Sharks see off plucky Wanderers
Defence was key for the Sutherland Sharks as they fought off an impressive Western Sydney Wanderers side to take home three points with a 1-0 victory at Wanderers Football Park in round 3 of the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW competition on Friday.
The Sharks started off very strong, with three decent attacks on goal within the first few minutes. Their first shot on target came in the fourth minute as Maki Petratos jumped on a quick Sharks counter-attack only to find the ball caught safely in the hands of Wanderers keeper Tristan Vidackovic.
Daniel Wong was making a pest of himself to the Wanderers’ defence and it soon paid off, with a brilliant strike finding the back of the net after some fancy footwork lined up the shot in the 14th minute.
The visitors kept up the momentum with Petratos providing another good chance, stopped by Wanderers’ defender Nathan Barrie.
It was then time for the Wanderers to get on the attack, with Nicholas Badolato forcing Sharks keeper Danijel Nizic to palm his strike over the crossbar 24 minutes in. Ricky Fransen attempted to best the veteran keeper with a long-range strike but was easily caught by Nizic.
The Sharks were clearly banking on quick counter attacks to provide more goals in the first half and Lachlan Macdonald almost had the better of Vidackovic.
The final chances from the opening half came for the Sharks following a silly foul from Luka Knezevic on Petratos near the front of the box, but it was the Wanderers’ counter-attack that had real promise. The resulting shot was once again saved by Nizic, who was really tested by the home team’s attack.
The red and black were leading the attack to open the second half, with a brilliant sequence of Knezevic to Noah Peacock sent wide, and the follow up from Alaat Abdul-Ramen stopped by a scrambling Sharks defence.
Both sides were quick on the counter-attack, with the Sharks sending long balls through the defence while the Wanderers cut through with speed.
The Wanderers had a few good, scrappy chances to start the half but were let down by their one percenters in front of goal.
Wong had another great opportunity in front of goal, but the shot lacked power and went straight into Vidackovic’s gloves.
Wanderers captain Aidan Simmons had a chance of his own soon after, but his belting strike went wide of goal, and the resulting scrap for the ball saw Dylan Susovic clear it to safety. Susovic then followed up his heroics with a yellow card for a dodgy tackle.
Wong had the final opportunity of the evening, with his header off a well-placed free kick hitting the crossbar.
Sharks coach Steve Zoric said his defence really won that game for them.
“It was a good team effort defensively,” Zoric said.
“They’re putting in the effort, they’re staying structured, they’re working hard on the training field and now we’ve got two clean sheets in a row.”
Match Stats
Western Sydney Wanderers FC 0
Sutherland Sharks FC 1 (Daniel Wong 14’)
Friday 21st February, 2025
Wanderers Football Park, Rooty Hill
Referee: Jackson Mackie
Assistant Referees: Matthew Harris and Luke Chapman
Fourth Official: Jake Rose
Western Sydney Wanderers FC: 1. Tristan Vidackovic (GK), 2. Nathan Barrie, 4. Ricky Fransen, 8. Nicholas Badolato (18. Awan Luai 70’), 9. Alaat Abdul-Rahman (26. Anthony Barbic 78’), 10. Luka Knezevic (11. Kaan Nizam 43’), 22. Jesse Cameron, 27. Julian Cop, 31. Aidan Simmons (C), 34. Meliwethu Nkomo, 38. Noah Peacock (16. Johnny Pavlovic 55’)
Substitutes Not Used: 5. Lachlan Tilt, 20. Lucas Sinnott (GK)
Yellow Cards: Luka Knezevic 43’, Alaat Abdul-Rahman 63’, Kaan Nizam 76’, Julian Cop
Red Cards: Nil
Sutherland Sharks FC: 1. Daniejel Nizic, 2. Lachlan Macdonald, 6. Mohamed Ahmed, 10. Yerasimakis Petratos (87. Thomas Stobierski 80’), 12. Ikko Ehode Arimoto, 14. Dylan Susovic (8. Nicholas Sullivan 80’), 21. Jerry Skotadis, 23. Mason Fernandez (5. Takahide Umebachi 15’ (17. Richard Shoueiki 57’)), 26. Jacob Garner, 58. Daniel Wong
Substitutes Not Used: 3. Jordan Roberts, 30. Sebastian Arranz
Yellow Cards: Jacob Garner 70’, Kotaro Katsuta 71’ Dylan Susovic 73’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Danijel Nizic (SS)
2 – Nicholas Badolato (WSW)
1 – Daniel Wong (SS)
By Katrina May (katrinaa_mayy)
