Stallions finish in second with eyes on the Championship
The Marconi Stallions capped off the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s regular season with a 3-1 victory over the Western Sydney Wanderers.
An early goal to Domenic Costanzo in the 5th minute opened up the match, followed by a goal to Western Sydney’s Meliwethu Nkomo in the 29th minute.
The game was lock at 1-1 until Milislav Popovic scored in the 72nd minute, with Dylan Susovic securing a third for the hosts in the 90th minute.
Having already secured a second-place finish, the win was an extra cherry on top for Marconi and was a fantastic result on a huge occasion for a loyal Stallions stalwart.
In a monumental achievement in Australian football, Marconi’s Brandon Vella was honoured for becoming the only player in the club’s history to reach 250 matches.
Marconi will now play the highest ranked winner of the mid-week finals matches, while the Western Sydney Wanderers finish off their 2024 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s season.
The Stallions opened the scoring early in the match, with a sensational strike from Costanzo in the 5th minute.
Costanzo received the ball from Jonathan Soares and took the opportunity to shoot from range, with minimal pressure from the Wanderers defensive line.
The young visitors had an opportunity to get on the scoreboard in the 15th minute from a free kick.
Ryley Hollingdale sent a strike towards the target, however Marconi ‘keeper James Hilton was able to collect.
Nkomo sent a strike straight to the palms of Hilton in the 26th minute as the visitors continued to search for a way into the match.
Dallo Sandy was unlucky not to get on the scoreboard in the 29th minute of the match as his effort rattled off the crossbar.
The Wanderers continued to build on their momentum, breaking onto the scoreboard moments later in the 29th minute.
Some quality ball movement saw Nkomo with the ball inside the 18-yard box and the attacker confidently sent the ball over the line to even the score.
James Bayliss sent a strike blazing towards the target in the 45th minute, however Wanderers ‘keeper Lucas Sinnott was able to keep it from crossing the line.
The following corner gave the hosts another opportunity, with Kyle Cimenti’s bicycle kick also being denied by Sinnott.
Marko Jesic tried his luck at heading in the parried ball, but Sinnott was again able to deny, keeping the score level at the half-time break.
Substitute Matej Busek came close early in the second half, however his effort skewed wide.
He had a second opportunity in the 49th minute, but again couldn’t meet the target.
Bayliss had the opportunity to take back the lead in the 68th minute as Cimenti laid the ball off to him, however his effort soared over the bar.
Evangelos Kalamvokis sent an impressive shot toward goal in the 75th minute, however his strike couldn’t reach the target.
An ambush in front of goal in the 76th minute saw Marconi take the lead again.
Bayliss sent the hosts’ free kick low into the area and the ball popped around to several players before it fully passed over the line from the foot of substitute Popovic.
Marconi’s George Daniel tried his luck with an ambitious shot from range in the 87th minute, but it sailed over the bar.
The Stallions put the icing on the cake of the match with a 90th minute goal from substitute Susovic.
Susovic received the ball from Busek at the right corner of the 18-yard box and fired a low ball into the netting, finishing up the match with a 3-1 victory for the hosts.
Marconi coach Peter Tsekenis was able to take advantage of his sides secure finals position to allow players to get more minutes on the pitch.
“We tinkered with the line up in regards to players needing minutes, suspensions and pending suspensions,” he explained.
“There were some Boyd tired out there, they didn’t have enough minutes recently so it was good for them to have a hit out.
“There were some good signs there for the boys that I’ll look to if I need them to come in [to the squad] in the finals.
“Hopefully we’ve freshened up everyone else that didn’t play and we’re ready to play whoever we need to play in the semi final next week.”
Western Sydney Wanderers coach Richard Cardozo was proud of his side despite the result.
“I think the boys were fantastic in most parts of the game,” he said.
“They were probably soft goals to concede, we probably should have done a little bit better to block shots.
“I think we probably deserved a little bit more out of the game, but I’m still proud of the boys and how they’re developing.
“Each week they’re showing they’re capable of playing this level and potentially higher.
“Hopefully with a little bit of luck we can keep a lot of these boys together and next season keep building the same way.”
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 3 (Costanzo 5’, Popovic 76’, Susovic 90’)
Western Sydney Wanderers FC 1 (Nkomo 29’)
Sunday 25 August, 2024
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Stephen Lucas
Assistant Referees: Matthew Harris & Jackson Tippett
Fourth Official: Craig Fisher
Marconi Stallions: 1. James Hilton, 3. Cameron Windust, 5. James Bayliss, 6. Domenic Costanzo (24. Matej Busek 45’), 10. Marko Jesic (17. Milislav Popovic 45’), 18. George Daniel, 19. Kyle Cimenti, 20. Yuki Kitano, 23. Brandon Vella, 25. Jonathan Soares (29. Luke Raso 58’, 14. Dylan Susovic 72’), 26. Matthew Martignago (36. Aleksandar Gvozdenovic 45’)
Substitutes Not Used: 40. Patrick Williams
Yellow Cards: Daniel 33’
Red Cards: Nil
Western Sydney Wanderers FC: 1. Lucas Sinnott, 3. Matthew O’Donoghue (14. Luka Knezevic 62’), 11. Meliwethu Nkomo (35. Kazan Nizam 74’), 18. Awan Lual, 23. Marcus Fernandez (2. Lachlan Henderson 83’), 25. Ryley Hollingdale, 27. Julian Cop (8. Nicholas Badolato 83’), 29. Evangelos Kalamvokis, 36. Dallo Sandy, 37. Ricky Fransen, 47. Edmun Haddad (12. Lachlan Tilt 74’)
Substitutes Not Used: 30. Marcus Petrovski
Yellow Cards: Haddad 34’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – James Bayliss (MS)
2 – Brandon Vella (MS)
1 – Domenic Costanzo (MS)
-By Madeline Riley
