Points shared in entertaining encounter at Edensor Park
Honours were shared as Sydney United 58 and NWS Spirit FC played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in Round 12 of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition played at the Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon.
The action kicked off in the 4th minute when Kyle Reily Shaw produced a brilliant covering block in the box, denying an innovative United 58 attack.
Not to be outdone by his opponent, United 58 captain Adrian Vlastelica yielded the exact same on the opposite side of the field with a beautifully timed challenge.
Despite this, the hosts looked extremely dangerous on the counter-attack, particularly attackers Chris Payne and Taisei Kaneko.
After taking the brunt of United 58’s attack for the majority of the first half, NWS Spirit would surprise the home side by opening the scoring.
Starting with Ollie Wiggin, metres away from their own penalty box, Spirit produced a brilliant team goal that found the feet and heads of multiple players in the 39th minute.
The play ended with Wiggin using great technique and control to slot the ball in the top-right corner after being gifted an assist off the head of Richard Darko.
It marked the 23-year-old’s first goal in Spirit colours.
Re-entering the game after the break, being a goal ahead, seemed to give Spirit confidence that wasn’t seen within them earlier.
Matthew Cahill and Darko had opportunities to make it 2-0 but were unsuccessful. With the score still sitting at 1-0, it opened the doors for Payne.
Seeing that Christopher Marques had advanced off his line, Payne executed a perfect chip which was launched over the goalkeeper. However, he couldn’t have anticipated a leaping Marques.
Caught off his line, Marques delivered one of the ‘saves of the season’ pulling off a one-handed save.
Continually being the number one threat, Payne was rewarded two minutes in the 57th minute, finally breaking the resistance of the Spirit defenders.
As the pace of the game picked up and the rainy weather entered the fold, the two goal-scorers would have back-to-back opportunities on goal.
Although both attempts were denied – Payne by the post and Wiggin by Danijel Nizic.
Just like their first goal, Wiggin would play a key role in their second. Running down the field and skipping past multiple players, he delivered a low cross into the middle towards three of his teammates.
While Sydney United 58’s defence tried to clear the ball, Spirit was there in numbers, with Darko getting the final touch in the 75th minute.
Desperately trying not to add another loss to their tally, Sydney United 58 gave it their all, playing an all-out attack style of play. This ended up working when they received a penalty for a handball.
Up stepped Payne who notched up a brace in the 80th minute.
Both clubs gave it their all for the remaining ten minutes plus injury time but couldn’t gain an upper edge.
Thus, the two walked away with one point instead of all three.
Sydney United 58 coach Miro Vlastelica spoke post-match about Payne and credited the team’s second-half performance.
“We were a much better side in that second half.
“We came out with a lot more energy and in the end it was two goals but I thought we probably could have got a little bit more out of the game. Credit to our boys, we didn’t stop, we dug deep. We kept playing our game and got a draw,” he said.
“Payne is a key player but so are the other boys. First, half he was a bit isolated, the support wasn’t there as much as we wanted but the adjustments we made at halftime showed.”
Despite winning the majority of the game, Kyle Reily Shaw insisted that Spirit deserved the three points and spoke about the influence of Ollie Wiggin.
“He’s certainly shown his colours and he’s a great player who had a great game,” Shaw said on Wiggin.
“We performed well in the first half but I mean three points could’ve been ours at the end of the day so it’s unfortunate”
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 FC 2 (Payne 57’ 80’)
NSW Spirit FC 2 (Wiggins 39’ Darko 75’)
Sunday 23rd April 2023
Sydney United Sports Centre
Referee: Sam Kelly
Assistant Referee: Alessandro Llana and Ayad Naji
Fourth Official: Nicholas Kour
Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Danijel Nizic (GK) 3. Bailey Rule 4. Adrian Vlastelica (C) 5. Anthony Tomelic 6. Christopher Payne 7. Taisai Kaneko (18. Glen Trifiro 88’) 11. Yianni Perkatis (10. Devante Clut 72’)15. Tariq Maia (13. Alessandro Lacalandra 66’) 17. Matthew Bilic 21. Yianni Fragogiannis 22. Leroy Jennings (14. Andreas Agamemnonos 88’)
Substitutes Not Used: 16. Ante Bakmaz 20. Luke Cukar (GK)
Yellow Cards: Perkatis 51’
Red Cards: Nil
NSW Spirit FC: 1. Christopher Marques (GK) 3. Musashi Kokubo (C) 4. Kota Odakura 6. Corey Kavanagh 7. Richard Darko (22. Abuzar Awaz 84’) 11. Ollie Wiggin 13. Simon Nicholas 16. Kyle Reilly Shaw 17. Matthew Cahill (9. Mitchell Davidson 90+4’) 21. Luiz Lobo 23. Michael Konestabo (10. Louis Bozanic 71’)
Substitutes Not Used: 2. Blake Illitch 12. Jacob Madden (GK) 14. George Kriezis
Yellow Cards: Kavanagh 90+3’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3- Ollie Wiggin (NWS Spirit)
2- Christopher Payne (Sydney United 58)
1- Christopher Marques (NWS Spirit)
By Ethan Lee Chalk