Sharks breath sigh of relief with monumental victory at Christie Park
Sutherland Sharks continued its charge away from the relegation zone with a 3-1 victory over NWS Spirit in a rescheduled National Premier League Men’s round 17 fixture at Christie Park on a chilly Tuesday evening.
There was an air of unpredictability about this one with Sutherland Sharks perhaps creating the better chances throughout the fixture which led to them taking the three points.
The game struggled to settle into a pattern in the opening quarter hour, with Spirit holding a lot of possession while Sutherland Sharks had the best chance on goal after the 25th minute.
Sharks stalwart Mitchell Stamatellis drilling an effort low which drew Christopher Marques into a save down to his right.
Sharks were having the best chances and they opened the scoring on the half hour.
Jay McGowan scoring in his second straight game after Stamatellis played a through ball into Mohamed Ahmed with the result seeing the attacker finish off in style.
It was a lead for the visiors which lasted ten minutes before Spirit had their equaliser.
Richie Darko sent out a cross from a corner that was met by Michael Konestabo at the back post who played it across for Zachary Cianci to finish from close range in the 41st minute.
Sutherland had the final chance of the half in stoppage time from seemingly nothing. McGowan skewed his effort for his second after Kataro Katsuta squared the ball to him.
Following a similar pattern to the opening of the fixture, Spirit looked like the side in control holding a lot of possession early in the second half.
However once again the goal was to come at the other end, this time just after the hour. A turnover at the back from Spirit saw McGowan weight a lovely through ball for Katsuta who finished with aplomb and it was 2-1 to the Sharks.
Spirit nearly responded a couple minutes later. Jacob Chidiac fired over from the back post after Jesse Michel played a dangerous ball from the left by-line.
Sutherland almost doubled their lead in the 69th minute, Levi Sciuriaga headed just wide at the near post with the ball coming in from the right.
Chances were coming at a more frequent rate at this point. Jesse Michel hitting the crossbar with his head in the 71st minute after Konestabo floated a ball from the right by-line.
Spirit’s pressure on the Sutherland goal brought to a halt with the removal of Konestabo due to a second bookable offence with just over ten minutes left. Sharks soon joining their hosts reduced to ten with five minutes to go as Matthew Jackson also received his second caution of the evening.
Sutherland added an exclamation mark to the result late on as Spirit threw numbers forward, Katsuta rounding the keeper and finishing well deep into the second half of additional time.
The win taking the Sharks out of the bottom two while Spirit will welcome back a trio of players this weekend as they hope to rekindle a win to get them back on track.
Match Stats
NWS Spirit 1 (Cianci 41’)
Sutherland Sharks 3 (McGowan 30’, Katsuta 61’ 94’)
Saturday 25 June, 2024
Christie Park, Macquarie Park
Referee: Hayden Langholz
Assistant Referees: Lance Greenshields & Lachlan Hines
Fourth Official: Amber Morris
NWS Spirit: 1. Christopher Marques (GK), 3. Kyle Shaw, 4. Jarred Mckinley, 7. Richie Darko, 10. Michael Konestabo, 13. Simon Nicholas, 14. Jacob Sulivan (32. James Dyer 45’), 17. Jacob Chidiac, 18. Zachary Cianci (34. Noah Peacock 77’), 19. Jesse Michel, 22. Yannis Frerck (12. Titus Macharia 77’)
Substitutes Not Used: 31. Joel Wade, 26. Adam O’Connor, 29. Kyle Bennett.
Yellow Cards: Konestabo 17’
Red Cards: Konestabo 79’
Sutherland Sharks: 1. Nenad Vekic, 2. Kotaro Katsuda, 4. Mitchell Stamatellis, 5. Takahide Umebachi, 8. Mohamed Ahmed (6. Samuel Gulisano 79’), 11. Jay McGowan, 15. Matthew Moric (10. Mason Fernandez 57’), 22. Jacob Garner (14. Chris Lindsay 44’), 23. Ethan Beaven, 27. Matthew Jackson, 77. Levi Sciuriaga (9. Maxx Green 79’).
Substitutes Not Used: 99. Jacob Cremen-Cowan, 3. Jordan Roberts
Yellow Cards: Moric 20’, Jackson 69’,
Red Cards: Jackson 85’
Player Ratings
3- Kotaro Katsuta (SS)
2- Mitch Stamatellis (SS)
1- Jay McGowan (SS)
By Justin Smith
