Stallions defeat United 58 in old guard derby
Marconi Stallions saw off Waratah Cup Champions Sydney United 58 FC with a 2-0 win in one of the most prestigious derbies of the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW competitions thanks to goals from Marko Jesic in the first half and Jake Trew very late in the contest.
For Marconi this was now their second win in a row as they continue to pile pressure on rivals Rockdale Ilinden in top spot.
For Sydney United 58 though this match was coming off a mid-week Waratah Cup final triumph and there were signs throughout the game that it may have taken a toll on the players having to back up again a few days later.
The first real chance of the contest didn’t arrive until the 20th minute and it belonged to Sydney United when an astray back pass by the Marconi defence forced goalkeeper James Hilton into a scrambling save at the feet of Luke Zuvela.
However, it was Marconi that took the lead shortly afterwards as captain Marko Jesic scored in the 23rd minute. From the right side of the box he slotted the ball home thanks to a beautiful glancing header, after receiving a delightful cross from the right by Franco Maya to give the home side the advantage midway through the first stanza of play.
In the 28th minute Liam Youlley curled the ball from just outside the area towards goal but was denied by veteran goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic who handled nicely.
A few minutes later Maya tried his luck from distance only to be thwarted by an alert Janjetovic and, in the 40th minute, a dangerous in-swinging free-kick by Dominic Costanzo from the left forced the Sydney United custodian to punch the ball away from danger.
Just prior to the break Youlley dispossessed his defender and charged towards goal before firing just wide of the mark for the home side, but in reality these were no more than half chances in what was a first half of tightly controlled football fitting of a local derby.
The second half’s opening salvo was on the hour mark. A dangerous free-kick from Carlos De Oliveira from the right for Sydney United avoided all and sundry and finished just wide of the left hand post.
In the 65th minute Marconi replied through Maya who created some lovely space just outside the box before unleashing a beautiful left foot shot that ended up fractionally off target.
A few minutes later Sydney United gifted the ball to Matej Busek but his shot was deflected and Hilton made the easy save.
In the 87th minute a precise corner from Sydney United found Michael Glassock but his header was across the face of goal and just wide of the mark.
Marconi doubled their lead in the 90th minute thanks to Jake Trew who had only been on the field for a few minutes. He sprinted down the left channel, drifted inside and found himself with only the ‘keeper to beat which he did in style before slotting the ball into the top corner of the net and it was game over at that point.
After the game Marconi coach Peter Tsekenis was happy with the win and especially given some recent injury woes.
“We have had some issues with our centre-backs which was well documented,” he stated.
“We have found a replacement in Tass [Mourdoukoutas] who is doing a fantastic job.
“We now have had two clean sheets and two wins, and we needed it today because this was a good United team that has just come off a Cup win and they may have been a bit tired.
“It was important for us at home to get the three points especially as the table sits at the moment.
“Rockdale is number one because of goals but there are eight games still to go and no team can really falter from here on because you will pay the price.
“We are just taking it one game at a time and we want to make sure that we play well and then the results will look after themselves.”
Sydney United 58 coach Ante Juric on the other hand was a bit disappointed with his side but knew that Marconi were a quality team at home.
“It was a tight game and there wasn’t much in it,” he told Football NSW.
“However, there were a lot of errors from our end and we made it difficult for ourselves, and there may have been a bit of fatigue from midweek but that’s no real excuse.
“I wasn’t happy at all with our first half as we gave the goal away but in the second half we were a different team, full of energy and heart and we know that we can do better overall.”
Match Stats
MARCONI STALLIONS: 2 (Jesic 23’, Trew 90’)
SYDNEY UNITED 58 FC: 0
Sunday 5th July
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Jake Rose
Assistant referees: Alessandro Llana, Aaron Bloch
Fourth Official: James Makris
MARCONI STALLIONS: 1. James Hilton, 2. Tyren Burnie, 5. Lachlan Griffiths, 6. Dominic Costanzo (24. Matej Busek 63’), 7. Franco Maya (9. Kyle Cimenti 91’), 8. James Bayliss, 10. Marko Jesic, 13. Tass Mourdoukoutas, 16. Liam Youlley (12. Julian Monge 80’), 17. Damian Tsekenis (14. Jake Trew 63’), 18. George Daniel.
Substitutes not used: 20. Patrick Williams, 24. Matej Busek, 35. Sebastian Kiceec.
Yellow Cards: D. Tsekenis 53’, Bayliss 59’, Trew 83’
Red Cards: Nil
SYDNEY UNITED 58 FC: 21. Vedran Janjetovic, 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 8. Mario Shabow (43. Michael Pratezina 72’), 10. Carlos De Oliveira, 11. Matthew Hatch (7. Finn Ballard-McBride 46’), 17. Michael Glassock, 19. Aidan Milicevic (6. Thomas Makko 80’), 23. Mason Wells (14. Liam McGing 46’), 32. Leroy Jennings, 37. Luke Zuvela (30. Marco Arambasic 46’).
Substitutes not used: 20. Adrian Bazina.
Yellow Card: McGing 80’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Franco Maya (MS)
2 – Marko Jesic (MS)
1 – Michael Glassock (SU)
By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Joe Russo
