Manly United run over tricky Bulls with late treble
Manly United marked their long-awaited return to Cromer Park with three late goals and a memorable victory over the Northbridge Bulls on Saturday night.
In a tight contest that was not entirely reflected by the eventual scoreline, Seiya Kambayashi, Bruno Mendes and Matt Sim all struck inside the final quarter of an hour to secure Adam Griffiths’ men their second win of the season.
In a physical contest, Mile Sterjovski’s young Bulls ensured the game remained in the balance throughout its first three quarters.
Mendes and Thomas Fay went closest for the hosts during the opening 45, but Manly junior Levi Kaye was never seriously troubled between the Northbridge sticks.
The second half followed a familiar pattern, with Manly sending warning shots via numerous set pieces, while the Bulls looked to open up play and charge on the counter.
As it was starting to look like the fans at Cromer Park #2 were witnessing their team take away a share of the spoils, their Japanese maestro produced a moment of magic.
The fullback-turned-creative midfielder Kambayashi capitalised on a fortunate deflection in the area, which saw him slot home the breakthrough goal that his side had toiled for.
Just six minutes later, the Brazilian Mendes extended their lead by pouncing to convert his first goal for Manly United with a similarly cool strike.
And once it rained, it poured for Manly, with their top scorer Matt Sim getting in on the act three minutes later.
The former A-League attacker glided into the area, rifling in his third goal of the season, and Manly’s third on the night.
Post-game, Adam Griffiths was pleased with his side’s showing on their return home.
“I thought our first half performance deserved more and the message at half time was to continue to play our style of football,” he explained.
“I thought that we did that with some class, and scored three very good goals.
“We’ve had a pretty hard trot with injuries and playing away against some solid teams, so it was nice to be back on a great surface and play a brand of football that hopefully the Manly supporters can be proud of.”
On the other hand, fellow former Socceroo Mile Sterjovski was left to rue a late collapse.
“I think we held out well until half time, they put us under a bit of pressure,” he reflected.
“Defensively we were quite strong, just lacked that bit of quality in the final third again, which has happened a few times this season.
“I take responsibility for that and I can’t fault the boys for their effort – we just need to keep working and be consistent with our performances.”
Manly return to the Beaches next Saturday as Wollongong Wolves make the long trip North, while Northbridge will be out to return to winning ways at home to Blacktown City in Round 6.
Match Stats
Manly United FC 3 (Kambayashi 74’, Mendes 80’, Sim 83’)
Northbridge Bulls FC 0
Saturday, 2 April 2021
Cromer Park, Dee Why
Referee: Sam Kelly
Assistant Referees: Patrick Teleki, Emma Kocbek
Fourth official: Jackson Mackie
Manly United: 20. Jack Greenwood, 2. Kieran Paull, 4. Jimmy Oates, 5. Thomas Fay, 6. James Georgaklis (3. Jesse Piriz 81’), 7. Seiya Kambayashi, 11. Matt Sim, 12. Finn Ashton (8. Dom Ferguson 58’), 18. Lucas Rainbird, 19. Alen Aganovic, 22. Bruno Mendes (29. Marcus Lal 85’)
Substitutes Not Used: 17. Zenden Hart, 24. Mitch Mattison, 23. Hugo Cornish
Yellow cards: Oates 19’, Mendes 44’, Georgaklis 72’
Red cards: Nil
Northbridge Bulls: 20. Levi Kaye, 3. Nathan Dimou, 4. Anthony Sparacino (2. Jack Mcloughlin 70’), 8. Brodie Clarkson, 10. Rory Jordan (19. Lachlan Sepping 61’), 13. James Cakovski (21. Diego Bonilla 61’), 14. Charlie Ragg, 15. Eddie Caspers, 16. Oliver Jones, 17. Jed Drew, 18. Michael Ruhs (7. Mason Wells 59’)
Substitutes Not Used: 40, Griffin Barry, 12. Marcus Sparacino
Yellow cards: Clarkson 60’, Drew 78’, Jones 90’
Red cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Seiya Kambayashi (MU)
2 – Bruno Mendes (MU)
1 – Kieran Paull (MU)
By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter and commentator Chris Curulli (Twitter handle @ChrisCurulli)
