By Daniel Campos (@francisfields)

A dramatic encounter has seen Sunshine George Cross win 4-3 for the second week in a row, overturning a two-goal deficit to stun North Geelong Warriors at Chaplin Reserve on Saturday.

The home side trailed 3-1 early in the second half before goals from Nejdett Sahin, Lewis Shannon and Delfin Mosible powered it to a memorable victory.

From kick-off both sides settled in quickly. On three minutes, it took little for Anthony Cassar to head in an early lead, unmarked from a resulting free-kick.

That lead only lasted seven minutes as North Geelong got back to business and found an equaliser with Robert Zadworny levelling the scores.

Cassar then had the chance to increase the lead in an appealing first half which saw plenty of end-to-end football.

Chances were aplenty and Sunshine midfielder Mosibe was often the creative spark for Sunshine, though many of his side’s chances were squandered.

While dominating possession but unable to finish in the front third, North Geelong piled on the pressure at the other end, with Zadworny finding himself free on the left wing.

With the visitors exploiting counter attacks as custodian Frano Saric relied on quick releases to find Zadworny, Sunshine had to thank the crossbar to deny the Warriors.

Sunshine was losing control of the contest and was made to pay when Reardo Luka calmly finished to put the Warriors up 2-1. His run down the wing left many wondering how he could have been left unmarked.

Tempers started to flare and could have marred a neat technical display, especially in the late stages of the first half, but both sides kept their cool amid the pressure.

Zadworny conducted the Warriors' midfield and deep into the second half was instrumental for their third goal.

A mishap on the offside trap from Sunshine's central defenders allowed Mark Paleka to double North Geelong’s lead just two minutes into the second half.

Sunshine showed fight and resilience and in the 57th minute, Sahin scored the home side’s second via a deflection from an indirect free-kick. Both sides looked stunned as he celebrated and began Sunshine's fightback.

With nine minutes remaining, an aerial ball for Sunshine resulted in Shannon heading in a hard-fought equaliser.

Full of momentum and desperate for a winner, Mosibe was the hero for Sunshine when he headed into the back of the net in the 83rd minute.

North Geelong reacted and threw just about everything with long throws, long balls and a crucial one-on-one where Nabi Tuna made an important injury-time save, but Sunshine did not give up, showing character in front of its vocal faithful with a technical display that overshadowed North Geelong's gutsy performance.

Sunshine coach Tony Ciantar was delighted with the comeback win.

"We had the chances, I said at halftime on the board to the boys, we need to capitalise,” Ciantar said.

"Playing without a striker is a big factor for us, people don't realise we play good football by creating from the back but we're still chasing games and that is due to most of our players are still maturing.”

Ciantar said he was looking forward to a strong future with Sunshine.

"I'm very delighted to be at the club, with no relegation this season in the competition means I can work and see the results within a three-year time frame,” he said.

North Geelong coach Ante Skoko was unavailable for comment.

MATCH DETAILS

Sunshine George Cross 4 (Cassar 3', Sahin 57', Shannon 81', Mosibe 83') defeated North Geelong Warriors 3 (Zadworny 12', Luka 28', Paleka 47') at Chaplin Reserve [HT: 1-2]

Sunshine George Cross: 21. Nabi Tuna. 2. Eddie Cetkin. 5. Christopher Dib. 17. Jacob Attard. 3. Nejdett Sahin. 4. Ross Walliss. 8. Delfin Mosibe. 7. Brandon Zaffina (18. Lewis Shannon 69’) 19. Manuell Sadik. 14. Anthony Cassar. (15. Mohamed Ahmed 61’) 11. Muhammad Chawk. (16. Andrew Taylor 86’).

Unused Subs: 12. Mohamed Mohamed. 1. Dean Hili.

Yellow Cards: 1. Nabi Tuna (40')

Red Cards: None.

North Geelong Warriors: 22. Frano Saric. 2. Darren Lewis. 11. Matthew Townley. 15. Reha Kurul. 5. Michael Grgic 8. Vito Cichello. 99. Nathan Long. 9. Michael Boyar. 7. Reardo Luka. 10. Robert Zadworny. (17. Nicholas Jurcic 89') 14. Mark Paleka.(4. Nathan Cook 89')

Unused Subs: 1. Daniel Zilic. 3. James Duvcevski. 18. Nikola Jurkovic.
 
Yellow Cards: 22. Saric (22’), 15. Kurul (51'), 5. Grgic (42'), 7. Reardo (71'), 17. Jurcic (75')

Red Cards: None.