Kambayashi snatches injury-time winner as Bulls undone by Manly
A Seiya Kambayashi goal in injury time has helped Manly United snatch a thrilling 4-3 win against Northbridge Bulls at Sydney United Sports Centre on Saturday.
It was a thrilling performance from Manly, who closed the gap to top spot after taking the three competition points against a free-scoring Bulls outfit.
Both sides traded blows in a goal-filled second half in a match that went down to the wire. Scott Balderson gave Manly a deserved lead with the opening goal, giving his side a one-goal advantage heading into the break.
The sides went goal for goal in the second half; Northbridge proved deadly from set-pieces, with all three of their goals coming from corners and free kicks. Theph Theph drew the game level with his header. In the second half, shortly before Dejan Pandurevic put his side back ahead. Nikola Uldjur levelled the scores again after a Scott Walter free-kick fell to his feet.
James Georgaklis put Manly back ahead for the time being, until Sean Eve’s spectacular free-kick levelled the game for the third time. Manly pushed hard in the dying stages of the game and was rewarded in the last seconds of the game after Seiya Kambayashi converted his shot from the edge of the box to give his side all the points.
Both sides started rapidly searching for an early goal; chances from either side fell inches of the posts; as the game settled, Manly began to look more likely.
Manly opened the scoring in the 22nd minute after Pandurevic’s cross found a charging Balderson who neatly finished his chance.
United continued to search for a second and came agonisingly close when Luca Kmet’s shot narrowly went wide, giving the Bulls defence a much-needed chance to regather
Northbridge began to mount pressure on the Manly defence in the latter stages of the second half. A brilliant cross from Jack McLoughlin almost undid United; however, it was safely defused by Kieran Paull.
The Bulls opened the second half a rejuvenated side and were rewarded with their first equaliser after a pin-point cross from a free-kick found an open Theph at the front post who made no mistakes finishing his header.
Pandurevic opened the game back up with his header at the back stick after a perfect cross from Kmet, which restored Manly’s one-goal lead.
The hosts converted their second set-piece of the day for their second equaliser; Scott Walter’s cross came over the top of the Manly defence and fell into the lap of Ujdur, whose powerful drove his shot into the back of the net.
The sides continued to trade blows as Manly answered back with a goal of their own. Substitute Ben Gibson found himself with space in the box and laid it off to Georgaklis, who curled his shot into the top corner for his side’s third.
Northbridge weren’t going down without a fight and had yet another equaliser in the 85th minute courtesy of a world-class free-kick from Eve.
Manly stole the points in the last moments of the game after an emphatic shot from Kambayshi found the bottom corner, sending the away bench into chaos as United celebrated their game-winner.
Bulls Coach Mile Sterjovski was disappointed in his side’s ability to hold on for a result.
“It’s happened too many times this season with us; we fight our way to get back into the game,” Sterjovski said.
“It’s disappointing to lose it at the end there; we just need a bit more resilience.”
Manly United’s Coach Adam Griffiths was impressed with the team’s performance and heaped praise on his star players for stepping up in the crucial moments.
“We played some good football, it’s a credit to the boys to keep going and looking for that result because we want to win every game, overall, I think there was a lot of positives from that performance,” Griffiths said.
“I thought Dean [Pandurevic] is really taking the leadership role and leading that line, and [Luca] Kmet starting Is starting to come into his own with his positioning and work rate”.
Match Stats
Northbridge Bulls FC 3 ( Theph Theph 51’, Nikola Ujdur 69’, Sean Eve 85’)
Manly United FC 4 ( Scott Balderson 22’, Dejan Pandurevic 63’, James Georgaklis 77’, Seiya Kambayashi 90+1’)
Saturday 17th April, 2021
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: C. Fisher
Assistant Referees: J. Adajasou & M. Allum
Fourth Official: A. Naji
Northbridge Bulls FC: 1. Ryan Wood, 2. Jack McLoughlin, 3. Theph Theph, 4. Nikola Ujdur, 6. Lachlan Sepping, 8. Sean Eve, (9. Bau Juach), 10. Rory Donald, 11. Stephan De Robillard, 13. Walter Scott, 15. Edward Caspers,(16. Jake Jovanovski), (18. Diego Bonilla), 26. Michael Ruhs
Substitutes Not Used: 40. Griffin Barry.
Yellow Cards: Jordan 74’, Scott 95’
Red Cards: nil
Manly United FC: 2.Kieran Paull, 3.James Georgaklis, 4.James Oates, 5.Sam Gallagher (8. Dom Ferguson), 7.Jack Fulton, (10. Richie Cardozo), 12.Luca Kmet (23. Jordan Deveries), 13. Scott Balderson (31. Benjamin Gibson), 14. Dejan Pandurevic, 15.Jesse Piriz, 16. Seiya Kambayashi, 19.Samuel Benton (1. Dylan Mitchell).
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Alen Aganoivc.
Yellow Cards: Gallagher 36’, Fulton 56’, Balderson 70’
Red Cards: nil
Player Ratings
3 – Dejan Pandurevic (MU)
2 – James Georgaklis (MU)
1 – Walter Scott (NB)
By National Premier Leagues NSW reporter Dominic Criniti
