The Marconi Stallions triumphed over NWS Spirit on Saturday night, with a resounding 5-1 victory at Wanderers Football Park.
First half goals to Martin Fernandez, Jordan Swibel and Daniel Bouman had the Stallions confidently ahead of Spirit, whose lone first-half goal came from Luiz Lobo.
Marconi then scored two in the second half through substitutes Christopher Hatfield and Domenic Costanzo to finish the game with a convincing win.
The first goal came after just 10 minutes through Fernandez, who received the ball on the edge of the 18-yard box from Aleksandar Duricic and chipped NWS Spirit ‘keeper Christopher Marques to hit the netting.
Fernandez had a chance to make it two in the 17th minute as some combination play from Marconi saw Bowman send a tidy cross into the area, but Fernandez’s shot flew high.
Jordan Gomez came close for the visitors in the 18th minute, letting off a shot that was kept out by Marconi for a corner, but Spirit wasn’t able to take advantage of the opportunity to convert.
Marconi doubled their advantage in the 20th minute as Giorgio Speranza sent a brilliant ball over the top of Spirit’s defence to a waiting Swibel, who had no hesitation in firing the ball over the line.
A clearance from Spirit’s Anthony Younis in the 28th minute saw the ball come off Kyle Shaw’s foot and dribble towards the goal.
Luckily for Spirit it rebounded off the sticks, but Marconi’s Bouman tapped it in to take the lead to three within 30 minutes for the hosts.
Kota Odakura made an attempt to get the visitors on the scoreboard in the 35th minute, shooting from range in an attempt to chip Marconi ‘keeper James Hilton, but it skewed to the right of the goal.
Spirit managed to change their momentum with a goal from a free kick not long before the first-half break.
Odakura sent the free kick into the area and it came off Matthew Cahill before it fell to Lobo, who fired it over the line in the 41st.
The visitors came back perked up from the half-time break but it was Marconi who scored first in the second stanza, this time through substitute Hatfield who came on in place of an injured Kyle Cimenti late in the first half.
Fernandez sent a ball high to Bouman who took a touch with his head to control it before passing off to Swibel.
Marques was able to deny Swibel, but Hatfield pounced on the rebound to tap in with his left foot in the 53rd.
Odakura looked poised to score for Spirit from a free kick in the 59th minute but his effort ricocheted off the crossbar.
Richard Darko came agonisingly close in the 60th minute but Hilton made a sensational save to flick the ball out of its path.
Hilton made another great save from a free kick for Spirit in the 66th minute to keep the hungry visitors at bay.
Marconi substitute Domenic Costanzo came close for the hosts as he let off a shot in the 80th minute, but it ricocheted off the crossbar and a Spirit defender before the keeper was able to collect.
Tensions rose in the 86th minute as Wiggin received a yellow for a questionable challenge on Hirokai Aoyama and Duricic received his second yellow in the aftermath, and was served a red and sent off the field by referee Kurt Ams.
After frustratingly hitting the crossbar for the second time, Costanzo was able to get on the scoreboard in the first minute of injury time as he slipped the ball past Marques and into the goal to secure a 5-1 victory for the Stallions.
Marconi Assistant Coach Peter Papoythis was pleased they were able to gain control of the match in the early stages, but was disappointed his side couldn’t keep a clean sheet.
“It was coming, one of those performances was coming,” he explained.
“I thought we were dominant from the outset, we got in early, we scored early goals – it was 3-0 and [we were] totally in control.
“Then we gave a soft goal, which we don’t usually do, and I think we’ll learn from that, giving away a goal like that.
“Second half, we started a touch better than we do in the second halves, we usually start a little slower.
“We hit the post three times, so the score could have been anything.
“We’ve done our research on Spirit, we know how they play, so we weren’t getting any surprises.
“I’m happy with the result, scoring a goal with 10 men, but I don’t like copping a goal, it can be upsetting copping one of those, but in the end 5-1 is 5-1.”
NWS Spirit coach David Perkovic was frustrated his team let Marconi off to such a strong start.
“We didn’t obviously start too well,” he said.
“To give such a cheap goal away in the first 10 minutes didn’t set up the game nicely for us.
“We had a number of young players that seemed a bit nervous out there today.
“The positive is we created a load of chances, but unfortunately our finishing wasn’t quite as clinical as we had hoped.
“Credit to Marconi’s keeper, he was outstanding today.”
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions FC 5 (Fernandez 10’, Swibel 20’, Bouman 28’, Hatfield 53’, Costanzo 90+1’)
NWS Spirit FC 1 (Lobo 41’)
Saturday 22nd July, 2023
Wanderers Football Park, Rooty Hill
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: Lance Greenshields and Alexis Johnson
Fourth Official: Thomas Dale
Marconi Stallions FC: 3. Giorgio Speranza, 5. Liam McGing, 8. Hirokai Aoyama, 9. Jordan Swibel (22. Taylor McDonald 88’), 10. Marko Jesic (6. Domenic Costanzo 75’), 11. Daniel Bouman (41. Jonathan Soares 88’, 13. Aleksandar Duricic, 17. Martin Fernandez (21. Justin Vidic 75’), 19. Kyle Cimenti (7. Chris Hatfield 42’), 23. Brandon Vella, 24. James Hilton
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Marcus Petrovski
Yellow Cards: Fernandez 14’, Duricic 49’, 87’
Red Cards: Duricic 87’
NWS Spirit FC:1. Christopher Marques, 2. Anthony Younis, 3. Musashi Kokubo, 4. Kota Odakura, 5. Jordan Gomez (20. Jared Lum, 69’), 7. Richard Darko, 10. Peter Kekeris (11. Ollie Wiggin 69’), 13. Simon Nicholas, 16. Kyle Shaw (19. Daniel Mitwali 54’), 17. Matthew Cahill, 21. Luiz Lobo
Substitutes Not Used: 12. Jacob Madden, 14. Dylan Craus, 26. Msisam Awaz
Yellow Card: Wiggin 86’
Red Cards: Nil
3 – Martin Fernandez (MS)
2 – Daniel Bouman (MS)
1 – James Hilton (MS)
-By Madeline Riley
