Seven-goal thriller as Rockdale Ilinden defeat St George City in thrilling opener
A goal-fest took centre stage at Penshurst Park as Rockdale Ilinden defeated newly promoted side St George City 4-3 in a fiery derby that had it all.
And, if first impressions count, then this was indeed a grand first impression, both for the St George City FA faithful and the casual football observer.
Even though the result didn’t quite go their way, it was a game of the highest quality: seven goals, numerous chances, and end-to-end action win to Rockdale Ilinden – a team of vast experience and, most likely once again this season, one of the teams to beat in the competition.
The local derby swung into action when a goal by ‘The Baker’ Alec Urosevski in the 8th minute on the counter which gave the visitors the lead.
It was a counter-attacking move as Maki Petratos saw his shot from outside the box deflected and fall into the arms of goalkeeper David Bradasevic. The ball then made its way up field before Urosevski broke the deadlock early on with a neat finish to open his 2023 NPL NSW Men’s goalscorers account.
St George City FA then equalised in the 13th minute. A cross by Alex Kyriacou on the left was deflected by a Rockdale defender, but only as far as Portuguese ace Pedro Da Silva on the right who drilled home in spectacular style. It was the first goal in the new competition for the newly promoted club and it was a goal to remember.
In the 21st minute a rocket of shot by Dean Pelekanos from outside the box hit the post with Bradesevic well beaten. It was a close call, but it signalled a warning sign for Rockdale as St George were on the hunt.
And a warning it was as the hosts hit the lead in the 29th minute via Maki Petratos.
Through sheer determination in the box on the right, and with a delightful curling finish, Petratos put the home side ahead much to the delight in what was a packed Penshurst Park grandstand.
In the 37th minute though the experienced Rockdale Ilinden side evened the ledger. A cross from the left reached Bai Antoniou whose expert header hit the back of the net and it was 2-2 and game on yet again.
Paul Dee’s men were then the made the hunters as they grabbed an all-important lead five minutes before the break.
It was that man again Urosevski who, from a searching cross, slotted home inside the box and sent the bench and the visiting supporters into raptures with Rockdale going in 3-2 up at the break.
With five goals flying in the first half, the fans knew that more goals were set to be on the menu in the second – and this proved to be the case.
Straight from the back, substitute Aiden Mostofi fired just over the crossbar from outside the box for the home side which set the tone once more.
It was Ilinden who struck next and went 4-2 up as a shot by Urosevski was deflected and somehow rebounded out of the hands of St George keeper Jordan Nikolovski and lobbed up perfectly for Jaden Casella who volleyed home superbly from close range.
To their credit in the 60th minute, St George City FA got back on the scoresheet and made it a game once more. They were awarded a penalty when Will Mutch was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area and Kosta Petratos stepped up to the mark and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.
In 84th minute a great shot by Paolo Mitry for St George was well saved by Bradesevic and the final shot worthy of note arrived in the 88th minute when Urosevski for the visitors fired into the side netting.
After the game Rockdale Ilinden coach Paul Dee was very happy to have secured all three points in the opening encounter of the season.
“It was an exciting one for the fans to watch; it is a local derby and there’s a history between the two clubs, so it was great to win,” he said.
“St George are going to be a very tough team to handle throughout the year – they have a very good coach and a very good list of players, and this is going to be a very tough field to play at. I was therefore very pleased to get the three points in the first game especially away from home.
“There were elements of our game plan that were executed very well but I also was pleased that we showed some good spirit and represented the club passionately.”
St George City FA coach Mirko Jurilj on the other hand was satisfied but obviously disappointed to have lost such a tightly fought contest.
“For the neutral fan it was a great game but not so much for us,” he said.
“We are a club that has only been in existence for six or seven years and we have done things well. But when you come up against sides like Rockdale they are experienced and battle-hardened. All the little things therefore count.
“When you don’t do the little things well, you get punished. I thought we were the better footballing team, even though that might sound a bit crazy, but we need to defend well and not get punished.
“It’s a learning curve for us because most of these boys played in League One last year so it’s going to be a bit of a learning curve, but we will get better.”
Match Stats
St George City FA 3 (Da Silva 13’, M. Petratos 29’, K. Petratos 60’ pen.)
Rockdale Ilinden 4 (Urosevski 8’ 40′, Antoniou 37’, Casella 52’)
Saturday 4th February 2023
Penshurst Park
Referee: Adrian Arndt
Assistant Referees: Nick Gela and Ayad Naji
Fourth Official: Logan Jones
St George City FA: 21. Jordan Nikolovski, 2. Pedro Da Silva (7. Nathan Roberts 80’), 3. Daniel Alessi, 4. Brendan Hooper (8. Dominic Cox 46’), 6. Tarik Ercan, 9. Marley Peterson (20. Aiden Mostofi 46’), 11. Kosta Petratos, 14. Dean Pelekanos, 23. Franco Maya (10. Paolo Mitry 80’), 24. Alex Kyriacou (17. Josh Keremelevski 60’), 70. Maki Petratos.
Substitutes not used: 1. Nicholas Burke
Yellow Cards: Valiente 21’, Peterson 35’, Ercan 52’, Alessi 86’
Red Cards: Nil
Rockdale Ilinden: 1. David Bradasevic, 2. Daniel Petkovski (C), 4. Nikola Ujdur, 5. Will Mutch, 6. Nikola Kuleski, 7. Alec Urosevski, 9. Bai Antoniou (11. Peter Kekeris 64’), 13. Mathieu Cordier, 17. Loic Puyo (8. Isaac Danzo 64’), 21. Lochie Constable (10. Brendon Cholakian 76’), 23. Jaden Casella.
Substitutes not used: 14. Brayden Sorge, 16. Mo Ahmed, 20. Riccardo Rizzo
Yellow Cards: Kuleski 41’, Danzo 75’, Casella 90’+5
Player Ratings
3 – Alec Urosevski (RI)
2 – Jaden Casella (RI)
1 – Maki Petratos (SC)
By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Joe Russo
