Manly and Rockdale unable to be separated
Manly United fought back from two goals down to share the points with Rockdale Ilinden in a 2-2 draw at Cromer Park on Saturday night.
It was an action-packed first period with Alec Urosevski and Nikola Ujdur getting Ilinden 2-0 up by the half-hour mark.
Matthew Sim converted a penalty to halve the deficit for Manly heading into the break.
United put in a strong showing in the second half equalising early on through Stefan Visscher, but they couldn’t find a winner in what remained.
The visitors got off to the best possible start, opening the scoring in the first couple of minutes.
Bai Antoniou shifted the ball from the left of the box to Urosevski in the middle who was able to slide home a neat finish inside the left post from close in.
It was his 18th goal of the season continuing the star striker’s form as being the most deadly of all in any NPL competitions across Australia.
After going behind, United started to get some control in the match holding the bulk of possession over the next few minutes.
Manly had a chance to score in the 11th minute.
Seiya Kambayashi latched onto a long ball into the right channel, driving into the box, cutting inside and forcing Ilinden goalkeeper Ricardo Rizzo to bat a shot away.
Despite some promising football from the hosts, they found themselves two goals down 27 minutes in.
Former Manly United star Brendan Cholakian’s left-sided corner found Ujdur at the far post who confidently nodded home.
The concession of the second goal promoted a spirited response from Manly in the next five minutes.
Alen Aganovic had a goal ruled out for offside before Jesse Piriz sent a close-range volley over the bar following Sim’s cross.
Ilinden nearly had a third with 11 minutes of the first half to play when Antoniou’s glancing header was expertly saved by United goalkeeper Levi Kaye down to his right.
Just three minutes later, Manly’s Sim was bundled over in the box seeing referee Adrian Arndt point to the spot for a penalty.
The experienced attacker stepped up and fired a superb effort into the top right corner to give his team some hope in the match.
Sim had another chance deep into first-half stoppage time meeting Kristian Santich’s left-sided cross at the back post but his header was saved by Rizzo.
Rockdale managed to hold onto their lead as the teams headed into the sheds.
Manly carried on their buoyant late first-half performance setting the scores level only a couple of minutes after halftime.
Substitute Harry McCarthy squared the ball from the left for Visscher centrally who made no mistake to score from close range.
The side continued to put Rockdale under pressure eager to complete a sensational comeback, but the ball just wouldn’t fall for them.
At the heart of this attacking pressure were Kambayashi and Sim who looked to exploit wide areas and get balls into the box.
In the 73rd minute, Ilinden had a chance when Cholakian lined up an accurate free-kick that Kaye was able to catch.
Manly had an even better opportunity two minutes later from Sim’s corner from the right.
Piriz flicked it on at the front post, however, the ball was heroically cleared from the line by Rockdale defender Jamie Percevski.
With 10 minutes to go, United drove forwards once more through Sim who played it from the left byline to Kambayashi in the middle whose backheel rolled onto the right post.
Five minutes later, Rockdale’s Antoniou made his way into the left of the box and rocketed an effort at goal that Kaye managed to parry away.
In the end, the teams had to settle for a point each with the visitors reeling in what’s been a tough few days following their disastrous exit from the Australia Cup following a 2-1 loss at the hands of League One Men’s side Inter Lions on Wednesday.
Match Stats
Manly United FC 2 (Matthew Sim 37’, Stefan Visscher 47’)
Rockdale Ilinden FC 2 (Alec Urosevski 2’, Nikola Ujdur 27’)
Saturday 3 June 2023
Cromer Park, Cromer
Manly United FC: 20 Levi Kaye (GK), 3. Jesse Piriz, 4. James Oates (C), 7. Seiya Kambayashi, 11. Matthew Sim (18. Lucas Rainbird 86’), 12. Kristian Santich (23. Harry McCarthy 46’), 19. Alen Aganovic, 22. Bilal Belkadi (21. Nick Rainbird 86’, 29. Hunter Elliott, 39. Stefano Rossello (10. Bruno Mendes 46’), 41. Stefan Visscher (9. Benjamin Koop 70’)
Substitutes Not Used: 30 Jay Coates (GK)
Yellow Cards: Bruno Mendes 55’, Alen Aganovic 72’
Red Cards: Nil
Rockdale Ilinden FC: 20. Ricardo Rizzo (GK), 4. Nikola Ujdur, 7. Alex Urosevski (C), 8. Isaac Danzo, 9. Bai Antoniou (42. Benjamin Wass 86’), 10. Brendan Cholakian (34. Jason Cakovski 86’), 11. Lachlan Constable, 14. Brayden Sorge, 15. Jamie Percevski (29. Zachary Nikolovski 81’), 23. Jaden Casella (5. William Mutch 52’), 66. Mathieu Cordier
Substitutes Not Used: 26. Steven Kriezis (GK), 41. Maddox Barthou
Yellow Cards: William Mutch 83’
Red Cards: Nil
Referee: Adrian Arndt
Assistant Referees: Alessandro Llana and Arinath Gobinath
Fourth Official: Kyle Hockings
Player Ratings:
3 – Matthew Sim (MU)
2 – Jamie Percevski (RI)
1 – Nikola Ujdur (RI)
Report by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_
