Casella brace shares the spoils for St George
Life under new manager Steve Karavatakis started off with a draw as St George Saints recorded a 2-2 draw against a young Western Sydney Wanderers outfit at the Ilinden Sports Centre on Saturday evening.
The Wanderers kicked off proceedings in great fashion as Ryley Hollingdale fired home directly from a free-kick from the edge of the area inside sixty seconds before St George responded through new recruit Jaden Casella, who made the move from Sydney Olympic during the transfer window, less than a minute later to level the tie.
Dallo Sandy fired the Wanderers back into the lead albeit through a deflection before Casella completed a brace of goals with yet another superlative free-kick after both had chances to win the match and both having a strike ruled out for offside.
Hollingdale opened the scoring inside the first minute with a precision free-kick perfectly curled into the net leaving St George’s debutante ‘keeper Mackenzie Syron clutching fresh air but another new recruit in Casella levelled the tie equally as quickly in a thundering start to the match.
St George knuckled down and restricted the visitors to hitting on the break whilst carving out several very decent opportunities for themselves that, but for better finishing allied to a strong Wanderers rear-guard action, should have seen them ahead.
Jesse Spang spurned a golden chance in the 18th minute when spinning just outside the box to send his effort wide of the upright.
Luke Nieuwenhof produced a reaction save from Syron with Awan Lual pouncing on the loose ball but again sending it the wrong side of the woodwork in a rare Wanderers attack.
Casella, putting in a strong shift, produced the moment of the match to date on the half-hour when receiving the ball from Spang on the right and drifted inside his initial attempt was blocked by a scrambling defence and the second beaten away by Tristan Vidackovic, another Gloveman making his debut, between the sticks.
The Wanderers were forced to soak up the pressure from wave after wave of attacks but were not breached again even when Spang once more forced Vidackovic into two crucial saves in the 36th minute that kept the visitors in the game. The right side combination of Casella and Spang proved more than a handful for the Wanderers outfit.
It proved a very encouraging start for St George however the lack of clinical finishing had the sides level going into the half-time break that could yet prove pivotal in the latter stages and in a match that started so brightly it was inevitable it couldn’t continue apace for a full 90’ minutes however, it was a thoroughly entertaining opening.
What can be best described as a ‘measured beginning’ to the second period produced little goalmouth action until Ryan Devine flashed a shot across the face in the 55’ minute for the visitors, a decent half-chance that invited St George to increase their intensity.
Casella ran on to a perfect cross and powered a shot goalward that Vidackovic parried with the rebound netted by Spang only for the strike to be ruled offside when St George believed they had taken the lead for the first time in the match in the 67th minute from a sweeping move down the left. It proved Spang’s last contribution when replaced by Jakov Malbasa.
The result was wide open for either side if they could find the one telling pass or strike as the moments ticked away, St George making the running throughout the match and Wanderers content to hit on the break, although proving a lot more adventurous after the break, and luck prevailed when a Dallo Sandy effort deflected off the head of a hapless Thomas Brown to send the visitors into the lead once more.
It was harsh but St George were guilty in not taking chances when presented and finding a ‘keeper in form, always a dangerous cocktail.
Just when the Wanderers were starting the count the minutes down, Casella popped up with another sensational free-kick from fully 25-yards out that curled into the net to level the match once more.
The second equalizer re-energized the home side and Vidackovic needed to be sharply down to stop to smother a Nicholas Kalogerou shot from distance through a sea of legs. A super save given the ‘keeper saw the ball late.
Pat O’Shea suffered a nasty head knock with stoppage time approaching that required several minutes of treatment, a swathe of bandages plus a shirt and shorts change before he courageously retook the field to see out the match.
The Wanderers thought they had won it very deep into added time when Sandy crossed from the right for Nieuwenhof to rise majestically and head home but again the goal was disallowed for an offside infringement eventually leading to the points being shared in a pulsating game of football leaving Wanderers’ assistant coach Richie Cardozo to comment at the whistle.
For the neutrals it was a good game,” he said.
“We’re disappointed we haven’t gotten the win, I felt we were the better side and controlled the game even though St George had some decent chances and our ‘keeper (Tristan Vidackovic) made some great saves but we walk away with the draw.
“The first 10-15 minutes were a bit cagey despite the early goals but I feel we controlled the latter stages of the half where we held possession very well.
“They had some decent chances, our ‘keeper made some very good saves but we feel we should have had a penalty in the second-half that didn’t go our way but overall the boys showed great character throughout, kept the momentum high and showed improvement from the last couple of weeks although they’ve done all we’ve asked of them and have been playing well.
“It would have been a great game for the fans,” he concluded.
While Saints coach Steve Karavatakis praised his chargers as he felt his team put in a positive shift following a string of indifferent results.
“It was a good game for the spectators,” he echoed.
“We want to play attacking football and I believe we have the players to do that and a little extra pace up top and it was a good game between the teams, Wanderers play good football but there were times when we had them on the back foot but didn’t take the chances.
“We could have pinched the game at the end of both halves and I also believe we should have had a penalty near the end but that’s football. We cannot question the intensity and all areas were very tight spaces which were closed down quickly so there was always going to be mistakes but we’re very happy with the boys for the shift they put in and it can only get better from here,” he ended.
Match Stats
St George FC 2 (Jaden Casella 2’, 82’)
West Sydney Wanderers 2 (Ryley Hollingdale 1’, Dallo Sandy 77’)
Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale
Saturday 6th July 2024
Referee: Mujtaba Ebrahimi
Assistants: Arinath Gobinath and Lachlan Hines
Fourth Official: Charbel Geha
St George FC: 99. Mackenzie Syron, 5. Nicholas Kalogerou, 6. Pat O’Shea, 7. Jesse Spang (37. Jakov Malbasa 69’), 8. Connor Quilligan, 17. Thomas Brown, 18. Mark Rodic, 22. Aeden O’Shea (11. Anthony Morabito 61’), 23. Evan Souris (9. Peter Grozos 86’), 27. Jayden Seeto (3. Troy Danaskos 69’), 33. Jaden Casella
Subs not used: 20. Daniel Axford, 10. Harry Jones
Yellow Cards: Anthony Morabito 90+8’)
Red Cards: Nil
Western Sydney Wanderers FC: 20. Tristan Vidackovic, 14. Luka Knezevic (19. Dimo Dimo 59’), 16. Roman Culina, 18. Awan Lual (35. Kaan Nizam 59’), 22. Jesse Cameron, 25. Ryley Hollingdale, 28. Luke Nieuwenhof, 36. Dallo Sandy, 37. Ricky Fransen, 77. Phillip Gigliotti (3. Matthew O’Donoghue 75’), 99. Ryan Devine (23. Marcus Fernandez 75’)
Subs not used: 1. Lucas O’Brien, 12. Lachlan Tilt
Yellow Cards: Ryan Devine 74’, Ryley Hollingdale 82’, Roman Culina 89’, Matthew O’Donoghue 90+5’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Jayden Casella (STG)
2 – Ryley Hollingdale (WSW)
1 – Tristan Vidackovic (WSW)
By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock
