Manly United ended their season with a flurry as they edged out Wollongong Wolves 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Macedonia Park.
Wollongong went into the game needing to win and requiring St George City to beat Sydney United 58.
Presley Ortiz opened the scoring for Manly midway through the half before Jake Trew equalised heading into halftime.
Ortiz restored Manly’s lead later on in the second to see United finish with two wins from their last two games.
The game got off to a slow start, with neither team able to control the ball for long spells.
Manly used the left side well with Farah Koko finding space.
The side put this to good use and grabbed the lead in the 22nd minute. A long Levi Kaye throw sent Koko on his way down the left where he slipped a clever ball through to Ortiz who managed slide a low first-time finish under Vedran Janjetovic.
Coach Patrick Zwaanswijk said that the goal had similar elements to a chance the A-League trialling Ortiz had against Sydney United 58 the previous week.
“It was similar to last week where he tried to go around the defender and let the defender come back [to make a block], so he let the keeper make a save [today],” Zwwanswijk said.
“If you hit the target and he [the goalkeeper] doesn’t make a save, it’s a goal.”
The Wolves – who had been struggling to create chances in the first period – restored parity on the stroke of halftime.
Sebastian Hernandez opted to cross the ball in early rather than beating his man and found Trew who scuffed a shot that Levi Kaye was unable to claw away.
Trew’s goal was a lifeline for Wollongong as they went into the sheds level, needing only a goal to give themselves a shot at finals football.
The visitors almost re-established their lead soon after halftime, when Wolves defender Andre Takami’s tackle ricocheted towards the right of the box. Eventually, Benjamin Koop found Ortiz centrally who dragged a shot wide of the left post.
However, Wollongong should have taken the lead in the 51st minute. Takumi Ofuka slipped Jake Trew into the box where Kaye pulled off a big save. The ball bounced back to Lachlan Scott who skied his shot.
As the game wore on, it became more transitional as the Wolves committed numbers forward in search of a winner.
Wollongong came close again 71 minutes in when Dylan Ryan’s left-sided cross was nodded narrowly past the left post by Chris McStay.
Manly focussed plenty of their play down their right-hand side in the second half with Kieren Paull and substitute Koop linking up well.
Moments after this latest Wolves chance, Manly regained their advantage. Koop played the ball into Paull in the right of the box who clipped a cross toward Ortiz on the penalty spot where the attacker directed a header into the goal.
Wollongong became more desperate and moved to a three-back system for the final 10 minutes of the match, yet chances remained scarce.
They had a chance in the 88th minute through Damon Gray who managed to pick up the ball in the left of the box. The substitute attacker lashed a shot goalwards that Manly substitute goalkeeper Jay Coates tipped over the top.
There was one final opportunity for Wollongong right at the death. Alex Masciovecchio got in a cross from the right that McStay glanced wide of the far post.
In the end, the hosts were left rue what could have been, losing their final match and missing out on finals football.
For Manly, the result sees them finish with back-to-back wins in the 2024 NPL Men’s NSW campaign.
Coach Patrick Zwaanswijk said he was pleased to see his team take some of the chances against the Wolves that they had been missing in other games this season.
“I think we did really well against Sydney United [58] where we created a lot of chances but we just didn’t get the goals,” he said.
“Today we created some chances but we were a little bit more finessed and we took our chances sometimes.
“We do not ‘not’ created chances, it’s just we don’t score enough goals.
“So it was really pleasing to see that today.”
Match Stats
Wollongong Wolves FC 1 (Jake Trew 45’ )
Manly United FC 2 (Presley Ortiz 22’ 72’)
Sunday 25 August 2024
Macedonia Park, Berkeley
Referee: Eric Saba
Assistant Referees: Joshua Eiser and Aisha Strutt
Fourth Official: Matt Staples
Wollongong Wolves FC: 20. Vedran Janjetovic, 2. Harrison Buesnel, 4. Dylan Ryan, 5. Banri Kanaizumi, 6. Samuel Riak, 7. Takumi Ofuka, 8. Andre Takami, 9. Jake Trew (Damon Gray 65’), 11. Sebastian Hernandez (25. Alex Masciovecchio 65’), 24. Lachlan Scott, 88. Christopher McStay
Substitutes Not Used: 3. Darcy Madden, 13. Oliver Yates, 15. Dax Kelly, 29. Ben Giason
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Manly United FC: 1. Levi Kaye (31. Jay Coates 80’), 2. Kieren Paull, 4. Jesse Piriz, 8. Joseph Fox, 11. Connor Rose (16. Zayne Ahluwalia 39’), 18. Presley Ortiz, 19. Alen Aganovic, 20. Farah Koko (7. Peter Kekeris 58’), 39. Stefano Rossello (12. Miguel Bauza 46’), Bilal Belkadi (Benjamin Koop 46’)
Substitutes Not Used: 25. Rocco Pelle
Yellow Cards: Bilal Belkadi 42’, Peter Kekeris 78’, Zac Sfiligoi 86’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Presley Ortiz (MU)
2 – Kieren Paull (MU)
1 – Zac Sfiligoi (MU)
Report by Tim Gibson
