First home defeat for UNSW FC as St George FC roar back to life in big win

St George FC have ended their 12-game winless streak with a statement 4-1 victory over an out of sorts UNSW FC who lost their first ever home match of the 2026 season at Village Green on Saturday afternoon.

Goals from Rocco Smith, Evangelo Souris, Kaidyn Wright and Christopher McStay sealed a long-awaited return to winning ways for the Saints as they cooked their opponents in a quality display.

Coming into this Round 19 fixture, both sides were on contrasting runs of form. St George FC arrived winless in their last 12 matches, just two shy of the all-time record, while UNSW FC were unbeaten at home in their maiden NPL Men’s NSW campaign.

Determined to finally end their near three-month wait for a win, St George started the brighter of the two sides and struck first in the 15th minute. Rocco Smith reacted quickest after UNSW failed to clear their lines from a corner, turning home to give the visitors a crucial early breakthrough—his first goal of the season arriving at a vital moment.

St George doubled their lead just 12 minutes later through a stunning strike from Evangelo Souris. The midfielder pounced on a loose ball 25 yards out and curled a sensational effort into the top-left corner, leaving Tristan Prendergast with no chance.

UNSW created chances of their own through Jyden Harb and Kevin Lopes, but resilient defending from Patrick O’Shea, Mark Rodic and Nicholas Sorras ensured the Saints went into half-time with a commanding 2-0 lead.

Kaidyn Wright extended the advantage just five minutes into the second half. A Justin Poon free-kick from the left side of the box caused chaos, with Prendergast narrowly keeping the ball out before Wright reacted quickest to smash home the rebound.

With the result beginning to slip away from UNSW, the hosts responded 10 minutes later through Kevin Lopes. A scramble inside the box eventually fell kindly to Lopes at the edge of the six-yard area, and he powered home a header to reduce the deficit.

UNSW pushed strongly in the final half-hour, forcing Sorras into a series of important saves, however things got even harder when Sean Woods was given his marching orders in the 82nd minute.

St George FC seized the chance to add another and add more misery on UNSW FC as they got their fourth goal to bury the match thanks to a goal from Christopher McStay in the 96th minute.

“It feels very good, we’ve been working really hard and not just quite getting there,” St George FC head coach Brian ‘Bomber’ Brown said post-match.

“[Scoring goals] has been one of the harder things for us. We’ve worked a lot at training on that. Today was about coming here, not giving away goals and trying to sneak a few of our own.”

Brown also praised his goalkeeper, who played a key role in the result.

“Massive, he was outstanding before we started the decline. He was out for I don’t know how many weeks, but him coming back in is a big boost for us.”

Match Stats

UNSW FC 1 (Kevin Lopes 59’)

St George FC 4 (Rocco Smith 15’, Evangelo Souris 27’, Kaidyn Wright 51’, Christopher McStay 90+6’)

Saturday 13th June, 2026

The Village Green

Referee: Nathan Shakespear

Assistant Referees: Thomas Gellatly and Joshua Eiser

Fourth Official: Jackson Tippett

UNSW FC: 1. Tristian Prendergast, 2. Timothy Wohlfiel, 3. Emilio Vinci (11. Jack Fulton 67’), 4. Liam Wood (16. Kai Kamikura, 67’), 6. Grant Lynch, 8. Tacettin Kumsuz (21. Alexander Malfara 32’), 9. Kevin Lopes (19. Oliver Pufflet 67’), 13. Sean Woods, 14. Lachlan Campbell, 17. Jyden Harb, 18. Conor Quilliganx

Substitutes Not Used: 12. Cassius Flavell, 20. Antony Barbic, 22. Gil Duffy

Yellow Cards: Lachlan Campbell 27’, Sean Woods 44’, 82’

Red Cards: Sean Woods 82’

St George FC: 1. Nicholas Sorras, 2. Rocco Smith (88. Christopher McStay 63’), 5. Nicholas Kalogerou, 6. Patrick O’Shea (20. Kota Toyook 81’), 7. Justin Poon, 8. Evangelo Souris, 10. Jaden Casella, 12. Jayden Seeto, 15. Mark Rodic, 16. Kaidyn Wright, 38. Rafael Costa (25. Harrison Farrow 63’)

Substitutes Not Used: 13. Vedran Janjetovic, 29. Tanakorn Rugsat, 35. Jayden Dorevski, 39. Ali Muzaffer

Yellow Cards: Christopher McStay 74’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings: 

3 – Nicholas Sorras (STG)

2 – Evangelo Souris(STG)

1 – Jaden Casella (STG)

By Keane McKenna