Perfect Start Rolls On as Sydney United 58 Strike Again
Sydney United 58 FC continued their flawless start to the 2026 National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW campaign, making it four wins from four with a commanding 2–0 victory over Manly United FC at the Sydney United Sports Centre on Friday night.
For Manly United FC, it marked their first defeat of the season — a frustrating evening compounded by a late first-half red card to William McCreery for an off-the-ball elbow that left the visitors with an uphill battle.
It took just seven minutes for Sydney United 58 FC to underline their intent. Wonderkid Gabriel Tilo ignited a scintillating move, bursting forward from just inside his own half before releasing Tomoki Wada in stride. With ice-cold composure, Wada needed only a single touch to find the back of the net and send the home crowd into raptures.
Manly United FC responded with spirit, earning a series of corners in the 14th and 21st minutes, but goalkeeper Adam Pavlesic was imperious in the air, rising highest each time to punch clear and steady his side.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the 33rd minute following another electrifying surge — this time from Kyle Cimenti. His driving run split the defence and found Mason Wells, who calmly slipped his finish beyond Mackenzie Syron to make it 2–0. Syron produced a sharp save moments later to deny Wells from close range, preventing the scoreline from blowing out before the break.
However, the contest took a decisive turn on the stroke of half-time. McCreery was shown a straight red card after an elbow on Krilic, an incident that drew an immediate and furious reaction from the home supporters and left Manly United FC down to ten men.
With the numerical advantage, Sydney United 58 FC looked to press home their dominance after the restart.
They nearly added a third in the 48th minute when Tilo’s effort was dramatically cleared off the line by Luca Krizan’s desperate diving header. Minutes later, Bailey Rule came agonisingly close to racing through one-on-one, but failed to make clean contact with Dylan Rose’s inviting delivery.
To their credit, Manly United FC refused to fold.
In the 65th minute, Krilic’s relentless pressing forced Stephan De Robillard into a hurried strike straight at Pavlesic, before O’Driscoll produced a crucial last-ditch intervention at the other end to deny Rule a clear sight at goal.
As the match opened up, Benjamin Koop came within inches of pulling one back in the 73rd minute, his effort flashing narrowly wide. Former Manly player Farah Koko nearly added a late dagger, only to see his shot sail over the bar in the closing stages.
Despite the visitors’ late resistance, Sydney United 58 FC remained composed and professional, seeing out the contest to secure another three points and maintain their perfect start to the campaign.
Goalscorer Mason Wells was full of confidence post-match as he celebrated his side’s perfect start to the 2026 season.
“I’m very happy. We’re undefeated and there’s a great vibe in the changing rooms. We’ve earned this start by putting in the hard yards during pre-season — the boys worked hard and it’s paying dividends,” he said.
“The key today was moving the ball side to side and trusting our talent up front. The red card helped, but that was out of our control.”
Four matches, four wins, and momentum building with every performance — Sydney United 58 FC are not just winning, they’re sending a message to the rest of the competition under well admired manager Milo Vlastelica at the helm.
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 2 (Tomoki Wada 7’, Mason Wells 33’)
Manly United 0
Friday 27 February, 2026
Sydney United Sports Centre
Referee: Matthew Staples
Assistant Referees: Maggie Price and Patrick Teleki
Fourth Official: Tom Seldon
Sydney United 58: 1.Adam Pavlesic, 3.Bailey Rule, 6.Dylan Rose, 8.Tomoki Wada, 9.Kyle Cimenti, 10.Carlos De Oliveira, 12.Gabriel Tilo, 14.Liam McGing, (15.Adrian Knez 85’), 16.Anthony Krilic, 17.Michael Glassock, (19.Michael Krslovic 61’), (22.Nicholas Pratezina 75’), 23.Mason Wells, (44.Farah Koko 61’)
Substitutes not used: 2.Max Buratto, 5.Anthony Tomelic, 41.Adrian-Jamie Bazina
Yellow Cards: Tomoki Wada 25, Dylan Rose 79’, Farah Koko 87’
Red cards: None
Manly United: 2.Luca Krizan, (3.Matthew O’Donoghue 61’), 4.Jesse Piriz, 5.Aaron O’Driscoll, 6.Saxon Hillyer, (7.Stephan De Robillard 54’), (8.Kakeru Ono 61’), (9.Benjamin Koop 54’), 10.Darcy Burgess, 11.Ayumu Kimura, (12.Mitchell Seamen 80’), 13.William McCreery, 15.Max Martinello, 18.Luke Nieuwenhof, 19.Cai Evans, 99.Mackenzie Syron
Substitutes not used: 14.Max Walker, 21.Harry Turner
Yellow Cards: William McCreery 17’, Ayumu Kimura 24’, Saxon Hillyer 28’
Red Cards: William McCreery 45+1’
Player Ratings
3 – Tomoki Wada (SU58)
2 – Mason Wells (SU58)
1 – Aaron O’Driscoll (MU)
-By Tobias Canning
