The Marconi Stallions secured a late victory over the Wollongong Wolves at Marconi Stadium in Round 18 of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition on Saturday night.
A late goal was the only separator of the two sides after a hard-fought, end-to-end battle at ‘The Palace’.
Marko Jesic delivered the goal in front of the Stallions home faithful after 88 minutes, in his first return to the pitch after recovering from injury.
The victory keeps Marconi in the race for the Premiership, staying close to league leaders APIA Leichhardt FC.
In the first moments of the game Jordan Swibel had a chance but fired high as Wollongong applied pressure to him on his forward run.
Wolves’ forward Nav Darjani came close at the five-minute mark as he received the ball from a scramble in the box, but his effort flew high.
A corner provided a solid opportunity for Marconi in the 10th minute of the match, as Hiroakai Aoyama sent a corner kick in front of goal, but a clearance off the line saved the visitors from an early concession.
Aoyama was stripped of the ball in a dangerous area for the Stallions in the 14th minute, as Wollongong’s Samuel Riak made a forward run before passing off to Lachlan Scott, who sent the ball sliding outside the goal.
Daniel Bouman came close to a goal for the hosts in the 32nd minute as he received the ball from Kyle Cimenti, but he fired the ball high over the crossbar.
Wollongong started the second half with some heat, creating a goal-scoring opportunity in the 47th minute.
Nav Darjani found himself with the ball not far from the goal, but his shot rebounded off the woodwork and out of play.
The hosts had their turn in the 50th minute as Aoyama played a ball to a forward-running Swibel, who then sent the ball past Wollongong goalkeeper Tomas Butkovic that looked sure to go in, but it was wide of the goal.
Despite plenty of back and forth on the park, neither team was able to create anything substantial until the 78th minute, when the Wolves came agonisingly close to taking the lead.
A cross from substitute Takumi Ofuka met Scott, who headed the ball towards the target, but it bounded off the crossbar just in front of the line.
As Marconi goalkeeper James Hilton was trying to clear it from the area, the hosts were saved from the panic by an offside flag from the linesman.
Riak tried his luck at blasting a ball towards the goal in the 83rd minute, but his effort soared over the crossbar.
After patiently waiting for 88 minutes, fans finally had something to be excited about as the hosts scored the opener from a set piece.
Aoyama lined up for the free kick around the 18-yard line and delivered it centrally in front of the goal where Butkovic was able to collect, but a fumble left the ball open in prime position.
Marconi captain Jesic made no hesitation in jumping on the opportunity and sending the ball over the line to give his side an all-important lead with just minutes left in the match.
The hosts held off pressure from the Wolves in the final minutes to maintain their advantage and secure three points from the match.
Marconi coach Peter Tsekenis was pleased his side were able to secure the three points against a challenging Wolves side.
“Wollongong are a tough team,” he explained.
“They play a certain way and make it very difficult for you, they don’t let you settle and it was always going to be a battle and we had to keep battling.
“We weren’t at our best, they didn’t let us be at our best and we knew if we were patient, that we have the quality to find that goal.
“We got the goal and Marko coming back from injury and scoring was fantastic.
“Another pleasing thing is another clean sheet, which we haven’t had for a while.
“These games, you’ve got to win them, sometimes it’s not fancy and it’s not pretty, but you’ve got to get the points and that’s all that matters.”
The team is now facing the pressure to stay within biting distance of league-leaders APIA Leichhardt, but Tsekenis explained he would much rather be facing that pressure, than have nothing to play for.
“We’ve put ourselves in a situation where we’re fighting for that [the Premiership],” he said.
“There’s other teams that are nowhere near it and they’re not playing for anything.
“I’d rather be playing for it and feeling that pressure and pushing everyone to be better.
“We’re a target because people want to spoil us so we’ve got to be at the top of our game every week, every week is going to be a battle.”
Wollongong coach David Carney was frustrated that a silly mistake cost his side the game, having had a number of opportunities to get ahead in the match.
“That’s our season to be honest with you,” he explained.
“Performance-wise I thought that there was only one team in it really.
“We pretty much dominated the play in the second half, I think their coaches even said the same, that they were lucky to scrape that.
“We’ve got a young team and we need to turn those performances into wins.
“But the performance was there, and Banri [Kanaizumi] knows that he shouldn’t have probably given that away, but he was excellent tonight.
“Silly errors are costing us games, but on the other side of it, we need to put these performances and be ruthless in front of goal and tonight we weren’t.”
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions FC 1 (Marko Jesic 88’)
Wollongong Wolves FC 0
Saturday 3rd March, 2023
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Danny Horstead
Assistant Referees: Maggie Price and Simon Ashari
Fourth Official: Mitchell Renton
Marconi Stallions FC: 24. James Hilton, 2. Nathan Millgate, 3. Giorgio Speranza, 5. Liam McGing, 8. Hirokai Aoyama, 9. Jordan Swibel (7. Chris Hatfield 86’), 11. Daniel Bouman, 17. Martin Fernandez (6. Domenic Costanzo 51’), 19. Kyle Cimenti (21. Justin Vidic 86’), 22. Taylor McDonald, 23. Brandon Vella (10. Marko Jesic 53’)
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Nathan Foster, 13. Aleksandar Duricic
Yellow Cards: Liam McGing 66’
Red Cards: Nil
Wollongong Wolves FC: 13. Tomas Butkovic, 5. Banri Kanaizumi, 7. Marcus Beattie, 8. Samuel Riak, 11. Nav Darjani (9. Takumi Ofuka 53’), 14. Jake Trew, 21. Ethan Bevan, 23. Walter Scott, 24. Lachlan Scott, 25. Alex Masciovecchio, 88. Christopher McStay
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Nenad Vekic, 3. Harrison Buesnel, 6. Senna Stevenson, 17. Jake Lavelle, 29. Thomas Dunn
Yellow Cards: McStay 91’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Liam McGing (MS)
2 – Hirokai Aoyama (MS)
1 – Banri Kanaizumi (WW)
-By Madeline Riley
