Sky Blues swept by Stallions
Marconi Stallions have taken all three points from a near-fully dominant 1-0 performance against Sydney FC at Marconi Stadium.
The first half was one of missed opportunities for Marconi Stallions.
Marko Jesic was dangerous out front as per usual, with a great chance coming in the ninth minute with the help of James Bayliss but just going wide of the near post.
Dom Costanzo had a perfect opportunity minutes later courtesy of a well placed free kick, but his shot went straight into the arms of Sydney FC custodian Gus Hoefsloot.
Sydney FC had their first real chance 25 minutes in as Joe Lacey was brought down in the box, but calls for a penalty were waved off by referee Danny Horstead.
Marconi Stallions had one of the craziest almost-goals of the season, a sequence which was kicked off by a mistake from Hoefsloot who sent what was meant to be a clearing ball straight to the feet of Tsekenis.
Tsekenis crossed a perfectly placed ball to Marko Jesic, who shocked everyone watching when his shot went off both posts before going to a Sydney FC defender, who was fouled by Tsekenis. The whole sequence was eventually ruled offside, despite arguments for a goal to stand.
Jesic’s final chance came in the final minute of regulation, but his header, set up by Tsekenis, went wide of the goal.
The start of the second half was once again frustrating for Marconi Stallions who, despite clearly dominating the match, continued to miss easy opportunities.
The best missed chance of the match came when Marconi Stallions were awarded a penalty after Tyler Williams brought down Franco Maya in the box, resulting in a penalty.
But Jesic, shockingly, sent the resulting kick way over the crossbar to the utmost delight from the Sydney FC players who knew they were let off.
Tsekenis was the one to finally break the deadlock in the 61st minute, powering through the Sydney FC defence and finding the back of the net in an easy finish.
Sydney FC failed to capitalise on any of the few chances they made, with Taye Hedley taking a shot prematurely near the end of regulation, and Mathias McAllister’s call for a penalty soon after waved off.
Marconi Stallions coach Peter Tsekenis said the scoreline could have been much different.
“I thought we were very dominant,” Tsekenis said.
“If we took our chances that we’ve created, it was a totally dominant performance.
“We missed a penalty, everything was gone against us in regards to scoring goals but if we didn’t get points from that game it would have been a disaster.”
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 1 (Damian Tsekenis 62’)
Sydney FC 0
Sunday June 29th, 2025
Marconi Stadium
Referee: Danny Horstead
Assistant Referees: Arinath Gobinath and Aaron Bloch
Fourth Official: James Makris
Marconi Stallions FC: 1. James Hilton (GK), 2. Tyren Burnie, 5. Lachlan Griffiths, 6. Dom Costanzo (24. Matej Busek 87’), 7. Franco Maya, 8. James Bayliss, 10. Marko Jesic (c) (14. Jake Trew 87’), 16. Liam Youlley (12. Julian Monge 90+4’), 17. Damian Tsekenis (9. Kyle Cimenti 87’), 18. George Daniel, 42. Tass Mourdoukoutas (35. Sebastian Kiceec 78’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Patrick Williams (GK)
Yellow Cards: Lachlan Griffiths 60’
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney FC: 4. Joseph Calusic (2. Nicholas Zdrillic 72’), 5. Corey Cronin (18. Oscar Gultekin 45’), 6. Tyler Williams (15. Samuel Lancaster 72’), 9. Mathias Macallister, 10. Taye Hedley, 14. Jared Middleton, 26. Dylan Rose (32. Junior Conde 77’), 27. Kyle Shaw (c), 29. Joe Lacey, 30. Gus Hoefsloot (GK), 34. Ethan Dyer (3. Reef Farias 72’)
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Jacob Cremen-Cowan
Yellow Cards: Kyle Shaw 34’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Dom Costanzo (Marconi Stallions)
2 – Damian Tsekenis (Marconi Stallions
1 – Gus Hoefsloot (Sydney FC)
