Stallions defeat St George City in tense affair
The Marconi Stallions managed a 2-1 victory over St George City FA at Marconi Stadium on Saturday night in a fiery contest with two red cards but the win saw the former NSL giants move to second spot on the NPL Men’s NSW ladder.
It was a slow start to the match at The Palace, with the first goal coming from Marconi’s Daniel Bouman in the 44th minute before the half-time break.
The visitors dropped to ten men in the 60th minute as Solomon-John Monahan-Vaiika was sent from the field with a straight red card.
Captain Marko Jesic then managed to take the Stallions’ tally to two in the 65th minute, before Kosta Petratos brought St George City into the scoring in the 85th minute.
The action finished off with another red card given by referee Stephen Lucas, with Matthew Keremelevski being sent to the sheds in the 96th minute to cap off a tense battle.
A 16th minute shot from Marconi captain Jesic looked poised to turn into the opener, however St George City custodian Jack Kenny was able to deny the hosts.
St George City retaliated with a chance in the 19th minute, however the effort slid wide of the sticks.
The visitors looked dangerous in the 26th minute, however Cameron Fong held the ball up for a little too long, with Marconi shutting down the opportunity.
A resulting corner gave the visitors another opportunity however they weren’t able to capitalise, with Jason Romero managing to shoot but sending the ball wide.
St George City continued to create danger for Marconi, with Fong letting off a shot in the 32nd minute which soared above the crossbar.
The visitors were on the attack yet again in the 38th minute as a counterattack saw them with a fast-paced forward run, however the three attackers couldn’t manage to get off a good shot.
Brandon Vella retaliated for Marconi moments later, shooting from the right flank, however he sent the ball wide.
A slip from Tarik Ercan gave the Stallions a chance as James Temelkovski pounced on the ball, however a scrambling St George City defence managed to put on enough pressure to stop the hosts from shooting.
Franco Maya took a chance from range in the 43rd minute, but his strike flew above the goal after taking a deflection.
A corner kick ensued with Domenic Costanzo sending the ball into the area and Anton Mlinaric managed to head it towards the target, but it rebounded off the crossbar.
Temelkovski played the ball back out to Costanzo, whose ball met the head of Bouman, who nodded into the back of the net to open the scoring.
The hosts had another opportunity minutes later as Temelkovski passed to Maya who played it on to Jesic, however the captain fired it well above the target.
Marconi’s Brandon Vella managed a sensational clearance off the line in the 46th minute as a hungry Romero worked his way around Marconi defender Cameron Windust to let off a shot.
Franco Maya sent a ball through to Temelkovski in the 49th minute, who managed to impressively get ahead of two St George defenders, however he took too long before letting off a shot with Solomon-John Monahan-Vaiika taking the ball out of play.
Dominic Cox tried his luck for an ambitious shot from range in the 52nd minute but wasn’t able to convert.
Jesic played a well-timed ball to Temelkovski in the 60th minute, with the attacker looking dangerous before being brought down by Monahan-Vaiika.
Referee Stephen Lucas pulled out a red card for the defender, bringing the visitors down to 10 men for the remaining 30 minutes of the match.
Jesic took the resulting free kick, but his effort couldn’t meet the target.
It wasn’t long until he would be back in front of the target, this time with a more positive result for the captain, who netted the second of the match in the 65th minute.
He was well positioned to receive the ball from Temelkovski, and maintained composure as he took a touch before sending his shot over the line.
St George City managed to claw one back in the 85th minute as Jesse Photi sent a header towards the target, which was palmed away by James Hilton before Kosta Petratos sent the rebound into the netting.
After an increasingly physical second half another red card was shown, this time to St George City’s Matthew Keremelevski in the 95th minute for contact with Temelkovski while he was on the ground.
A few more minutes played out after the card, with Marconi securing the three points with a 2-1 victory.
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 2 (Daniel Bouman 44’, Marko Jesic 65’)
St George City 1 (Kosta Petratos 85’)
Saturday 13th July, 2024
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Stephen Lucas
Assistant Referees:
Fourth Official:
Marconi Stallions: 1. James Hilton, 3. Cameron Windust (2. Nathan Millgate 55’), 4. Anton Mlinaric, 5. James Bayliss, 6. Domenic Constanzo (19. Kyle Cimenti 80’), 7. Franco Maya (17. Milislav Popovic 80’), 8. Daniel Bouman (20. Yuki Kitano 71’), 9. James Temelkovski, 10. Marko Jesic (18. George Daniel 71’), 16. Liam Youlley, 23. Brandon Vella
Substitutes Not Used: 40. Patrick Williams
Yellow Cards: Windust 4’
Red Cards: Nil
St George City FA: 1. Jack Kenny, 2. Cameron Fong, 4. Solomon-John Monahan-Vaiika, 5. Fumoto Kamada (38. Kai Kamikura 80’), 6. Tarik Ercan, 8. Dominic Cox, 10. Jason Romero (99. Matthew Keremelevski 71’), 11. Kosta Petratos, 14. Paolo Mitry (33. Louis Khoury 58’), 25. Brodie Clarkson (7. Nathan Roberts 58’), 30. Caio De Godoy (19. Jesse Photi 71’)
Substitutes Not Used: 51. Stavropol Skotadis
Yellow Cards: Khoury 64’, Roberts 76’, Fong 82’
Red Cards: Monahan-Vaiika 60’, Keremelevski 90+5’
Player Ratings
3 – Brandon Vella (MS)
2 – Liam Youlley (MS)
1 – James Bayliss (MS)
-By Madeline Riley
