Jesic Leads the Way as Stallions Down Olympic
Marconi Stallions have produced a dominant 2-0 win over Sydney Olympic in Round 14 of the NPL Men’s NSW, with captain Marko Jesic delivering a decisive double to fire his side into the title race conversation while leaving Olympic rooted to the bottom of the ladder.
The difference on the night was captain Marko Jesic, who produced a decisive double — scoring once in each half — to guide the Stallions to all three points in a performance built on control, discipline and clinical finishing.
Marconi started brightly and nearly struck in the 11th minute when Damian Tsekenis floated in a dangerous cross from the left, aimed for Jesic, but the delivery crashed against the post. Tyren Burnie followed up, only to see his rebound attempt blocked from close range.
The pressure told in the 20th minute when Marconi opened the scoring. A free-kick was only partially cleared by the Olympic defence before Franco Maya recycled possession back into the area, where Jesic reacted quickest to nod home and give the hosts a deserved lead.
Maya then had the ball in the net midway through the half, but the assistant referee ruled him offside in a tight call that denied Marconi a second.
In the 29th minute, Marconi were inches away again. Maya delivered a pinpoint ball to George Daniel, who found himself unmarked, but his close-range header was brilliantly tipped over by goalkeeper Josip Orlovic in a standout save.
Tempers flared before half-time when Junyong Kim committed a heavy challenge on George Daniel near the benches, sparking a brief scuffle involving both teams before officials restored order. Kim escaped with only a yellow card.
Marconi’s dominance continued in the 44th minute when Jesic struck from distance after a clever pass from Teng Kuol, only to see his effort cannon off the crossbar as Olympic were spared again.
The second half began in a more subdued rhythm, with both sides struggling to create clear openings, but Marconi still looked the more likely.
Jesic went close again in the 66th minute, firing over from a promising position before Marconi continued to probe through sustained pressure.
In the 74th minute, Maya’s in-swinging corner found Kuol, whose header went over the bar as the Stallions pushed for a second.
Sydney Olympic’s resistance was finally broken in the 85th minute when goalkeeper Josip Orlovic was shown a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Maya inside the box. With all substitutions used, outfield player Samuel Bosnjak was forced to take the gloves, but he had no chance as Jesic stepped up and calmly converted the penalty to seal his brace and the win.
Marconi saw out the closing stages comfortably to secure a professional 2-0 victory, while Sydney Olympic were left to rue another difficult outing in a challenging season.
Marconi Stallions coach Peter Tsekenis was happy his side kept a clean sheet whilst not being really troubled by their opponents.
“We really weren’t threatened too much even though I thought we gave the ball away a bit much in the second half.
“It was a good 2-0 win with a clean sheet and we really stopped them from creating too much to hurt us. It was also a nice debut from the bench for Antonio Marvello who has only just turned 18.
“We needed the victory tonight to stay in touch with the top two teams but there is still a long way to go in this season. At the moment we need to see how our injury situation is and then get ready for next week.”
Sydney Olympic coach Michael Mileto remained positive despite the result.
“We spoke at halftime about being more compact and at being better at picking up the second ball going forward, and I thought we did that in the second half.
“However, we didn’t create enough chances and against Marconi you can’t do that because they are close to the top of the ladder for the right reasons.
“We battled hard but we are still building as a team and we even had a 17-year-old starting tonight, so there are positive signs as we head in the right direction.
“As a club we will look at the transfer window coming up shortly, we will continue to build with our young players and we will always keep challenging ourselves.”
Match Stats
MARCONI STALLIONS FC: 2 (Jesic 20’, 87’ pen.)
SYDNEY OLYMPIC FC: 0
Saturday 9th May
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Eric Saba
Assistant referees: Amirhossein Hosnani, Oscar Waterson
Fourth Official: Alexandar Zastavnikovic
MARCONI STALLIONS FC: 1. Joel Wade, 2. Tyren Burnie, 4. Anton Mlinaric (3. Cameron Windust 69’), 5. George Daniel, 6. Teng Kuol, 7. Franco Maya (17. Sunday Yona 87’), 9. Damian Tsekenis, 10. Marko Jesic (8. Adam Bugarija 87’), 11. Matej Busek, 14. Jack Armson, 23. Quinten Blair (27. Antonio Marvello 91’).
Substitutes not used: 19. Pearson Kasawaya, 20. Oliver Yates, 38. Daniel Osei.
Yellow Cards: Kuol 45’, Maya 76’
Red Cards: Nil
SYDNEY OLYMPIC FC: 1. Josip Orlovic, 2. Peter Politis, 4. Joshua Hong, 5. Ian Gordon, 16, Bailey Callaghan, 18. Junyong Kim (33. Maxamillion Luburic 84’), 21. Sebastian Kukucka (10. Lucas Williams 64’), 24. Ben Giason, 30. Joshua Da Silva (3. Samuel Bosnjak 46’), 31. Yuto Fujita, 34. Marcus Fernandez (12. Daniel Wong 82’).
Substitutes not used: 13. Liam Saba, 23. Brooklyn Mallia, 40. Anthony Caceres.
Yellow Cards: Politis 32’, Junyong Kim 41’, Bosnjak 78’
Red Cards: Orlovic 86’
Player Ratings
3 – Marko Jesic (Marconi)
2 – Franco Maya (Marconi)
1 – Matej Busek (Marconi)
By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Joe Russo
