Kinetic Kekeris channels inner energy in Cromer Park success
For the first time this season Manly United have claimed back-to-back wins as they triumphed 3-2 over NWS Spirit in Round 12 of the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW competition at Cromer Park.
It took one-minute for the action to begin as Richard Darko beat both Jesse Piriz and Peter Kekeris with the ball at his feet, swiftly running around both in the hosts half.
In the sixth minute, Kekeris fired back, forcing Christopher Marques into action with a thumping shot that ultimately rebounded off the post. And despite the unlucky miss, Manly paid the penalty for it as in the 12th minute Ollie Wiggin was the beneficiary of a beautifully placed Darko pass, that allowed Wiggin to run around his man and find the back of the net.
It wasn’t to matter however as in the 29th minute and the 31st minute Kekeris bagged a stellar double to give Manly a blistering 2-1 advantage as the hosts worked their way back into the matchup.
Kekeris powerfully converted his spot kick over the upward arm of Marques after a very close hand ball call inside the edge of the box. Meanwhile for the latter a sharp deflection off a shell-shocked Spirit defence saw Kekeris’s long-range attempt find the back of the net with ease.
The first half was brought to a shattering close as Kieren Paull saw yellow in the 41st-minute as his outstretched arm caught Zachary Cianci.
The second half began with a lot of rugged challenges before both teams found their footing.
Darko in the 51st-minute carved out a brilliant chance as his resounding run found the feet of Wiggin who fired the ball right into Levi Kaye, as his body was massive with the save.
On the 60th minute mark, the rugged physicality was on full display for all the spectators to see as Rocco Pelle came flying in over Darko in the challenge. And that aggression paid off hugely as just two-minutes on it saw them win a corner kick. The result being an Wiggin calamitous own goal as he headed it in.
In the 78th minute Pelle committed a crunching foul with his outstretched leg on Darko to bring both teams in for a quickly diverted melee. And then just four-minutes later Darko had his reward via a nicely taken strike, as he beat Levi Kaye from the spot, despite Kaye diving the right way.
Shortly after the lights went out and play waited to resume, but when it did, Manly were defensively resilient and held on for a well-deserved victory.
Post match, Zac Sfiligoi was impressed with Manly’s performance.
“We’ve just needed to stay together throughout the season and that’s been a big part of what it’s taken. We had a rough patch with a lot of injuries, but we fought hard to secure the win for our home fans”.
Whilst he also discussed their structural adjustments.
“And just a few weeks ago we changed our structure, sitting in a block defensively and then our game flows from there. The result being able to find players in wide areas who can hit the target.”
Match Stats
Manly United FC 3 (Peter Kekeris 29’, 31’, Ollie Wiggin OG 62’)
NWS Spirit FC 2 (11.Ollie Wiggin 12’, Richard Darko 82’)
Cromer Park, Cromer
Friday 26th April 2024
Referee: Logan Jones
Assistants: Charbel Geha and Thomas Dale
Fourth Official: James Markis
Manly United FC: 1.Levi Kaye, 2.Kieren Paull, 3.Zac Sfiligoi, 4.Jesse Piriz, 6.Saxon Hillyer, 7.Peter Kekeris, 14.Stefan Visscher, 19.Alen Aganovic, 25.Rocco Pelle, (27.Corey Cronin 71’), 29.William Faulder, (37.Maxwell Pengelly 71’), (38.Mitchell Seaman 84’), 39.Stefano Rossello, (42.Max Walker 90’)
Subs not used: 24.Toby Bakewell, 31.Jay Coates
Yellow Cards: 2.Kieren Paull 41’
Red Cards: None
NWS Spirit FC: 1.Christopher Marques, 3.Kyle Shaw, 6.Corey Kavanagh, 7.Richard Darko, 8.Grant Cornwell, (10.Michael Konestabo 70’), 11.Ollie Wiggin, 13.Simon Nicholas, 16.Ante Bakmaz, (17.Jacob Chidiac 60’), 18.Zachary Cianci, 19.Jesse Michel, 20.Jared Lum, (21.Luiz Lobo 77’)
Subs not used: 14.Jacob Sullivan, 31.Joel Wade, 36.Kyah Williams
Yellow Cards: 13.Simon Nicholas 36’, 6.Corey Kavanagh 55’, 7.Richard Darko 70’, 16.Ante Bakmaz 85’
Red Cards: None
Player Ratings
3 – Peter Kekeris (MU)
2 – Richard Darko (NWS)
1 – Rocco Pelle (MU)
-By Tobias Canning
