St George FC stunned by Kavanagh double
NWS Spirit FC have plunged St George FC into the relegation dog-fight thanks to a 2-0 victory at the Ilinden Sports Centre on Saturday with a stunning second half brace from super substitute Corey Kavanagh.
In a game between 11th and 12th places on the ladder respectively, the end result maintains the status quo regarding the ladder positions but does offer a glimmer of hope for Spirit as they chase an elusive finals place which is still a mathematical possibility.
The opening salvo of the game arrived in the 3rd minute when a diagonal shot from Jarred McKinley for the visitors took a slight deflection and went just wide of the goal and away for a corner.
The reply for St George FC came when Aedan O’Shea fed the ball across to Evangelo Souris in the middle in the 11th minute, but unfortunately for the Saints he blasted over the crossbar in what was a close call.
In the 20th minute NWS Spirit came close in what was proving to be a very cagey affair, with tight defending from both sides. A deflected cross from the right reached Jared Lum in the centre of the box but he headed just wide of the target.
Just after the half hour mark it was the Saints’ turn when a corner by Jaden Casella caused some moments of panic close to goal but, in the end, visiting goalkeeper Christopher Marques got down low to make a nice save on his line and deny the 1957 founded-club the opening goal.
There wasn’t much more to scribe about in the first stanza of play and both sides trudged off at the break without troubling the scoreboard attendant.
The opening chance of the second half belonged to NWS Spirit in the 50th minute when Ante Bakmaz had the ball which then made its way to Kavanagh who, from just outside the box, had a great shot with his left that forced an equally brilliant from save from ‘keeper Mackenzie Syron down low to his left.
In the 59th minute the home side replied with a shot from distance by Conor Quilligan that wasn’t too far off the mark, as both sides were trying to desperately break the stalemate.
A header back by captain Grant Cornwell a few minutes later could have caused damage if it wasn’t for Marques making a sharp save.
The game finally was sliced open in the 68th minute and it was Kavanagh who got the breakthrough. After a scramble in the box and some back-and-forth, it was left to the substitute who found himself with the ball at his feet and he drove it home straight into the top corner of the net with a very clinical shot.
The double wasn’t too pretty either but a goal is a goal and Kavanagh claimed his second in the 78th minute. After another scramble in the box, there was a volley at the far post by Kavanagh that hit the back of the net to double his side’s lead.
A late chance fell St George’s way in the 87th minute when a cross by Casella was well saved by the ‘keeper and away from some looming danger.
After the game the coach of NWS Spirit David Perkovic was happy overall with his team’s performance.
“I was very disappointed with our first half,” he said.
“I think it was the first time all season that I wasn’t happy at halftime, but then we made a couple of changes which had an impact.
“In the second half we had plenty of chances and I am obviously happy to keep a clean sheet and get the three points. We are focussing on every week from now on as three points are available and we’ll go from there.
“I was particularly happy with the character of my team to turn it around, as we were poor in the first half but we were very, very good in the second half.”
In the St George FC dressing room the mood was more reflective and fairly new coach Steve Karavatakis was left to discuss the outcome of the encounter.
“I thought we started well, especially in the first fifteen minutes,” he said.
“We then unfortunately let them back into the game and it was a fairly even battle in the first half.
“I am not happy with the outcome, but on the positives I thought we started well even though we didn’t carry on with that at all. Last week we had twenty shots on goal but tonight we may have had only one, so we will work on our execution up front in the final third during the week.”
Match Stats
St GEORGE FC: 0
NWS SPIRIT FC: 2 (Kavanagh 68’ & 78’)
Saturday 13thJuly 2024
Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale
Referee: Karl Davies
Assistant Referees: Anastasia Filacouridis, Blake Eastwood.
Fourth Official: Joshua Kermond
St GEORGE FC: 99. Mackenzie Syron, 3. Troy Danaskos, 5. Nicholas Kalogerou, 6. Patrick O’Shea, 7. Jesse Spang (37. Jakov Malbasa 61’), 8. Conor Quilligan (10. Harry Jones 68’), 17. Thomas Brown, 18. Mark Rodic, 22. Aedan O’Shea (11. Anthony Morabito 61’), 23. Evangelo Souris, 33. Jaden Casella.
Substitutes not used: 19. Peter Grozos, 20. Daniel Axford, 27. Jayden Seeto.
Yellow Cards: Souris 82’
Red Cards: Nil
NWS SPIRIT FC: 1. Christopher Marques, 3. Kyle Shaw, 4. Jarred McKinley (6. Corey Kavanagh 46’), 8. Grant Cornwell, 10. Michael Konestabo (12. Titus Macharia 90’), 13. Simon Nicholas, 15. Takeru Sugita (7. Richard Darko 77’), 16. Ante Bakmaz, 17. Jacob Chidiac (19. Jesse Michel 46’), 18. Zachary Cianci (21. Jayden Tran 69’), 20. Jared Lum.
Substitutes not used: 31. Joel Wade.
Yellow Cards: Shaw 41’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Corey Kavanagh (NWS)
2 – Grant Cornwell (NWS)
1 – Jared Lum (NWS)
By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Joe Russo