NWS Spirit FC march on to victory at Edensor Park
NWS Spirit FC put in an impressive defensive performance to come away 2-0 winners over Sydney United 58 FC on Sunday afternoon.
It was sixth place hosting fourth place with Sydney United 58 FC facing NWS Spirit at the iconic Sydney United Sports Ground in a bid keep their place in the top six.
The match saw the return of goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic, who replaced Josip Orlovic in goal following the United custodian’s red card last week, over a decade since his last appearance for the side.
It was a battle of wills in the early minutes of the match as Spirit looked to retain possession and build up against a United side who remained staunch in defence.
The first chance came through Spirit’s Takumi Ofuka in the 6th minute, who was positioned on the edge of the 18-yard box at a corner and earned a chance from a clearance. However, the Spirit No. 22 scuffed his strike before ultimately seeing it fly wide.
United called Spirit goalkeeper Christopher Marques into action in the 11th minute when Leroy Jennings’ sublime cross-field ball landed on the head of Mason Wells, who prompted Marques into action with the keeper’s attempt to prevent the ball from crossing the goal line leading to a corner.
After their resultant corner was cleared behind by a Spirit defender, United earned another chance in the 12th minute that saw Anthony Tomelic arriving at the near post to steer a header toward the back post for a teammate, however no one was there to latch onto it.
Spirit found the opening goal in the 13th minute in terrific fashion after starting their play with Marques and proceeding to work their way up the pitch through superb two-touch passing. Ultimately, it was Harry Keys who received a great pass from Corey Kavanagh in behind a scattered United defence and setup Yu Okubo for an easy finish into an empty net. 1-0 to the visitors.
The away side were quick to curtail any chance of United producing an immediate equaliser, with Keys following up his assist by dragging down a speedy Matthew Hatch in the 16th minute and earning a yellow card in the process.
Marques had to react quickly in the 19th minute when Carlos De Oliveira’s dangerous free-kick from the left wing came close to sneaking in at the near post, with the keeper punching the ball away strongly.
Jennings did well to create a chance for his side in the 23rd minute after speeding past his defender and knocking a cross into the box that just evaded Aidan Milicevic and was played back to Marques by Frankie Ljucovic.
United’s attack began to click into gear as the match went on, with Milicevic playing a deft pass in behind for Zuvela, who bided his time before rocketing a strike into the top right corner that Marques pounced on and pulled away with both hands in the 27th minute.
Spirit’s No. 1 had to be brave in the 33rd minute to deny a United chance, dropping down urgently to get a hold of Bailey Rule’s squared pass across goal before holding strong to withstand Wells’ attempt to play at the ball that earned the United attacker a yellow card.
Having gone to ground a few times prior Spirit then lost Kavanagh to injury, giving Andre Takami the chance to make his debut for the club.
The home team were on the front foot from the outset of the second half, with substitute Mario Shabow and Wells crafting good chances for their side that led to no shots in the first five minutes.
Grant Cornwell, who had put in a classically sturdy captain’s performance up until this point in the match, was there when his side needed him in the 52nd minute to prevent Zuvela from knocking the ball in from the centre of the box.
De Oliveira had a dangerous opportunity to equalise for his side while standing over a free-kick just outside of the box in the 60th minute, however his low shot was unable to bypass the Spirit wall.
Cornwell secured himself a yellow card in the 60th minute for launching a ball up the pitch long after it had already crossed the boundary.
United launched into a counterattack in the 68th minute when Jennings was spotted by a teammate ahead of the halfway line, which led to the speedy attacker racing forward before being taken down by Kyah Williams, earning the Spirit defender a yellow card for his effort.
Spirit were rewarded for their resilient effort in the second half after Michael Konestabo’s found substitute Ollie Wiggin with an excellent pass on the right wing, which the No. 11 proceeded to laser across goal into the bottom left corner to make it 2-0 in the 81st minute.
Wells, who had put in a real effort for his side throughout the match, almost clawed a goal back in the 87th minute with a long-range rocket from outside of the box but was denied by the reach of Marques.
The visitors would then see out the match as 2-0 winners as they moved within three points of league leaders Rockdale Ilinden and the Marconi Stallions while it was a tough blow for the hosts who now sit a point above Sydney Olympic for the sixth and final spot for a Championship run.
United 58 do have a chance to redeem themselves winning this year’s first piece of silverware as they take on the Northern Tigers this Wednesday evening at 7pm at Valentine Sports Park for the 2025 Waratah Cup Final.
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 FC 0
NWS Spirit 1 (Yu Okubo 13’, Ollie Wiggin 81’)
Sunday 29th June, 2025
Sydney United Sports Centre
Referee: Nathan Shakespear
Assistant Referees: Thomas Gellatly & Patrick Teleki
Fourth Official: Thomas Dale
Sydney United 58 FC: 21. Vedran Janjetovic, 3. Bailey Rule 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 5. Anthony Tomelic (8. Mario Shabow 45’), 10. Carlos De Oliveira, 11. Matthew Hatch, 17. Michael Glassock, 19. Aiden Milicevic, 23. Mason Wells, 32. Leroy Jennings (22. Stephan De Robillard 75’), 37. Luke Zuvela (13. Alessandro Lacalandra 63’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Adrian-Jamie Bazina, 6. Thomas Makko, 14. Liam McGing,
Yellow Cards: Mason Wells 33’
Red Cards: Nil
NWS Spirit: 1. Christopher Marques, 3. Kyah Williams, 4. Bradie Smith, 6. Corey Kavanagh (18. Andre Takemi 38’), 7. Frankie Ljucovic (19. Zayne Ahluwalia 84’), 8. Grant Cornwell, 9. Yu Okubo, 10. Michael Konestabo, 13. Simon Nicholas, 21. Harry Keys (11. Ollie Wiggin 45’), 22. Takumi Ofuka (5. Jordan Perez 69’)
Substitutes Not Used: 51. Christophe Chen, 20. Austin Oates
Yellow Cards: Harry Keys 16’, Grant Cornwell 60’, Kyah Williams 68’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3: Christopher Marques (NS)
2: Grant Cornwell (NS)
1: Bradie Smith (NS)
Words by Matthew Badrov
