Stallions sting United 58 to keep the Premiership aspirations alive
The Marconi Stallions secured a crucial three points with a 2-1 victory over local rivals Sydney United 58 in front of a great crowd at Marconi Stadium on Saturday night to keep its hope alive in the Premiership chase against league leaders Rockdale Ilinden.
A goal from Marconi captain Marko Jesic opened the scoring in the 10th minute of the match, quickly followed by an impressive strike from James Temelkovski to take the hosts lead to two early in the game.
Despite plenty of chances, the next goal didn’t come until the second half, this time through Sydney United 58 substitute Mason Wells in the 58th minute.
Although both sides enjoyed their fair share of opportunities, there were no goals in the final 30 minutes of play, with the hosts holding on to their early lead.
The victory keeps the Stallions in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Premiership race as they head into the final few games of the season.
Marconi started off strong, applying early pressure to create chances in their attacking half.
A powerful strike from Franco Maya in the 8th minute looked poised for an early goal, however his effort skewed wide of the goal.
The applied pressure paid off for the hosts just minutes later as Temelkovski played a through ball to an on-running Jesic, who confidently sent it into the netting to open the scoring in the 10th minute of play.
With a packed stadium, fans were back on their feet just moments after the restart as Domenic Costanzo stripped the visitors of the ball and passed to Temelkovski, who sent a spectacular shot from range into the goal in just the 11th minute of play.
Shunta Nakamura tried to get United 58 into the match with a strike in the 14th minute, however his effort was too high for the target.
Costanzo flew forward in the 17th minute as he attempted to create another opportunity, however his pass to the area was intercepted by Tariq Maia.
Maya almost took the Stallions to three in the 20th minute after some combination play saw him with an opportunity on the right flank, however his shot found the side netting.
Maya had another chance in the 25th minute as he received the ball from Temelkovski in prime position and took a quick shot, however he sent the ball high.
Patrick Antelmi looked for a goal in the 30th minute, sending a strike towards the target, however Marconi ‘keeper James Hilton was able to deny.
Marconi searched for another in the 31st minute as Costanzo sent a ball towards Temelkovski in front of the goal, however United 58 defender Adrian Vlastelica defended the well to deny an opportunity.
A corner kick gave the visitors a chance in the 42nd minute, however Vlastelica’s header flew above the crossbar.
Sydney United seemed rejuvenated as they returned to the field after the half-time break and looked to work their way back into the game.
After a period of end-to-end play, the visitors made their way onto the scoreboard through substitute Wells, who was left with space in front of the goal to tap home a goal in the 57th minute.
Carlos De Oliveira thumped a ball into Daniel Bouman as he attempted to get off a shot in the 72nd minute, and Matthew Hatch jumped on the rebounded ball to send a powerful strike towards target, however Hilton managed an impressive save to keep the hungry visitors at bay.
Tensions rose as the matched progressed in a heated derby, with Sydney United 58 hunting for an equaliser while the Stallions tried to hold on to their early lead.
Despite plenty of movement and danger at both ends of the park, Marconi were able to hold on to their early lead to secure a crucial three points.
Marconi Assistant Coach Peter Papoythis was happy his team was able to put in the effort to get a result against a challenging side.
“First half, I thought we were magnificent,” he explained.
“We should have put more chances away but we didn’t and we left them [Sydney United 58] in the game and gave them a chance to come back.
“Full credit to Sydney United, they’re not a bad team, they’re always going to put up a fight.
“It’s a local derby, there’s 60 years of history here and they’re just up the road so it’s always good to beat them.
“Sydney United bring a crowd and our club did a magnificent job in promoting the game with a lot of kids and families here and we look forward to more games like that.”
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 2 (Jesic 10’, Temelkovski 11’)
Sydney United 58 1 (Wells 57’)
Saturday 27 July, 2024
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Michael Weiner
Assistant Referees: Cameron Wright & Brad Wright
Fourth Official: Mitchell Renton
Marconi Stallions: 1. James Hilton, 2. Nathan Millgate, 4. Anton Mlinaric, 5. James Bayliss, 6. Domenic Constanzo (18. George Daniel 70’), 7. Franco Maya, 8. Daniel Bouman (17. Milislav Popovic 87’), 9. James Temelkovski (20. Yuki Kitano 82’), 10. Marko Jesic, 16. Liam Youlley, 23. Brandon Vella
Substitutes Not Used: 19. Kyle Cimenti, 29. Luke Raso, 40. Patrick Williams
Yellow Cards: Mlinaric 33’
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United 58: 1. Oliver Kalac, 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 7. Jordan Ivancic (11. Matthew Hatch 54’), 8. Shunta Nakamura, 9. Patrick Antelmi (14. Luis Lobo 83’), 10. Carlos De Oliveira, 15. Tariq Maia (2. Cristian Gonzalez 88’), 19. Adrian Milcevic (32. Mason Wells 54’), 21. Dejan Bakrdanikoski, 22. Stephan De Robillard (13. Alessandro Lacalandra 54’)
Substitutes Not Used: 58. Ryan Warner
Yellow Cards: De Oliveira 86’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – James Temelkovski (MS)
2 – Liam Youlley (MS)
1 – Nathan Millgate (MS)
-By Madeline Riley
