Wanderers dealt late cruel blow thanks to Piriz winner at the death
The Western Sydney Wanderers were dealt with a cruel blow to its survival chances after succumbing to a 90th minute winner from Manly United FC’s Jesse Piriz as the Northern Beaches team prevailed in an epic 3-2 win at Cromer Park on Friday evening.
After coming on as a substitute, Piriz produced a 90th minute winner after he smashed in his header off the far post much to the delight of the home fans who have witnessed a number of late chargers from Manly United.
Antony Barbic kick started the goal action early as the young Wanderer thumped in a headed strike from close-range just two-minutes in to give Western Sydney the lead.
What followed was an early onslaught of Wanderers chances.
Six-minutes following their opener, Leon Alizart found himself through on goals only for Harry McCarthy to steal the ball away, while in the 14th minute Nicholas Badolato’s dangerous free kick into the box was met by Farah Koko who headed the ball away to safety for Manly.
Slowly but surely the hosts began to claw their way back into the match and they looked particularly lively in the 16th minute when a bounding Koko run ended in McCarthy scuffing his shot wide of the goals.
Manly continued to press for an equaliser and again came close in the 28th minute when Lucas Sinnott punched the ball over and away from the head of ‘Irishman’ Aaron O’Driscoll with both hands.
Alarmingly in the 30th minute, Matthew O’Donoghue went down as he suffered a collision with Awan Lual, but thankfully he walked off the field ok as Western Sydney ended the first half with a slight advantage.
Koko soared into the second half on a mission as he turned Lachlan Tilt inside out as he went on a mesmerising into the Wanderers box in the 49th minute, before Tilt eventually stole the ball off him.
Three minutes later Manly opened their account for the evening after Stefano Rossello found Lucas Meek with a brilliant pass across the face of goals with the American making no mistake and it was 1-1.
It was of course Koko who then helped snatch Manly the lead in the 65th minute. With the ball at his feet, the former Western Sydney Wanderer evaded several defenders before he unleashed from long range and made it 2-1.
Richie Cardozo’s young troops knew what was at stake and a glimmer of hope was brought back to the side in the 80th minute when Awan Lual fired home after Leon Alizart expertly picked him out with a great diagonal pass.
That goal spurred on the Wanderers and Dallo Sandy could have put his name in lights for the club as he went one on one with Manly keeper Levi Kaye only to fire his shot over the crossed in the 87th minute.
Football can be a cruel game and Piriz made Western Sydney pay dearly for that missed opportunity as the electric substitute scored a 90th minute header that clattered in off the far post to seal a truly topsy-turvy result for the hosts.
Reflecting on his match winning goal, Jesse Piriz was selfless in his assessment.
“I just had to put it on target and make sure I was in the right spot for the boys, they did all the hard work for me.”
Farah Koko meanwhile was overjoyed with emotion following his side’s thrilling 3-2 against his former club.
“The boys are making me feel confident and are helping me to play a big part in the team. Everyone’s doing their job and I’m feeling great.
“When I scored, I just closed my eyes and hit it and it went on target. We want to keep on getting wins like today every week, that’s what we are here to do.”
The win gave Manly United a huge boost in keeping its distance away from the dreaded relegation drop but it was a tough pill to swallow for the Wanderers side who will be fighting till round 30 to stay in NSW’s top tier NPL Men’s competition.
Match Stats
Manly United 3 (Lucas Meek 52’, Farah Koko 65’, Jesse Piriz 90’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 2 (Antony Barbic 2’, Awan Lual 80’)
Friday 25 July 2025
Cromer Park
Referee: Hugh Fenton-White
Assistant Referees: Patrick Teleki and Mia Velarde
Fourth Official: Hayden Langholz
Manly United: 1.Levi Kaye, 2.Aaron O’Driscoll, 3.Matthew O’Donoghue, (4.Jesse Piriz 76’), 8.Stefano Rossello, 10.Harry McCarthy, 11.Lucas Meek, (15.Max Martinello 33’), 17.Farah Koko, 19.Alen Aganovic, 23.Darcy Burgess, (25.Cai Evans 76’), 26.Harry Van Der Saag, 28.Jasper Chipman, (29.Will Faulder 66’)
Unused subs: 14.Maxwell Pengelly, 21.Anthony Carreras
Yellow cards: Stefano Rossello 34’
Red cards: None
Western Sydney Wanderers: (3.Oscar Morrison 72’), 4.Ricky Fransen, 5.Lachlan Tilt, (7.Dallo Sandy 66’), 8.Nicholas Badolato, 9.Alaat Abdul-Rahman, 18.Awan Lual, (19.Max Hately 72’), 20.Lucas Sinnott, 22.Jesse Cameron, 24.Tristan Arrarte, 26.Antony Barbic, 27.Julian Cop, 33.Leon Alizart
Unused subs: 2.Lachlan Henderson, 12.Joshua Cetinic, 80.Lachlan Allen
Yellow cards: Oscar Morrison 84’
Red cards: None
Player Ratings:
3: Farah Koko (MU)
2: Nicholas Badolato (WSW)
1: Aaron O’Driscoll (MU)
