Spirit forced to settle for point with Sharks  

National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW League Leaders NWS Spirit FC were held to a 1-1 draw with Sutherland Sharks on Saturday night at Christie Park in a battling encounter. 

Spirit gave Sutherland plenty to think about in the first half, creating ample chances to be comfortably in front but went into halftime with a one-goal lead courtesy of Jordan Perez.

The Sharks pulled themselves back into the contest in the second half, grabbing an equaliser through Richard Shoueiki to see the points shared.

Spirit had the first shot of the match within two minutes when Jacob Chidiac lined up an effort from outside the box that flew narrowly wide of the left post.

The hosts continued to cause their opponents problems early on with some effective pressure high up the field.

The side conjured up a golden opportunity to take the lead 12 minutes in. Zayne Ahluwalia deftly floated the ball into the box from the right for Yu Okubo who nodded wide a point-blank chance.

Sutherland returned fire three minutes later as Daniel Wong lined up from the left edge of the box, but the ball rolled into Christopher Marques’ gloves.

Moments later, Spirit came even closer with Sharks’ goalkeeper Danijel Nizic called into two close-quarters stops against Jamie Percevski and Frankie Ljucovic.

The chances kept coming for the home team as a neat move down the right found Okubo who dragged the ball wide of the left post.

Sutherland started to claw back some control as the game moved towards the half-hour mark with Peter Grozos rifling a strike over the top.

Spirit nearly broke the deadlock again with five regular minutes to play. Jordan Perez executed a superb, volleyed cross from the left for Takumi Ofuka who fired over from a promising position.

Four minutes later, the league leaders finally had the opening goal—Perez with a point-point free-kick that bounced in front of Nizic, skidding inside the right post.

Perez’s late stunner proved to be the difference as the hosts headed into the sheds with a narrow advantage over their opponents.

Spirit carried on with attacking intent early in the second period, as Ofuka and Okubo drew low saves from Nizic, whose goalkeeping kept Sutherland in the match.

Perez was centimetres away from his second of the match in the 58th minute when a left-sided corner dropped down to the full-back who clipped the left post with his snapshot.

The Sharks moved up the field in the 74th minute through Jerry Skotadis, whose fierce strike from range was batted away by Marques.

Sutherland had improved their territory in the second half and looked more dangerous as the half continued.

Four minutes after Skotadis’ shot, Sutherland stunned their opponents with the equaliser. Lachlan Macdonald raced down the right and stood a cross up for Richard Shoueiki to head past Marques.

Sutherland’s equaliser prompted a frantic conclusion to the match as the teams sought to snatch a late winner.

Neither side could find a deciding touch in what remained as the match finished in a 1-1 draw.

Match Stats

NWS Spirit FC 1 (Jordan Perez 44’)

Sutherland Sharks FC 1 (Richard Shoueiki 78’)

Saturday 29 March 2025

Christie Park, Macquarie Park

Referee: Joel Crawford

Assistant Referees: Hayden Kaye and Arinath Gobinath

Fourth Official: Rory McFarlane

NWS Spirit FC: 1. Christopher Marques, 4. Bradie Smith, 5. Jordan Perez (8. Grant Cornwell 82’), 6. Corey Kavanagh, 7. Frankie Ljucovic 9. Yu Okubo, 13. Simon Nicholas, 15. Jamie Percevski, 17. Jacob Chidiac (20. Austin Oates 60’), 19. Zayne Ahluwalia (3. Kyah Williams 86’), 22. Takumi Ofuka

Substitutes Not Used: 12. Robert Fanella, 14. Marco Arambasic, 21. Harry Keys

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Sutherland Sharks FC: 1. Danijel Nizic, 2. Lachlan Macdonald, 6. Mohamed Ahmed, 7. Peter Grozos (14. Dylan Susovic 71’), 15. Matthew Moric, 17. Richard Shoueiki, 20. Jacob Tresoglavic (4. Lachlan Fields 71’), 21. Jerry Skotadis, 23. Mason Fernandez (22. Kotaro Katsuta 46’), 26. Jacob Garner, 58. Daniel Wong (8. Nicholas Sullivan 49’)

Substitutes Not Used: 3. Jordan Roberts, 30. Sebastian Arranz

Yellow Cards: Jerry Skotadis 42’, Richard Shoueiki 90’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings: 

3 – Jordan Perez (NWS)

2 – Danijel Nizic (SS)

1 – Richard Shoueiki (SS)

Report by Tim Gibson