Wolves hold Stallions in tense draw
Wollongong Wolves and Marconi Stallions shared the points in a tense 1-1 draw on Saturday evening at WIN Stadium.
The Wolves opened the scoring half an hour in courtesy of a superb Lachlan Scott volley before Tyren Burnie equalised late in the first half.
Chances continued to flow in the second half, but neither team could find a winner.
The match got off to a competitive start, however, the Stallions quickly asserted their dominance and began to control possession.
In the 19th minute, Dom Costanzo picked out Franco Maya with an accurate ball in behind the left channel, where the attacking midfielder drew a solid stop from Wolves goalkeeper Daniel Solsky.
The Stallions continued to keep Wollongong pinned back as they pursued an opening goal, but the hosts snatched the lead spectacularly.
In a rare foray forward just before the half-hour mark, the ball dropped to Scott on the edge of the box, who executed an exquisite volley, nestling in the bottom left corner.
Marconi quickly set off down the other end as they sought to restore parity immediately.
In the 34th minute, Burnie picked out Maya in the right of the area, firing an effort narrowly past the left post.
Five minutes later, the side came even closer when Damian Tsekenis rattled the woodwork in the aftermath of a free-kick.
Wollongong took the ball up the other end through Alex Masciovecchio, racing down the left and forcing a sharp stop from James Hilton at his near post.
Marconi’s pressure remained relentless, and in the final first-half minute, they drew level. Burnie’s right-sided cross looped into the far corner all on its own, to give the visitors a boost heading into the sheds.
The Stallions started the second half well as Costanzo and Maya offered a threat going forward.
In the 55th minute, Maya had another opportunity when he latched onto a pass in behind, lofting an effort wide of the left post.
Thirteen minutes later, Tsekenis nearly put the side in the lead, drilling a low shot that Solsky repelled with his feet.
The Wolves returned fire 74 minutes in as substitute Raphael Le’ai spurned a strike from the left of the box wide, before Masciovecchio sent the ball into the side netting moments later.
As the game moved into the final 10 minutes, the score was still level and chances remained frequent.
With seven regular minutes to play, Costanzo’s left-sided corner met Jordan Swibel at the near post, but Solsky pulled off another save.
The visitors piled numbers forward in the latter stages of the match, seeking a dramatic winner, however, Wollongong started to pick up attacking space with Scott’s hold-up play.
In the 88th minute, Nicholas Olsen received the ball on the right, lashing a strike onto the right post.
In stoppage time, Olsen had a similar chance, this time rolling the ball past the left post.
Despite a series of chances, the teams had to settle for a point, drawing 1-1 at WIN Stadium.
Wolves coach Julio Miranda said the result demonstrated the Wolves’ capacity to mix it with the best in the NPL Men’s NSW.
“On our day, we’re as good as anybody,” he said.
“We had a slow first half, when I thought they [Marconi] were the better team.
“We fixed a few things up in the second half, and they had their chances, but we had our own chances too.”
Marconi coach Peter Tsekenis said he was disappointed with the team’s finishing, especially given the plethora of chances created.
“I don’t know how we didn’t win that game,” he said.
“They [Wollongong] scored a really good goal from a distance and I thought apart from that, really, we had them under the pump, but we didn’t finish our chances.
“We left them in the game, and then we could’ve lost it easily at the end with the couple of chances they had.”
Match Stats
Wollongong Wolves FC 1 (Lachlan Scott 29’)
Marconi Stallions FC 1 (Tyren Burnie 45’)
Saturday 23 August 2025
WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Referee: Eric Saba
Assistant Referees: Brad Wright and Hayden Kaye
Fourth Official: Harriet Gee
Wollongong Wolves FC: 13. Daniel Solsky, 2. Harrison Buesnel, 4. Dylan Ryan, 5. Banri Kanaizumi, 11. Sebastian Hernandez (77. Raphael Le’ai 72’), 17. Marcus Beattie, 21. Nicholas Olsen, 23. Flynn Madden, 24. Lachlan Scott, 25. Alex Masciovecchio (6. James Anagnostopoulos 80’), 29. Ben Giason
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Oliver Yates, 8. Sebastian Duarte, 10. Liam Ball, 15. Dax Kelly
Yellow Cards: Alex Masciovecchio 51’, Lachlan Scott 69’
Red Cards: Nil
Marconi Stallions FC: 1. James Hilton, 2. Tyren Burnie, 5. Lachlan Griffiths (12. Julian Monge 76’), 6. Dom Costanzo (9. Kyle Cimenti 88’), 7. Franco Maya, 8. James Bayliss (24. Batej Busek 88’), 10. Marko Jesic (99. Jordan Swibel 76’), 13. Tass Mourdoukoutas, 17. Damian Tsekenis (14. Jake Trew 76’), 18. George Daniel, 23. Brandon Vella
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Patrick Williams
Yellow Cards: Lachlan Griffiths 5’, Marko Jesic 45+3’, Franco Maya 66’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Lachlan Scott (WW)
2 – Daniel Solsky (WW)
1 – Tyren Burnie (MS)
Report by Tim Gibson
