The Marconi Stallions managed a 1-0 victory over relegation threatened St George FC at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre on Saturday evening, keep the tight race to the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Premiership.
It was one and done between the two sides, with an own goal from Nicholas Kalogerou the difference in the match.
St George FC forced an incredible save from Marconi ‘keeper James Hilton in the 27th minute after some quality combination play.
St George FC ‘keeper and former Marconi player Mackenzie Syron denied the Stallions of an opportunity minutes later in the 30th minute, keeping captain Marko Jesic from opening the scoring.
Despite plenty of pressure from St George FC, it was Marconi who first made their way on to the scoreboard in the 36th minute.
Franco Maya sent a curling ball into the area towards Jesic, who looked to get a touch before the ball met the back of the net, however St George FC’s Nicholas Kalogerou also touched the ball and earned the credit for the goal.
Despite plenty of back and forth on the pitch, neither team was able to make further impact before the half-time whistle.
The hosts nearly made a quick impact in the second half as Justin Poon played Jaden Casella in prime position in the 46th minute, however his effort skewed wide of the goal.
St George FC came close again in the 64th minute as Conor Quilligan sent a shot towards the target, however Hilton dove to reject and Brandon Vella cleared the ball out of play to diffuse the opportunity.
Chan Yelchan sent a stunning strike towards goal in the 83rd minute, however it was tapped over the next by the finger of Hilton.
Patrick O’Shea sent a strike towards the goal from the resultant corner, however it was just too high for the target.
Substitute Yuki Kitano hit the back of the net for Marconi in the 87th minute, however the linesman raised his flag to rule the goal offside.
The hosts continued to hunt for an equaliser until the dying moments of the match, but weren’t able to convert an opportunity, leaving the game at a 1-0 win for the Stallions at the final whistle.
Marconi Coach Peter Tsekenis was pleased his team was able to get the crucial three points in keeping up its fight for the Premiership against current league leaders Rockdale Ilinden.
“It wasn’t our best performance, but we defended quite well,” Tsekenis explained.
“We came up against a team desperate to stay in the competition and we knew it was going to be tough.
“I think we had enough chances to make it a bit easier early on, but we didn’t, we kept them in the game, and they just kept coming at us.
“Credit to them, they played really well.
“I was proud of the boys; they stuck in and got the result that we need.”
St George FC coach Steve Karavatakis was disappointed his side wasn’t able to get the result with a strong performance, however the loss has left the side languishing in the bottom half of the ladder.
“We walk away with nothing when I thought we had total domination of the game,” he said.
“Playing a team that’s coming second, I thought we did pretty well.
“We held a lot of possession and had a lot of combinations in the front third, we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.
“That performance has to continue now until the end of the season and if that does happen, I’m confident we will be alright.”
Match Stats
St George FC 0
Marconi Stallions 1 (Kalogerou OG 36’)
Saturday 3rd August, 2024
Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre
Referee: Stephen Lucas
Assistant Referees: Amirhossein Hosnani and Joshua Eiser
Fourth Official: Thomas Dale
St George FC: 3. Troy Danaskos, 5. Nicholas Kalogerou, 6. Patrick O’Shea, 8. Conor Quilligan, 10. Harry Jones, 18. Marc Rodic, 23. Evangelo Souris, 30. Justin Poon (37. Jakov Malbasa 68’), 33. Jaden Casella, 38. Chan Yelchan, 99. Mackenzie Syron
Substitutes Not Used: 7. Jesse Spang, 11. Anthony Morabito, 16. Sebastian Cerecedo, 17. Thomas Brown, 20. Daniel Axford
Yellow Cards: Jones 51’, Rodic 54’
Red Cards: Nil
Marconi Stallions: 1. James Hilton, 2. Nathan Millgate, 3. Cameron Windust, 5. James Bayliss, 6. Domenic Constanzo (19. Kyle Cimenti 75’), 7. Franco Maya (18. George Daniel 82’), 8. Daniel Bouman, 9. James Temelkovski (20. Yuki Kitano 68’), 10. Marko Jesic, 16. Liam Youlley, 23. Brandon Vella
Substitutes Not Used: 25. Jonathan Soares, 34. Julian Monge, 40. Patrick Williams
Yellow Cards: Temelkovski 16’, Youlley 87’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – James Hilton (MS)
2 – Nathan Millgate (MS)
1 – Harry Jones (SG)
-By Madeline Riley
