Macallister massacre at Cromer Park
Sydney FC thrashed Manly United 6-0 at Cromer Park in a mesmerising performance with one player stealing the headlines, local boy Mathias Macallister who scored five goals lighting up the Northern Beaches on a rainy Sunday evening.
It was a match to remember for Sydney FC’s young gun who really took the game on his own along with his teammates as Manly United had no answers to a rampaging Sky Blues outfit.
Early on Peter Kekeris couldn’t quite grip the ball with the goals beckoning as the hosts looked to open up the match.
Rocco Pelle then came close as he was unable to sneak in his header past Alexander Zaverdinos from close range.
After that it was all one-way traffic from the ‘Sky Blues’ as they tore the game wide open with two blistering strikes in the 6th and 9th minute.
Taye Hedley made no mistake with his finish courtesy of a brilliant ball inside the box laid on by Corey Cronin.
Then Mathias Macallister continued to shake the game up when his pinpoint header found the top corner.
Kekeris continued to be a force for Manly despite the scoreline when his lively run down the sidelines in the 17th minute almost resulting in something, only for Ethan Dyer to clear his pass out of play.
It continued to be a largely Sydney FC dominated half, and they perhaps should have had a one-man advantage in the 32nd minute when Bilal Belkadi caught the feet of Joseph Calusic.
The visitors ended the half with a damaging seven shots on target from eight chances.
Manly started the second half far better than they ended the first as Harry Van Der Saag went inches away from curling his shot into the bottom corner.
It didn’t take long for the young Sydney FC boys to flex their attacking muscle in the 50th minute when Hedley forced a diving two-handed save out of Kaye.
Four minutes later Sydney FC lit up once again with some quality attacking play. Lachlan Middleton placed a pinpoint through ball to Macallister who beat several Manly players before scoring.
Macallister incredibly completed his hattrick in the 58th minute from the edge of the box, after he ran through the middle of Aaron O’Driscoll and Alen Aganovic before he blasted his shot past Kaye.
However the local Northern Beaches marksman wasn’t done there causing havoc as in the 65th minute he had four, after his fancy footwork in the box saw him evade multiple Manly players before he unfurled into the far corner.
Sensationally in the 75th minute Macallister locked down goal number five of the evening when he again breezed through O’Driscoll and Aganovic, leaving Kaye unable to reach the ball in time.
The 6-0 scoreline sent a huge statement to the rest of the NPL Men’s NSW competition but one player once again caught the attention being Mathias Macallister.
“For us this is the standard. This is what we’re working on in training and the boys brought it,” said the young Sydney FC striker.
“The weather delay didn’t impact us. The long wait time in the locker rooms didn’t change anything. Our game plan was to get them early and that’s what we did.
“While for me personally I’m happy with how we played, and I want to score goals. we’re putting something special together and we are aiming to be finals bound for sure.”
Match Stats
Manly United 0
Sydney FC 6 (Taye Hedley 6’, Mathias Macallister 9’, 54’, 58’, 65’, 75’)
Sunday 15 June 2025
Cromer Park
Referee: Logan Jones
Assistant Referees: Patrick Teleki and Charbel Geha
Fourth Official: Ivica Covic
Manly United: 1.Levi Kaye, 2.Aaron O’Driscoll, (4.Jesse Piriz 62’), 6.Bilal Belkadi, 7.Peter Kekeris, (8.Stefano Rossello 62’), 9.Benjamin Koop, (10.Harry McCarthy 62’), (11.Lucas Meek 62’), 12.Rocco Pelle, 13.Taiga Kawano, (17.Farah Koko 62’), 19.Alen Aganovic, 23.Darcy Burgess, 26.Harry Van Der Saag, 28.Jasper Chipman
Unused subs: 18.Jay Coates
Yellow cards: Harry Van Der Saag 84’, Aaron O’Driscoll 89’
Red cards: None
Sydney FC: 4.Joseph Calusic, 5.Ethan Dyer, 6.Tyler Williams, 9.Mathias Macallister, 10.Taye Hedley, 12.Alexander Zaverdinos, 14.Jared Middleton, (15.Samuel Lancaster 69’), (17.Jacob Mclachlan 65’), (22.Zac Fowler 69’), 27.Lachlan Middleton, 29.Joe Lacey, (33.Marin France 65’), 39.Dylan Rose, 47.Corey Cronin
Unused subs: 1.Jacob Cremen-Cowan, 3.Kyle Shaw
Yellow cards: Lachlan Middleton 64’
Red cards: None
Player Ratings:
3: Mathias Macallister (SFC)
2: Alexander Zaverdinos (SFC)
1: Corey Cronin (SFC)
