Late Saints heartbreak as Spirit rescue point
In what’s been the tale of St George FC’s season, closing matches has been a tough ask following yet another late heartbreak as NWS Spirit FC secured a point with a last gasp goal in injury time as the round 12 match ended 2-2 at Christie Park on Saturday.
Both sides starting positively but it was the hosts who took the lead on the quarter hour. Zayne Ahluwalia scored his second of the season with a strike outside the area. Ahluwalia smartly caught St George keeper Mackenzie Syron by surprise with his right footed strike which snuck in at the near post.
While for their part, St George themselves were also looking dangerous creating a few half chances before their equaliser. Justin Poon and Sunday Yona in particular looked promising in their attack as they pushed for a much needed goal.
The equaliser did come thanks to a free-flowing attack down the left. Poon involved with a cutback to Bai Antoniou whose shot took a deflection off Michael Konestabo that hit the back of the net in the 33rd minute.
A chance for a second soon followed with Christopher Marques making a crucial intervention cutting out a ball across the face in the area from Sunday Yona to Jaden Casella. The game was very much a tight one as both sides wrestled for control of the midfield but it remained 1-1 at the break.
The hosts, who had hit a poor patch having failed to register a win in their last four matches after a great start to the year had the first couple of good chances of the second half.
Mackenzie Syron produced a diving save to deny Corey Kavanagh from his shot just outside the area in the 50th minute. Takumi Ofuka soon followed up with that effort firing over the bar from the second phase of the resulting set piece as David Perkovic’s men went in search of that elusive second goal.
It was St George who scored their second to take the lead in the 56th minute much to the angst of the home fans. Justin Poon played the provider once again as he released a smart ball following a good passage of play from Saints captain Troy Danaskos, Poon found Casella who cut back from the left by-line for the easy finish.
The Saints were seeking redemption after falling to a ten-man Sydney United 58 outfit last week as they had their tails up against the one-time competition league leaders.
Now chasing the game, Ahluwalia nearly doubled his tally in the 70th minute. This time his left footed shot finished failed to hit the back of the net while Marco Arambasic was denied by an offside flag soon after.
Chances started to flow at a quicker rate at either end before the hosts found their equaliser in injury time.
The ever reliable Grant Cornwell popping up with a rare goal, arriving late on the scene with a strikers finish into the bottom left following a lovely assist by Yu Okubo.
The match ended 2-2 a-piece with NWS Spirit FC further losing pace from the competition league leaders Marconi Stallions while it was a point to the good for the Saints who have been a tough team to crack in 2025.
Match Stats
NWS Spirit 2 (Ahluwalia 15’, Cornwell 91’)
St George FC 2 (Konestabo OG 33’, Casella 56’)
Saturday 26th April, 2025
Christie Park, Macquarie Park
Referee: Stephen Lucas
Assistant Referees: Isaac Riggs & Joshua Kermond
Fourth Official: Alana Zic
NWS Spirit: 1. Christopher Marques, 3.. Kyah Williams (14. Marco Arambasic 84’), 4. Bradie Smith (16. Charlie Broomhead 84’), 6. Corey Kavanagh (8. Grant Cornwell 79’), 7. Frankie Ljucovic, 9. Yu Okubo, 10. Michael Konestabo (17. Jacob Chidiac 64’), 13. Simon Nicholas, 15. Jamie Percevski, 19. Zayne Ahluwalia, 22. Takumi Ofuka (21. Harry Keys 64’)
Substitutes Not Used: 51. Christophe Chen
Yellow Cards: Konestabo 41’, Cornwell 87’
Red Cards: Nil
St George FC: 99. Mackenzie Syron, 3. Troy Danaskos, 4. Mark Rodic, 5. Nicholas Kalogerou, 6. Pat O’Shea, 8. Evangelo Souris (16. Kaidyn Wright 72’), 10. Jaden Casella (23. Javier Rodriguez 87’), 13. Sunday Yona (12. Thomas Dunn 68’), 14. Justin Poon, 15. Bai Antoniou, 27. Jayden Seeto
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Daniel Axford, 34. Kota Toyooka,, 37. Jayden Dorevski
Yellow Cards: Casella 4’, Antoniou 32’, Syron 74’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3- Justin Poon (STG)
2- Zayne Ahluwalia (NWS)
1- Evangelo Souris (STG)
By Justin Smith
