Two first-half goals from St George City were enough to see the side past Manly United on Friday night at Cromer Park in a game headlined by delay.
The match started around 45 minutes later than scheduled, but once the action got underway, the wait seemed justified.
St George City burst into a two-goal lead with a couple of well-worked transitional goals scored by Jesse Photi within half an hour.
Benjamin Koop pulled one back for the home side not long after Photi’s second, but Manly went into the break behind.
Just as the second half was reaching its climax, the lights at Cromer Park went out and once they came back, City successfully defended their lead.
The game came to life around 10 minutes in when United’s Saxon Hillyer received the ball on the edge of the box and drove a low effort that City goalkeeper Jack Kenny saved well.
St George took the ball down the other end where Dominic Cox whipped in a right-sided cross that perfectly met Photi, who bundled the ball in from close range.
The hosts resumed their patient build-up soon after, holding possession and probing for an equaliser.
City went close to a second in the 22nd minute when Kosta Petratos raced into the right of the box and attempted to dink the ball into the far corner, but it bounced just wide.
The side doubled their advantage four minutes later. A miss-controlled long ball at the back for Manly allowed Paolo Mitry to play a first-time volley to Photi. The attacker brought down the bouncing ball and nudged it into the right of the goal.
United sought an instant response through Peter Kekeris as the winger hit a long shot from the left that skimmed wide of the left post.
Manly found that quick response in the 34th minute when Kenny’s clearance only went as far as Joseph Fox on the left just outside the box. The midfielder delicately clipped a ball into the area with Kenny out of his goal, and Koop wrapped his left foot around it on the volley to fire home.
St George kept their slender lead intact as they went into the sheds against United.
The second half got off to a frantic start, with Manly putting St George under pressure.
Koop had a great chance to make it a brace in the 59th minute, steering a first-time half-volley over the bar.
Photi almost had his hat-trick 76 minutes in when he latched onto a ball over the top and nodded it beyond Manly goalkeeper Levi Kaye, but a retreating Thomas Fay headed it away from danger.
Manly survived a goalmouth scramble from a corner seven minutes later as Noah Ovens had his first effort cleared off the line by Kieren Paull before Kaye caught the second attempt.
Right in the midst of a tense late battle that could have gone either way, the lights went out at Cromer Park for 10 minutes, stuttering the momentum.
Following the restart, Manly threw plenty forward, but the visitors held firm to earn an important win that pushed them further towards finals football.
The victory for the visitors has seen them embed themselves in the top six as they look set to solidify a finals series spot while the loss for Manly has mathematically seen them teeter on the brink of a host of other relegation threatened sides pending on Saturday and Sunday Round 28 results.
Match Stats
Manly United FC 1 (Benjamin Koop 34’)
St George City FA 2 (Jesse Photi 11’ 26’)
Friday 9 August 2024
Cromer Park, Cromer
Referee: Michael Weiner
Assistant Referees: Matthew Harris and Thomas Dale
Fourth Official: Mia Velarde
Manly United FC: 1. Levi Kaye, 2. Kieren Paull (16. Zayne Ahluwalia 86’), 6. Saxon Hillyer (3. Zac Sfiligoi 86’), 7. Peter Kekeris, 8. Joseph Fox (5. Thomas Fay 68’), 9. Benjamin Koop (20. Farah Koko 68’), 18. Presley Ortiz, 19. Alen Aganovic, 25. Rocco Pelle, 39. Stefano Rossello (11. Connor Rose 68’), 45. Bilal Belkadi
Substitutes Not Used: 31. Jay Coates
Yellow Cards: Saxon Hillyer 20’
Red Cards: Nil
St George City FA: 1. Jack Kenny, 2. Cameron Fong, 3. Caio De Godoy (7. Nathan Roberts 46’), 4. Solomon-Johnn Monahan-Vaiika, 5. Fumoto Kamada, 8. Dominic Cox, 11. Kosta Petratos, 14. Paolo Mitry (33. Louis Khoury 67’), 19. Jesse Photi (27. Zakariya Hammoud 89’), 25. Brodie Clarkson, 28. Noah Ovens
Substitutes Not Used: 17. Joshua Keremelevski, 21. Ryan Reid, 32. Mitchy Jomaa
Yellow Cards: Jesse Photi 90’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Jesse Photi (SGC)
2 – Rocco Pelle (MU)
1 – Dominic Cox (SGC)
Report by Tim Gibson
