Stallions make light work of Sharks with victory at the Shire

Marconi Stallions turned around their first loss of the season last week to easily take down Sutherland Sharks 2-0 at Seymour Shaw.

After suffering their first defeat of the season courtesy of Wollongong Wolves last weekend, Marconi Stallions wasted no time in bouncing back.

Just three minutes in, a questionable tackle by the Sutherland Sharks’ Dane Anderson set up a nice free kick for Marconi Stallions to the side of the box, which Dominic Costanzo expertly blasted into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

From there Marconi Stallions dominated, keeping the ball well within their area and causing grief for Sutherland Sharks goalkeeper Danijel Nizic.

The Sutherland Sharks had shifted their positions to be very defence heavy, which in turn made it difficult for any real attack.

Marconi Stallions’ Damian Tsekenis had multiple opportunities at goal in the first half, the first coming from a shot sweeping across goal in the 21st minute which skipper Marko Jesic just couldn’t reach for the tap in.

Marconi Stallions doubled their lead after 24 minutes with a scrappy attacking build up landing at the feet of James Bayliss, who thundered the ball past Nizic from distance.

Tsekenis had his second good chance minutes later with a close range strike, attempting to get underneath the keeper, but Nizic had him covered and used his legs to block.

Sutherland Sharks had their best opportunity all half near the break as Kotaro Katsuta slipped the ball to Anderson, but the resulting strike went straight into the hands of James Hilton.

The Sutherland Sharks came into the second half with the confidence of a whole different team, earning a couple of corners early on including a hard fought one by Reuben Awaritefe.

Marconi Stallions had plenty of opportunities in the second half, with Tsekenis falling agonisingly short on multiple occasions.

Richard Shoueiki produced the Sutherland Sharks’ best chance all game in the 63rd minute, dodging past the Marconi Stallions’ defenders and setting off a brilliant strike that was just pawed over the crossbar by Hilton.

Costanzo had another chance for Marconi Stallions straight after, finding his way just outside the box but the resulting shot was weak and easily picked up by Nizic.

The Sutherland Sharks had a final opportunity to get on the scoresheet as Peter Grozos crossed an iffy ball to Awaritefe, but he couldn’t find purchase and the chance disappeared.

Despite the loss, Sutherland Sharks coach Steven Zoric said he was impressed by his side’s resilience.

“We just asked for character today,” Zoric said.

“I felt like we were a bit slow off the blocks, which was disappointing, but I thought we grew into the game in the second half.

“There’s a lot of positives going forward, I felt like mentally a few weeks ago we would have conceded four or five to (Marconi Stallions), but we’re improving every week.”

Match Stats

Sutherland Sharks FC 0

Marconi Stallions FC 2 (Dominic Costanzo 4’, James Bayliss 24’)

Saturday May 17th, 2025

Seymour Shaw, Miranda

Referee: Brodie Merchant

Assistant Referees: Ethan Zvargulis and Lance Greenshields

Fourth Official: Mitchell Renton

Sutherland Sharks FC: 1. Danijel Nizic, 2. Lachlan Macdonald, 4. Lachlan Fields 3. Jordan Roberts 70’), 9. Reuben Awaritefe, 12. Ikko Ehode Arimoto, 15. Matthew Moric, 17. Richard Shoueiki (44. Tye McGowan 80’), 21. Jerry Skotadis, 22. Kotaro Katsuta, 23. Mason Fernandez, 32. Dane Anderson (7. Peter Grozos 45’)

Substitutes Not Used: 14. Daniel Susovic, 30. Sebastian Arranz, 36. Lucas Ciaramella

Yellow Cards: Matthew Moric 77’

Red Cards: Nil

Marconi Stallions FC: 1. James Hilton, 2. Tyren Burnie, 5. Lachlan Griffiths, 6. Dom Costanzo (12. Julian Monge 73’), 8. James Bayliss, 10. Marko Jesic (c) (9. Kyle Cimenti 73’), 16. Liam Youlley (7. Franco Maya 73’), 17. Damian Tsekenis, 18. George Daniel, 23. Brandon Vella, 24. Matej Busek (15. Jawad Rezai 80’)

Substitutes Not Used: 20. Patrick Williams (GK), 22. Aleksandar Gvozdenovic

Yellow Cards: Julian Monge 90+1

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings

3 – Damian Tsekenis (Marconi Stallions)

2 – James Bayliss (Marconi Stallions)

1 – Danijel Nizic (Sutherland Sharks)

By Katrina May