Syron the hero to the rescue in stalemate
A stunning 85th minute penalty save from Mackenzie Syron has seen St George FC secure a point against Manly United in a nil-all draw on a rainy Friday evening at Cromer Park.
The match-up began with some early pressure from St George FC in the opening two-minutes which witnessed Matthew O’ Donoghue dislodge the ball away from Justin Poon for the corner kick.
Then it was Aaron O’Driscoll who flew into action to head away Evangelo Souris’ pass into the area.
In the 5th minute St George FC’s Nicholas Kalogerou went on a mesmerising run, tripping up Jasper Chipman on the edge of the box before his shot blazed over the bar.
Mackenzie Syron won the race to the ball twice to deny Lucas Meek an opener in the 22nd minute.
St George FC saw Aedan O’Shea taken out by Jesse Piriz in the 28th minute. Then four-minutes later he was again the victim of a poor challenge and substituted.
Manly unexpectedly however in the 52nd minute nearly undid all of St George’s hard work as Meek had his attempt palmed away by Syron before Koko Farah was denied due to offside.
St George returned serve in the 63rd minute through Kalogerou as his mid-air chance from the sidelines was chaotically thwarted by a diving Levi Kaye.
Nine-minutes later Meek blew his one-on-one chance against Syron, shooting too wide of the far post.
As the game reached its climax, Casella forced a stunning save out of Kaye in the 81st minute to deny an otherwise clear-cut strike.
Harry Van Der Saag soon after should have score the winner from centre metres away as he fired over the crossbar.
In the 85th minute he redeemed himself forcing a ‘Saints’ handball in the penalty area. Lucas Meek however couldn’t capitalise as his spot kick was sensationally saved in the corner by Syron to keep the visitors at bay.
That save was to be the final major highlight as St George FC hung on for a point against Manly United.
Post-match Mackenzie Syron spoke about his penalty save as well as clinching a point in what is a tricky place to come to on a Friday night.
“My first thoughts were don’t let it go in but for me it was important to keep a clear head and not be distracted,” Syron stated to Football NSW about the penalty save.
“Thankfully the result went my way, but from a goalkeeping standpoint, sometimes you need luck on your side. It’s all about the fundamentals and getting it right.
“For us a point is a positive step in the right direction. Now we just need to score some more goals next week.”
Match Stats
Manly United 0
St George FC 0
Friday 16 May 2025
Cromer Park
Referee: Craig Fisher
Assistant Referees: Isaac Riggs and Jasper White
Fourth Official: Rory McFarlane
Manly United: 1.Levi Kaye, 2.Matthew O’Donoghue, 4.Jesse Piriz, (6.Bilal Belkadi 65’), 8.Stefano Rossello, 10.Harry McCarthy, 11.Lucas Meek, (12.Rocco Pelle 65’), (13.Taiga Kawano 70’), (14.Maxwell Pengelly 75’), 19.Alen Aganovic, (23.Darcy Burgess 65’), 26.Harry Van Der Saag, 28.Jasper Chipman, 33.Aaron O’Driscoll, 38.Farah Koko
Unused subs: 21. Anthony Carreras
Yellow cards: Jesse Piriz 29’
Red cards: None
St George FC: 3.Troy Danaskos, 4.Mark Rodic, 5.Nicholas Kalogerou, 6.Pat O’Shea, 7.Aedan O’Shea, 8.Evangelo Souris, 10.Jaden Casella, (12.Thomas Dunn 90’), (13.Sunday Yona 83’), 14.Justin Poon, 15.Bai Antoniou, (16.Kaidyn Wright 32’), 27.Jayden Seeto, 99.Mackenzie Syron
Unused subs: 20.Daniel Axford, 34.Kota Toyooka, 37.Jayden Dorevski
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: None
Player Ratings:
3: Mackenzie Syron (SGFC)
2: Jaden Casella (SGFC)
1: Aaron O’Driscoll (MU)
