St George snatch victory in Wolves battle
St George City earned a hard-fought 2-1 win against Wollongong Wolves on a chilly Friday evening at Albert Butler Memorial Park.
Presley Ortiz gave St George the lead which they took into halftime.
Lachlan Scott responded for the Wolves early in the second period but seven minutes after, City were back in front courtesy of a Banri Kanaizumi own goal.
After a quiet first 10 minutes, City stepped up the pressure on the Wollongong backline.
Twelve minutes in, Ortiz motored in behind down the right crossing it into the middle for Dominic Cox who missed a big chance for the visitors.
Two minutes later though, the side took the lead.
Ortiz’s first attempt with a header from a right-sided cross was saved expertly by Wolves’ goalkeeper Tomas Butkovic.
However, the ball bounced around in the box before falling at the feet of Ortiz who made no mistake with his second go.
St George did an effective job of restricting the Wolves’ attack, keeping them at an arm’s length for most of the first half.
Wollongong’s best chance of the half came with nine minutes to play when Walter Scott’s right-sided corner found Lachlan Scott whose header was cleared on the line.
The away side took their slender lead into the break.
St George had the first chance of the second half when Cox’s volley from the edge of the box three minutes in was comfortably held by Butkovic.
Just three minutes later, the Wolves got back on level terms.
Marcus Beattie’s cross from the right finding Lachlan Scott who brought the ball down well before sliding in to score from close range.
The Wolves looked to pick up some momentum after equalising and could have been ahead in the 56th minute.
Another cross from the right, this time from Alex Masciovecchio was brought down at the far post by Takumi Ofuka, but the winger saw his shot blocked.
Only a couple of minutes later, all of Wollongong’s hard work was undone as they went behind once more.
Defender Kanaizumi mistakenly diverted a left-sided cross into his own goal.
The hosts went back in pursuit of restoring parity, but City sought to exploit space on the counter.
In the 72nd minute, Ortiz slipped it through for Kosta Petratos down the right who blazed his shot from inside the box narrowly over the bar.
Four minutes later, Wollongong went on the attack with Jake Trew’s powerful strike from outside the box well held by Jack Kenny in the St George goal.
City took the ball straight down the other end as Ortiz clipped the left post from the left of the box.
With seven minutes to play, St George’s Daniel Alessi nodded just over the bar following a corner.
The home side continued to try and put City under pressure, but St George held firm and took all three points.
St George City coach Mirko Jurilj was pleased with his team’s performance, particularly the quality they showed defensively.
“To be honest it’s not a great pitch to play on, so you try to play to the conditions,” he said.
“We knew what was coming, they’re pretty direct.
“I thought we limited them well. The first time they got something of an open play they scored from it.”
Match Stats
Wollongong Wolves FC 1 (Lachlan Scott 51’)
St George City FA 2 (Presley Ortiz 14’, Banri Kanaizumi own goal 58’)
Friday 30 June 2023
Albert Butler Memorial Park, Primbee
Referee: Craig Fisher
Assistant Referees: Hayden Michlmayr and Ethan Zvargulis
Fourth Official: Matthew Harrison
Wollongong Wolves FC: 13. Tomas Butkovic, 5. Banri Kanaizumi, 7. Marcus Beattie, 8. Samuel Riak, 9. Takumi Ofuka (10. Damon Gray 79’), 14. Jake Trew, 21. Ethan Beavan, 23. Walter Scott, 24. Lachlan Scott, 25. Alex Masciovecchio (99. Sebastian Hernandez 67’), 88. Christopher McStay
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Max Cunial, 6. Senna Stevenson, 11. Nav Darjani, 17. Jake Lavalle
Yellow Cards: Tomas Butkovic 80’
Red Cards: Nil
St George City FA: 12. Jack Kenny, 3. Daniel Alessi, 4. Brendan Hooper, 6. Tarik Ercan (7. Nathan Roberts 70’), 8. Dominic Cox, 11. Kosta Petratos, 14. Dean Pelekanos, 23. Franco Maya, 14. Alexander Kyriacou, 30. Presley Ortiz (70. Maki Petratos 82’), 99. Matthew Keremelvski
Substitutes Not Used: 10. Paolo Mitry, 25. Andrew Vlahadamis, 45. Mohammed Khamis, 51. Salvatore Glinatsis
Yellow Cards: Matthew Keremelvski 59’, Presley Ortiz 64’, Dean Pelekanos 78’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Presley Ortiz (SG)
2 – Brendan Hooper (SG)
1 – Lachlan Scott (WW)
Report by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_
