A Patrick Antelmi hat-trick has ensured Sydney United 58 keep the pace with Blacktown City FC at the top of the NPL NSW Mens ladder after smashing Sydney FC 5-1 at the Illinden Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Sydney United 58 had the game wrapped up in the first half with a four-goal frenzy.
Chris Payne set up Patrick Antelmi’s tenth goal of the season in the first minute when his tricky feet found the striker who poked home his finish out of the reach of the keeper.
Ten minutes later Payne racked up a second assist to Antelmi again.
He drifted into the right channel before beating Thomas Fay to zip a cross into Antelmi who finished with a header over Tom Heward-Belle.
Sydney FC were able to find some consistency after they conceded their second, however, it wasn’t converted into clear cut chances.
Before they could begin knocking on the door, Antelmi had completed his hat-trick with Matt Sim picking out his run in behind before he shot a gorgeous left-foot strike that hit the post and in for 3-0.
Just as the half was coming to a close Sydney United 58 had completed the rout when Payne scored after getting in behind the sleepy Sydney FC defence to finish calmly to make it 4-0.
The second half started with both keepers making important saves but still Sydney FC lacked the spark to make a comeback.
Sydney United 58 extended the lead to 5-0 in the 56th minute when Jordan Roberts made a bursting run down the right flank and sliced a powerful shot first time inside Heward-Belle’s near post.
Adrian Segecic pulled one back for Sydney FC in the 84th minute but all the credit goes to Clayton Taylor who weaved through midfield and passed four Sydney United 58 players before setting up his teammate.
Hat-trick hero Antelmi has overtaken Alec Urosevski on top of the goal scoring charts this season but it’s his special relationship on the field with Payne that has let him flourish.
It was also his second ha-trick in the 2021 season.
“We’re close off the field and that shows on the pitch,” Antelmi said.
“I tried to get him one but couldn’t today he’s been great and he’s a close friend before he left, we didn’t get the opportunity to show this last time he was here, we have nearly twenty goals between us now.
“(When you play against) the young boys you need to concentrate more because they have nothing to lose and we had to be more energetic. With our quality, if we got goals early they’d put their heads down.”
Sydney FC coach Jimmy Van Weeren was disappointed in his young side’s attitude coming up against a big opponent.
“The more concerning thing was some of our players’ attitude and mentality because some of that was not about ability,” Van Weeren said.
“It was really just desire to play at this level.
“Sydney United 58 are quality and they punish you for your mistakes, some of their goals in the first half they just went straight through us.
“Some of the stuff from some of our boys was just not at the acceptable level.”
Match Stats
Sydney FC 1 (11. Adrian Segecic 84’)
Sydney United 58 FC 5 (9. Patrick Antelmi 2’, 13’, 39’, 6. Chris Payne 42’, 3. Jordan Roberts 57’)
Sunday 22nd May, 2021
Rockdale Illinden Sports Centre, Rockdale
Referee: Nathan Shakespeare
Assistant Referees: Andre Giev, Liam Webb
Fourth Official: Eric Saba
Sydney FC Youth: 1. Kaye Levi (GK), 3. Aaron Gurd, 5. Thomas Fay (17. Jaiden Trenkoski 57’), 6. Thomas Main, 7. Aidan Simmons, 9. Antonio Saracino, 11. Adrian Segecic, 12. Jake Girdwood-Reich (8. Patrick Yazbek 57’), 13. Clayton Taylor, 15. Scott Browning, 16. Stevan Stanic-Floody, 18. Oscar Priestman, 23. Callum Talbot (2. Cameron Fong 79’), 30. Tom Heward-Belle (GK), 33. Corey Hollman
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Kaye Levi (GK), 6. Thomas Main, 15. Scott Browning, 18. Oscar Priestman,
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United 58 FC: 1.Danijel Nizic (GK), 2. Cristian Gonzalez, 3. Jordan Roberts, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 6. Chris Payne, 8. Matt Sim (23. Luke Vlastelica 70’), 9. Patrick Antelmi (7. Jackson Khoury 60’), 10. Devante Clut (11. Asthon Ahlawalia 79’), 14. Andreas Agamemnonos (20. Jordan Ivancic 70’) 16. Jacob Poscoliero, 17. Matthew Bilic, 18. Glen Trifiro (15. Tariq Maia 60’), 21. Josip Orlovic,
Substitutes Not Used: 17. Matthew Bilic, 21. Josip Orlovic,
Yellow Cards: 4. Adrian Vlastelica 88’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 — Patrick Antelmi (SU)
2 — Chris Payne (SU)
1 — Matt Sim (SU)
-By Nicholas Rupolo