Sharks new signings stun Ilinden
Sutherland Sharks have secured a significant win over NPL Men’s NSW Premiership contenders Rockdale Ilinden, prevailing 2-1 at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre.
The Sharks had several new faces making their debut following their mid-season signings, former Macarthur FC star Yianni Nicolaou alongside Matthew Jackson, Leo Mazis and ex-Sydney United 58 star Tariq Maia all wore the Sutherland kits for the first time against the league leaders.
It was a tense opening 20 minutes to the match, with Sutherland doing well to prevent Rockdale from finding their grove, with neither side having any major chances on goal.
As the minutes went on, Rockdale began to threaten, with a few awkward bounces inside Sutherland’s box, but they couldn’t find clear wind for a shot, with the away side holding on valiantly.
Up the other end, Sutherland forces Nicholas Sorras into action on a few occasions, but struggled to truly trouble the goalkeeper, who made a couple of comfortable saves.
In the 25th minute, Rockdale were beginning to force the opener, with the ball just not bouncing for them after multiple dangerous forays into Rockdale’s box.
But two minutes later, it was Sutherland who found the opener, with Lachlan Macdonald scoring a spectacular goal to put his side ahead at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre.
After holding possession in the final third, Tye Mcgowan slid the ball to Macdonald, who was 18 yards out, almost at the touchline.
The fullback looked to curl an audacious left-footed shot towards goal, and sensationally caught Sorras out, with a perfect looping finish that dipped just below the crossbar.
But in the 37th minute, Rockdale found their response, with Ali Auglah finishing off a beautiful goal.
After receiving the ball on the left, Giorgio Speranza played a perfect pass into the feet of Brendan Cholakian between the lines.
The crafty attacking midfielder received the ball, turned, and played a beautiful pass in behind, which found Alec Urosevski inside the box.
From an acute angle, Urosevski did well to strike a powerful effort towards goal, which was saved by Danijel Nizic, but Auglah had gambled on the follow up, and placed a pinpoint shot into the back of the net in a crucial goal for the home side.
Rockdale began the second half strongly, with linkup between Speranza and Cholakian seeing the latter strike just wide of the post.
The home side thoroughly dominated the opening 15 minutes of the second half, pinning Sutherland in their box and creating an abundance of half-chances.
But in the 60th minute, it took Sutherland just one attack to find a goal, re-taking the lead to stun Rockdale and their fans.
On a scintillating counter-attack, Leo Mazis drove forwards into a central area, before laying off the ball to Matthew Jackson wide.
After an exchange down the right flank, a Macdonald cutback found the feet of Mazis, who was free in the box, and thundered the ball home to restore Sutherland’s lead.
It was a breathtaking goal at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre, and set up an exhilarating last 30 minutes with the home side needing a win to comfortably retain top spot.
As expected, it was Rockdale who continued to dominate the game, but in the 78th minute, Sutherland missed a golden chance to secure victory.
Another slick counterattack saw Mazis released in behind, and have a powerful shot saved by Sorras.
The rebound fell perfectly to Macdonald, but he somehow couldn’t find the target from close range, keeping the game firmly in the balance.
As the minutes ticked on, both sides became evermore desperate, with Rockdale continuing to pile on the pressure in front of a vocal home crowd.
In stoppage time, Rockdale – as they had been all game – went close without finding that final touch, as a strong chance from Auglah inside the box couldn’t find the target, with the ball going over the bar.
And moments later, the fulltime whistle sounded, with Sutherland picking up a crucial win over the NPL Men’s NSW Premiership contenders, who suffered their first defeat since Round Eight.
With relegation hovering over the Sharks heads, the new faces and the huge win has sparked up new life at the Shire while it was a major setback for Ilinden who dropped three big points at home.
In another rarity its been four matches since current NPL Men’s NSW top goal scorer Alec Urosevski has failed to hit the target, sitting on 20 goals for the year, the lethal marksman will be sharpening his boots for a big match against Blacktown City next weekend.
Match Stats
Rockdale Ilinden FC 1 (Auglah 37’)
Sutherland Sharks FC 2 (Macdonald 27’, Mazis 60’)
Sunday 29 June, 2025
Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre
Referee: Craig Fisher
Assistant Referees: Cameron Wright and Amber Morris
Fourth Official: Hayden Michlmayr
Rockdale Ilinden FC: 1. Nicholas Sorras, 2. Hunter Elliott (88. Christopher Mcstay 67’), 4. James Nikolovski (23. Oliver Puflett 87’), 5. Giorgio Speranza, 6. Isaac Danzo, 7. Alec Urosevski (C), 9. Moudi Najjar (18. Jordan Graoroski 68’), 10. Brendan Cholakian, 11. Lochlan Constable (17. Brae Ovens 81’), 24. Ali Auglah, 99. Matthew Keremelevski
Substitutes Not Used: 16. Michael Marcevski, 20. Ronan Mulgrew
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Sutherland Sharks FC: 1. Danijel Nizic (C), 2. Lachlan Macdonald, 4. Lachlan Fields, 6. Mohamed Ahmed, 10. Yerasimakis Petratos (19. Tariq Maia 56’), 14. Leo Mazis (8. Nicholas Sullivan 95’), 15. Matthew Moric, 22. Kotaro Katsuta, 23. Mason Fernandez (21. Matthew Jackson 46’), 26. Yianni Nicolaou, 44. Tye McGowan (3. Jordan Roberts 74’)
Substitutes Not Used: 12. Ikko Ehode Arimoto, 30. Sebastian Arranz
Yellow Cards: Katsuta 68’, Moric 86’, Macdonald 88’
Red Cards: None
Player ratings:
3 – Lachlan Macdonald (SS)
2 – Leo Mazis (SS)
1 – Danijel Nizic (SS)
By Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)
