Rockdale storm back to defeat St George FC
Rockdale Ilinden continued its pursuit for top spot with a well deserved 3-1 victory over cross-suburb rivals St George FC at the Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday.
The hosts were looking to close the gap with leaders Marconi Stallions whilst the Saints were pushing hard to get into the play-off positions in a match that needed no extra commitment.
Several half-chances either way were wayward and never threatened the ‘keepers in a brisk start to proceedings with neither side settling nor dominating early on.
The best chance falling to Alec Urosevski ten minutes in but the shot was dragged across the face from an acute angle.
Former Ilinden old boy Jayden Casella, sporting a face mask, came close to catching Nick Sorras out with a cheeky free-kick the gloveman expected would be sent into the box but instead was fired in low toward his near post and barley inches wide of the woodwork.
Early bookings to both Brayden Sorge and Blake Ricciuto, not the last of the day, left no one in any doubt this was to be yet another fiercely contested local derby.
The two grounds are separated by just a couple of kilometres with the Saints having taken possession of the revamped Barton Park after sharing this pitch last campaign.
Indeed, both fixtures were played at this venue last season with Ilinden running out 4-1 and 4-0 winners, something St. George wanted to rectify.
And the road to redemption was on the cards however, through another former player in Bai Antoniou who opened the scoring in the 23rd minute to give the visitors the lead, much to the chagrin of the home supporters who made no secret of their feelings.
Casella came close to doubling the lead before half-time when bringing a stunning full length save from Sorras who diverted the ball out for a corner.
It was defended well by a scrambling defence at the second time of asking but Rockdale transitioned into attack by rapidly racing up the other end for Ali Auglah to level with a delightfully deft touch to turn the ball home.
It was hard on the Saints who moments earlier could have been two ahead to be pegged back and it proved the turning point of the half when Auglah pressured Nicholas Kalogerou into unluckily scoring an own-goal to give Rockdale the lead two minutes later.
Rockdale had once again this campaign come from behind leaving their guests to welcome the half-time whistle in order to regroup, refocus and re-energise.
Urosevski felt he was put through cleanly immediately on the restart only to be flagged offside. A decision the striker was vociferously in non-agreement with.
If the first-half was a bustling affair, the second stanza upped the tempo a notch or two and was definitely not for the faint of heart.
This was a ‘proper’ local derby in every sense of the term.
Casella, starting in the 10 shirt but swapped for 39 after the break, was a constant thorn in the side of his former club, always busy, always hustling and marauding down both flanks in turn yet proving unable to spark the revival his side so desperately required.
Pat O’Shea denied Auglah midway through the half when throwing himself at the ball in a last ditch effort to deny the goal scorer and from the corner Ricciuto’s header was cleared off the line. Ilinden were playing a more measured game, allowing Saints to pour forward and then hitting the gaps behind with speedy transitions in classical fashion.
But a rampant Rockdale were not to be denied and when Urosevski was sent through once more he did enough to round the defence and place the ball beyond Mackenzie Syron and ripple the net.
It was a highly charged match and tempers flared when Rockdale had a late strike disallowed, not the last of the game, leading to substitute Chan Yelchan entering the book for the Saints 90 seconds after coming on to the pitch.
Moudi Najjer, on very late for Rockdale, was denied a further goal which would have added the icing on the cake against a valiant and battling Saints outfit.
It proved a tricky, testy fixture, expertly handled by the officials led by the highly respected Kelly Jones, which included Coach Panni Nikas from the Rockdale bench being cautioned, but it was the home side who once again got one over their nearest local rivals to maintain their push for the top.
Thankfully, a calm head at the helm kept the simmering undertones in check to keep an entertaining football match flowing.
Special mention for Giorgio Speranza who celebrated his birthday on Friday and turned in a strong performance this afternoon.
Match Stats
Rockdale Ilinden 3 (Ali Auglah 39’, Nicholas Kalogerou 41 own goal’, Alec Urosevski 72’)
St. George FC 1 (Bai Antoniou 23’)
Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale
Sunday 1st June, 2025
Referee: Kelly Jones
Assistants: Arinath Gobinath and Alec Beale
Fourth Official: Harriet Gee
Rockdale Ilinden: 1. Nick Sorras, 2. Hunter Elliott, 5. Giorgio Speranza, 6. Isaac Danzo, 7. Alec Urosevski (9. Moudi Najjar 89’), 10.Brendan Cholakian (18. Jordan Graoroski 89’), 11. Lachlan Constable, 14. Brayden Sorge ( 90+2’), 22. Blake Ricciuto (16. Michael Marcevski 90+2), 24. Ali Auglah, 88. Chris McStay (23. Oliver Puflett 69’)
Subs not used: 20. Ronan Mulgrew
Yellow Cards: Brayden Sorge 12’, Blake Ricciuto 14’, Lachlan Constable 45’, Isaac Danzo 75’, *Panni Nikas 86’
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, 10. Jaden Casella, 13. Sunday Yona (7. Aeden O’Shea 46’), 14. Justin Poon (9.Chan Yelchan 81’), 15. Bai Antoniou (37. Jayden Dorevski 90’), 16.Kaidyn Wright
Subs not used: 20. Daniel Axford, 27. Jayden Seeto, 34. Kota Toyooka
Yellow Cards: Kaiydn Wright 26’, Jayden Casella 30’, Chan Yelchan 84’, Mark Rodic 84’, Pat O’Shea 89’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Ali Auglah (RI)
2 – Jaden Casella (SGFC)
1 – Alec Urosevski (RI)
By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock
