossbar ruined its plans with Ross Wallis planting his penalty kick against the goal frame to keep the match alive.

There would still be more late drama late in stoppage time with a red card and a minor melee to finish off the entertainment.

Peluso saw red for colliding with Santilli, as the ‘keeper came out to collect a through ball.

That incident erupted both players as the match ended in some push and shove. Santilli also collected a yellow for his part in the proceedings.

For Sunshine manager Tony Ciantar, it was a frustrating day at the office.

“Three points were there for the taking. I didn’t really think they [Whittlesa] were effective in the final third. Our defence was extremely solid. The penalty goes against all our principles,” Ciantar said.

Ciantar made his thoughts very clear on the controversial no goal decision.

“I thought it was a goal. I thought it was a good foot over the bar. That’s football, you win some, you lose some. Week in, week out we are going to get stronger and learn as a team.”

While not delighted with the afternoon, Whittlesea manager Vinko Buljubasic was happy to take the point home with them.

“In the context of the game it could have gone either way. Overall I was happy with the players’ character, they fought in the second half,” Buljubasic said.

“I think in the end, fair result. They showed character today. We wanted a result today. A point is better than no points at all.”

MATCH DETAILS

Sunshine Geroge Cross 1 (Mosibe 22’) drew Whittlesea Ranges 1 (Giogha 56’pen) at Chaplin Reserve [HT:1-0]

Sunshine George Cross: Robert Santilli (GK), Eddie Cetkin, Nejdet Sahin, Jacob Attard, Chris Dib, Ross Walliss, Delfin Mosibe, Adrian Logozzo, Bozidar Lojanica(Jordan Brown 12’) (Anthony Cassar 72’),  Manuell Sadik(Sami Nour 62’), Muhamad Chawk

Unused Subs: Serdar Pir, Nabi Tuna

Yellow Cards: Santilli (90+3), Dib (79’)

Whittlesea Ranges: Anthony Raspudic(GK), Christoper Stojevski, Berkan Yurdakul (Mark Vangeli 46’), Daniel Sotiropoulos, John Reale, Nick Sarbin, Adem Mustedanagic (Johnny Volkanovski 74’), Daniel Peluso, Daniel Giogha, Matthew Iyliano, Tomislav Trbuhovich (Girolamo Costnza 85’) 

Unused Subs: James Rizzardo, Rami Mustafoski

Yellow Cards: Raspudic (83’), Stojcevski (43’), Sarbin (59’)

Red Cards: Peluso (90+3’)