The Marconi Stallions have continued to flex their Premiership muscle with an impressive 4-1 victory over the Bulls FC Academy at Sydney United Sports Centre on Saturday afternoon.
Marconi wasted little time getting bodies forward in the opening stages of the game, eventually being rewarded after Dominic Costanzo got the visitors on the board in the 4th minute.
In what turned out to be a dominant start to the game, the Stallions quickly doubled their lead as promising young gun Justin Vidic made his impact instantly off the bench with a stunning chip from distance.
After letting a couple of golden chances and penalties go by the wayside, Marconi dug out a third goal through captain Marko Jesic.
The Bulls gave themselves a glimmer of hope for a late comeback when Sunday Yona netted his side’s first goal in the late stages of the game, but it was too little too late as Vidic secured a memorable brace and the win for Marconi.
After a rapid start to the game, Marconi stunned the Bulls with an early opener after Costanzo controlled a wayward cross and neatly finished his chance in the bottom corner.
The Stallions continued in pursuit of another early goal and came agonisingly close after Marko Jesic’s close-range volley forced Alex Robinson into a world-class save.
Despite a shaky start, the Bulls began to find their way in attack and were narrowly denied of an equaliser on the back of a solo run from Mason Wells that ultimately fell safely into the hands of Jack Gibson.
In a dramatic turn of events, both side’s number 19 came within inches of scoring on either end, with Kyle Cimenti just coming short of a chance in front of an open net, whilst Jesper Webber needed a stellar save from Gibson to be denied of a goal
Marconi found the back of the net once again through Costanzo after his cross from a corner bounced over the line but was instantly ruled out due to a foul on Robinson in the lead-up.
Just minutes after having a goal disallowed, the Stallions had appeals for another goal after Robinson clawed Roberto Speranza’s header off the line.
Marconi couldn’t and wouldn’t be denied for a third time as moments after being substituted on, Justin Vidic took advantage of an oncoming Robinson and neatly lobbed the keeper to double his side’s lead.
The end of the half couldn’t come quick enough for the Bulls as they were dealt one final blow on the brink of halftime after Rhys Youlley took out Giorgio Speranza whilst attempting to clear the ball in the box.
Marconi was awarded a penalty and the chance to go up by three goals as Jesic stepped up but was sensationally denied by Robinson.
As the referee blew the whistle for halftime it was Marconi who held a strong two-goal lead, that could’ve very easily been more.
The Bulls looked a more determined side in the second, matching the intensity of the Stallions and having equal attacking chances in the opening stages.
The opening minutes of the half saw the Bulls with three golden chances to get back in the game, which started with a dangerous-looking shot from Youlley that forced a notable save from Gibson and out for a corner.
Mabior Garang found himself open from the following corner and with a headed chance he was denied by the bar, only before Eddie Caspers’ follow-up shot resulted in yet another brilliant save form Gibson.
After a big scare on their own box, Marconi re-asserted dominance on the game and quickly extended the lead out to three goals.
A looping cross from Nathan Millgate beat the Bulls’ defence but smashes against the crossbar, which allowed the ball to land perfectly into the lap of Jesic who made no mistakes in front of an empty net.
The Stallions were awarded their second penalty of the game in the 67th minute after Millgate was taken out by Theph Theph going for a header, leaving Jesic with his chance at redemption from the spot.
The Marconi skipper sent the keeper the wrong way but saw his efforts smash against the post and out for a goal kick missing his second successive penalty on the day.
After withstanding a period of Stallions’ dominance, the Bulls managed to scrap one goal back through Yona after he was the beneficiary of a saved Youlley shot that fell perfectly to him in front of an empty net.
The Bulls began to show promising signs in attack after the first goal and came excoriatingly close to a second after Yona’s close-range header just sailed past the posts.
Any attempts for a late Bulls comeback were buried in the game’s dying stages when Theph was shown a red card for a second bookable offence.
Marconi capitalised and secured the result after an impressive solo run from Costanzo saw the ball put on a platter for Vidic who slotted home his second and the Stallions’ fourth of the game.
After his side’s fifth-straight win, Marconi coach Peter Tsekenis took plenty of positives away from the result against a team that he praised for their efforts.
“They had some chances, and our keeper made the saves that we expect him to save, and he had a good game, but we were always in control of that game, credit to them they kept coming at us (and) they’re good young kids, we had to push for 90 minutes to get that result,” he said.
“Yes, we could’ve scored a few more, but we’ll take it, we definitely have confidence, that’s our fifth in a row but in this competition, it’s about finishing first, so you have to pick up as many points as you can.”
Bulls coach Zeljko Kalac admitted the scoreline may not have been a true reflection on his side’s performance but admitted the mistakes from his young side ultimately cost them.
“We played Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, it’s not ideal is it but I thought their performance was ok, we copped a couple of cheap goals, silly kid’s goals, we played against a very good side, a bunch of men, but I thought we were very competitive,” he said.
“At the end of the day their goalkeeper made three or four great saves, goals change games and that’s what happened today, the scoreline was probably harsh for us but we have to accept it, dust it off and move on.”
Match Stats
Bulls FC Academy 1 (Yona 77’)
Marconi Stallions FC 4 (Costanzo 4’, Vidic 37’ 87’, Jesic 63’)
Saturday 22nd April 2023
Sydney United Sports Centre
Referee: Jake Rose
Assistant Referees: Matthew Mcorist and Joel Crawford
Fourth Official: Harriet Gee
Bulls FC Academy: 30. Alexander Robinson, 2. Anthony Krillic (13. Jordan Ivanovic 57’) 5. Jonathan Maras, 8. Mason Wells (3. Theph Theph 66’), 15. Mabior Garang (14. Sunday Yona 57’), 19. Jesper Webber (18. Sebastian Hernandez 73’), 21. Lachlan McDonald, 22. Edward Caspers, 32. Isaac Hover, 52. Rhys Youlley, 53. Joel Bertolissio (20. Adrian Knez 66’)
Unused subs: 40. Griffin Barry
Yellow cards: Bertolissio 66’, Theph 67’, 84’, Webber 73’
Red cards: Theph 84’
Marconi Stallions FC: 20. Jack Gibson, 2. Nathan Millgate, 3. Giorgio Speranza, 4. Roberto Speranza, 6. Dominic Costanzo, 8. Hiroaki Aoyama, 9. Jordan Swibel, (21. Justin Vidic 35’) 10. Marko Jesic (17. Martin Fernandez 72’), 11. Daniel Bouman (22. Taylor McDonald 70’), 19. Kyle Cimenti, 23. Brandon Vella.
Substitutes not used: 1. Nathan Foster, 5. Liam McGing, 13. Aleksander Duricic,
Yellow cards: Costanzo 10’
Red cards: nil
Player Ratings:
3: Dominic Costanzo (MSFC)
2: Justin Vidic (MSFC)
1: Jack Gibson (MSFC)
By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Dominic Criniti @DominicCriniti
