Stallions undone by NPL NSW Men’s entertainers St George City
Newly promoted outfit St George City pulled off a statement victory in the National Premier Leagues NSW on Saturday night downing a high-flying Marconi Stallions 3-2 at Marconi Stadium.
Kosta Petratos and Marley Peterson had St George 2-0 up within 38 minutes before Jordan Swibel pulled one back for Marconi with five minutes of the first half to play.
Maki Petratos carried on his phenomenal goal-scoring form in the final minute of regular time to send the away side into the sheds with a 3-1 lead.
Liam Youlley’s goal in the 60th minute proved nothing more than a consolation for the home side as City claimed a memorable victory.
It was a cagey first five minutes of the game as both teams looked to work their way into the contest.
However, the visitors then went close on two occasions before the ten-minute mark.
In the sixth minute, Franco Maya found himself with room for a shot on the left edge of the box but sliced it wide of the left post.
Three minutes later, a ball lobbed forward into the box met the head of Peterson – the attacker nodding into the arms of Stallions goalkeeper Jack Gibson.
St George were rewarded for their promising start, opening the scoring in the 21st minute.
Pedro Da Silva’s long-range free-kick from the right finding Kosta Petratos in the middle whose header nestled in the bottom-right corner after outjumping a couple of Stallions defenders.
It got better for City seven minutes before halftime as the side doubled their advantage.
A well-worked move on the left seeing Peterson played in behind driving into the box and firing a shot that squeezed under Gibson and eventually spun into the net.
The elation was short-lived as Marconi halved the deficit only a couple of minutes later.
Hiroaki Aoyama cushioning a lofted ball from the left at the back post into the path of Swibel who made no mistake with a sharp finish from close range.
The action didn’t stop there as in the final minute of regular time, St George extended their lead again.
Maki Petratos breaking in behind the right channel and then into the box before cutting inside and lashing a left-footed effort into the roof of the net.
The ace marksman notched up his fourth of the NPL NSW Men’s campaign and showed his class as he easily bounced off Stallions defender Liam McGing,
An exhilarating final few minutes of the first half saw St George City take a 3-1 lead into halftime against Marconi Stallions.
The second period adopted a more patient pace than what was witnessed in the first as Marconi looked to get back into the game.
The side pulled a goal back on the hour mark as Youlley took aim from the edge of the box with a fast right-footed effort that found the left of the net.
City responded to this pressure in the 68th minute as substitute Nathan Roberts lined up a curling strike from the left edge of the box that Gibson was forced to parry away.
The hosts almost equalised in the 77th minute as Justin Vidic, leathered a shot from inside the box that Nicholas Burke repelled in the St George goal.
St George faced a barrage of shots in the final 10 minutes with a series of crucial blocks keeping Marconi at bay.
The away side held on for the three points to make it back-to-back victories in the competition as the stunned their highly fancied opponents with a memorable win for the newly promoted NPL NSW Men’s club.
The Stallions were clearly missing their charismatic skipper Marko Jesic who was serving a suspension as Peter Tsekenis will hope to pick up his troops next weekend.
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions FC 2 (Jordan Swibel 40’, Liam Youlley 60’)
St George City FA 3 (Kosta Petratos 21’, Marley Peterson 38’, Maki Petratos 45’)
Saturday 25 February 2023
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Adrian Arndt
Assistant Referees: John Garcia and Arinath Gobinath
Fourth Official: Michael Weiner
Marconi Stallions FC: 20. Jack Gibson (GK), 2. Nathan Millgate, 3. Giorgio Speranza, 5. Liam McGing, 6. Domenic Costanzo (19. Kyle Cimenti 68’), 8. Hiroaki Aoyama, 9. Jordan Swibel, 11. Daniel Bouman (17. Martin Fernandez 68’), 16. Liam Youlley, 22. Taylor McDonald, 23. Brandon Vella (C) (21. Justin Vidic 74’)
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Nathan Foster (GK), 4. Robert Speranza, 13. Aleksandar Duricic
Yellow Cards: Taylor McDonald 90+2’
Red Cards: Nil
St George City FA: 1. Nicholas Burke (GK), 2. Pedro Da Silva, 3. Daniel Alessi, 6. Tarik Ercan (C), 8. Dominic Cox, 9. Marley Peterson (30. Presley Ortiz 59’), 11. Kosta Petratos, 14. Dean Pelekanos (10. Paolo Mitry 68’), 23. Franco Maya (24. Alexander Kyriacou 90’), 70. Maki Petratos (7. Nathan Roberts 59’), 99. Matthew Keremelevski
Substitutes Not Used: 12. Jack Kenny (GK), 20. Aiden Mostofi
Yellow Cards: Dominic Cox 69’, Daniel Alessi 72’, Kosta Petratos 90+3’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Pedro Da Silva (STG)
2 – Kosta Petratos (STG)
1 – Liam Youlley (MS)
Report by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_
