Stallions ease to victory over Sky Blues
The Marconi Stallions secured a convincing 3-0 victory over a 10-man Sydney FC at Marconi Stadium on Saturday night.
There was early action at the palace as Sydney FC’s Zachary De Jesus saw read in just the 7th minute of play, but despite the one-man advantage Marconi didn’t open the scoring until the second half.
A goal to Marconi stalwart Brandon Vella in the 51st minute saw home fans with something to celebrate, with a second coming through substitute Jakov Malbasa in the 73rd minute.
A third and final goal for Marconi came in the 88th minute through another subsitute, Luke Raso, whose clinical finish wrapped up the goals for the night.
Despite plenty of hunger and pace from Sydney FC, the young Sky Blues couldn’t get on the scoresheet in a challenging match at The Palace.
Marconi found themselves with a strong opportunity in the 7th minute of the match with a free kick given just outside the 18-yard box as De Jesus brought down a forward running Franco Maya.
The hosts advantage escalated in the aftermath as referee Danny Horstead gave a red card to De Jesus after liaising with his assistant.
While the free-kick opportunity didn’t result in a goal, Marconi were clearly buoyed by their one-man advantage as the match continued.
The hosts came close to an opening goal in the 19th minute as Vella sent a ball into Hirokai Aoyama in the area, however he guided his header wide of the sticks.
Sydney FC looked to capitalise on a counter-attack opportunity in the 23rd minute but their attempt didn’t come to fruition.
Aoyama looked for another in the 26th minute but a diving Sydney FC ‘keeper Adam Pavlesic managed to tap the ball out of play.
The young Sky Blues put some pressure on at the 28-minute mark through a free kick, however they weren’t able to execute a threatening shot from their movement around the area.
Jaiden Kucharski raced forward in the 43rd minute before crossing into the area, however the ball was kept out by Marconi’s defence, leaving both teams without a goal as they entered the half-time break.
A goal finally came for Marconi in the 51st minute through a lovely Vella strike.
Dylan Susovic played a ball ahead of a forward running Vella, who charged down the right flank before firing at the target.
The hosts looked poised to extend their advantage in the 69th minute as Cameron Windust sent a cross to Marko Jesic in front of goal, but his header was well read by Pavlesic to deny.
The Stallions took their advantage to two in the 73rd minute through substitute Jakov Malbasa.
Franco Maya sent the ball into the area from the left flank and a touch by Marko Jesic saw the ball land at the feet of Malbasa, who sent the ball into the netting.
Sydney FC looked to retaliate from the restart as Mitchell Glasson got on the end of a long ball and took a shot, however his effort was wide.
Maya looked to pull off a screamer in the 82nd minute, firing a powerful shot from range, however it flew over the crossbar.
George Daniel stripped Ayouk Mow of the ball in the 88th minute sending a ball across the park to Malbasa.
Malbasa took a touch before sending a strike towards the target, but Pavlesic was able to deny.
Substitute Luke Raso, who had been on the park for less than two minutes, had no hesitation in his finish to take the hosts’ lead to three and wrap up scoring for the evening.
Marconi coach Peter Tsekenis was happy his team were able to get the result and giving some young members of the squad their debuts.
“I thought we did everything right, other than put the ball in the back of the net,” he said of the first half.
“It’s just one of those things where you’ve got to make the right decision, the right pass.
“I thought we were quite comfortable; it was just a matter of getting one and then going on with it.
“The second half was good; it was good to get some young boys on the park and three debuts.
“We’re short as it is and it’s good to see those boys get on and do a job.
“Credit to Sydney FC, they went down [a player] early and they gave what they had, but at the end we were probably just too good.”
Sydney FC Assistant Coach Matt Sim was very proud of the effort from his team to keep fighting for the full 90 minutes.
“We went into tonight’s game with majority of our NPL squad and senior Academy having travelled to Germany this morning for a tournament, so we had a little bit of a mix tonight of A-League players and some boys who were 2008 born so 15 turning 16,” he explained.
“Jay Moultz and Nick Alfaro, they were brilliant tonight, and it was great to see those young ones come in against a very good, experienced Marconi team.
“We frustrated them for that whole first half and we did what we wanted to do in terms of trying to hit them on the counter at that point and still get pressure on the ball.
“And then obviously the goals kind of opened it up a little bit towards the end, but I’m very, very proud of the effort tonight from the boys.”
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 3 (Vella 51’, Malbasa 73’, Raso 88’)
Sydney FC 0
Saturday 23rd March, 2024
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Danny Horstead
Assistant Referees: Aaron Bloch and James Makris
Fourth Official: Charbel Geha
Marconi Stallions: 1. James Hilton, 2. Nathan Millgate (37. Samuel Hovar 90’), 3. Cameron Windust, 4. Anton Mlinaric, 7. Franco Maya (29. Luke Raso 86’), 10. Mario Jesic (34. Julian Monge 90’) 11. Hirokai Aoyama, 14. Dylan Susovic (21. Jakov Malbasa 57’), 18. George Daniel, 23. Brandon Vella, 25. Jonathan Soares (26. Matthew Martignago 90’)
Substitutes Not Used: 24. Mackenzie Syron
Yellow Cards: Daniel 75’
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney FC: 4. Joseph Calusic, 7. Nickolas Alfaro (26. Marco Santangelo 45’, 22. Justin Cardozo 72’), 10. Jayden Kucharski, 15. Jay Maltz (37. Zinadein Ardiansyah 77’), 17. Ayouk Mow (25. Zac Mascolo 89’), 18. Matthew Scarcella, 19. Mitchell Glasson, 20. Adam Pavlesic, 21. Zachary De Jesus, 28. Nathan Amanatidis, 32. Samuel Lancaster
Substitutes Not Used: 30. Mason Hatnig, 34. Rhys Webster
Yellow Cards: Calusic 17’, Glasson 60’
Red Cards: De Jesus 7’
Player Ratings
3 – Brandon Vella (MS)
2 – Hirokai Aoyama (MS)
1 – Nathan Millgate (MS)
-By Madeline Riley
