Manly United cap off monumental win at Edensor Park
Manly United have kept their Premiership hopes alive for another week after a dominant first half helped secure a 4-2 win over Sydney United 58 at Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Two goals in the opening ten minutes from Finn Ashton and Kristian Santich set up Manly for a dominant opening half, before Bruno Mendes extended the lead to three on the brink of half time.
United 58 came alive in the second half and opened the scoring through Jordan Roberts, shortly before Manly answered back through their captain James Oates.
The hosts secured a consolation in the final when Patrick Antelmi converted from the penalty spot, but it was Manly’s day as they picked up three crucial points in the race for first.
Manly only needed two minutes to open the scoring after Seiya Kambayashi made a promising run into the box and picked out Bruno Mendes, where the Brazilian laid it off for Ashton to slot into the bottom corner.
The visitors continued to apply pressure in the early stages with their off-ball pressing, but they were caught out on the counterattack a couple of times as United 58 began to find their footing in the game.
After sustaining the pressure from the hosts, Manly found themselves two goals ahead courtesy of an outstanding long-range strike from Santich.
Tariq Maia came closest to opening the scoring for United 58 as his curling effort was fumbled but recovered by Jack Greenwood.
After recovering from a nasty clash moments before, Jordan Roberts almost blasted United 58 back into the game after his piercing effort skimmed over the frame of goal.
Manly were agonisingly denied a third goal as Kambayashi found space through on goal and with a clear shot at the target he could only find the side netting.
The visitors found their third in the final seconds of the half as Kambayashi once again weaved his way into the box and set up Mendes with a near open net.
The referee was kept busy in a rough and intense first half with three yellow cards and plenty of fouls, as Manly entered the break up 3-0.
After making a few tactical changes at half time, United 58 began to match the intensity shown by Manly in the first half and showed plenty of promise in attack.
Patrick Antelmi made his presence felt off the bench just moments after the restart as his low-driven effort skimmed past the far post.
United 58 began to seize the momentum as the second half progressed with the introduction of Glen Trifiro off the bench, adding an extra spark in attack.
The hosts were once again denied an opener after Roberts found an open Cristian Gonzalez in the six-yard box, with his goal-bound effort being desperately blocked by the Manly defence.
United 58 couldn’t be denied much longer as Roberts capped off a notable afternoon with a goal courtesy of a brilliant setup from Yianni Fragogiannis.
The visitors restored their three goal lead moments later as a cross from Santich found an open Oates charging into the box, with the Manly skipper powering his effort into the back of the net.
United 58 were given one last opportunity in the final minute of injury time as they awarded a penalty which Antelmi neatly slotted to reduce the deficit to two.
The hosts threw caution to the wind in the final stages of the game, but it wasn’t enough as Manly walked away with a comprehensive two-goal victory.
Manly coach, Adam Griffiths was happy with his side’s control in the first half considering the lack of depth in their playing stocks.
“In the first half we got ourselves in a very good position and we felt like we were completely in control, in the second half, yes our squad is stretched and we just lacked a bit of discipline in our positioning,” he said.
“We got a bit cocky and they brought on some quality players, they can hurt you if you’re not sticking to the game plan.
“If any team thinks they can just go win a game they’ll get a quick shock, we’re looking to win the game next week and try and win the Premiership, if not we’ve still won the game and we continue to go into the next week.”
United 58 coach, Miro Vlastelica noted the improvement in the second half after a disappointing opening half.
“I thought we dominated most of the second half, but we started poorly and got punished, we conceded two goals in ten minutes and then we were chasing the game,” he said.
“We weren’t switched on in the first half, there was no pressure on the ball, we spoke about that at halftime and we made the changes that gave us a better second half, our goals were brilliant in build-up and our finishing was good”.
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 FC 2 (Roberts 78’, Antelmi 90+3’)
Manly United FC 4 (Ashton 2’, Santich 8’, Mendes 45’, Oates 83’)
Sunday 24th June 2022
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Tim Danaskos
Assistant Referees: Maggie Price and Aaron Bloch
Fourth Official: Nicholas Kour
Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Danijel Nizic, 3. Jordan Roberts, 5. Anthony Tomelic, 6. Christopher Payne (9.Patrick Antelmi 45’), 7. Taisei Kaneko (18. Glen Trifiro 62’), 8. Kyle Cimenti (2. Cristian Gonzalez 70’), 14. Andreas Agamemnonos (11. Yianni Perkatis 45’),, 15. Tariq Maia (36. Adrian Knez 81’), 16. Jacob Poscoliero 17. Matthew Billic, 22. Yianni Fragogiannis
Substitutes Not Used: 69. James Husoy
Yellow Cards: Tomelic 20’, Roberts 21’
Red Cards: Nil
Manly United FC: 3. Jesse Piriz, 4. James Oates, 5. Thomas Fay, 7. Seiya Kambayashi (31. Max Martinello 83’), 8. Dominic Ferguson (6. James Georgaklis 45’), 12. Finn Ashton, 15. Kristian Santich, 18. Lucas Rainbird, 19. Alen Aganovic, 20. Jack Greenwood, 22. Bruno Mendes (17. Daniel Fabrizio 58’)
Substitutes Not Used: 9. Benjamin Koop, 33. Lachlan Mills, 42. Hugo McKay
Yellow Cards: Ferguson 27’
Red Cards: Nil
