Professional Spirit Performance Boosts Finals Push
NWS Spirit FC strengthened their push for a return to the NPL Men’s NSW Finals Series with a determined 3-1 victory over relegation-threatened St George FC at Christie Park on Saturday night.
With both sides entering Round 23 desperate for points at opposite ends of the table, Spirit produced a composed performance to claim a valuable three points courtesy of goals from Callum Kealy, Riku Kobayashi and Aiden Mostofi, overcoming an unfortunate own goal that had briefly brought the visitors back into the contest.
The result sees the reigning Premiers move within striking distance of the top six with eight rounds remaining, while St George’s fight to avoid the promotion/relegation playoff position continues.
Spirit settled into the match quickly, with Shoki Yoshida, Kealy and Kosta Petratos combining brilliantly through the opening exchanges to put the visitors under sustained pressure.
Their attacking football was rewarded in the 18th minute through a superbly constructed team move.
Captain Simon Nicholas split the St George defence with an incisive pass into Kealy, who exchanged passes with Yoshida before arriving perfectly inside the area to emphatically fire into the roof of the net for his first goal of the season.
Despite controlling much of the opening half, Spirit were dealt a cruel blow just before the interval.
Mid-season signing Nikolas Skataric relentlessly chased down goalkeeper Jay Coates as Spirit attempted to play out from the back. Under pressure, Coates’ clearance cannoned into the unaware Mostofi before ricocheting into the net, handing St George an unlikely equaliser moments before half-time.
Rather than dwelling on the setback, Spirit responded exactly as they would have hoped after the restart.
Just seven minutes into the second half, Mostofi made amends by surging to the by-line before cutting the ball back into the danger area. Petratos’ clever touch redirected possession into the path of Yoshida, whose composure created the opportunity for Riku Kobayashi to restore Spirit’s advantage.
With the lead back in their favour, Spirit showed maturity and discipline as St George pushed numbers forward in search of another equaliser.
The home side’s defensive unit stood firm throughout the closing stages, frustrating the visitors while remaining dangerous on the counterattack.
Spirit finally wrapped up the result deep into stoppage time when Mostofi capped an eventful evening by finding the back of the net to make it 3-1.
The closing moments were not without drama, however, as experienced goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic was shown a red card following a physical altercation with Stavros Tserpes shortly before the final whistle.
Speaking after the match, Spirit head coach Sergio Malfara praised his side’s professionalism in securing another important victory.
“It was a mature performance. We did what we needed to do to get the points and we’ll take it and move on,” Malfara said.
He also reserved special praise for his defensive unit, which withstood sustained second-half pressure.
“I’m super fortunate to have the personnel that we do in the backline. You’re right in saying we’re really solid and defended really well.”
With the Finals Series firmly in their sights, Malfara believes the focus must remain on Spirit’s own performances over the final eight rounds.
“It’s always been about us; it will always be about us,” he said.
“We went through a rough patch and I think it was on our own accord. But credit to the boys, they’ve turned it around and we’ve got to finish the season strong.”
The victory moves NWS Spirit to within three points of sixth-placed Sydney FC, ensuring the race for the Finals Series remains well and truly alive heading into the closing weeks of the season.
Match Stats
NWS Spirit 3 (Callum Kealy 18’, Riku Kobayashi 52’, Aiden Mostofi 97’)
St George FC 1 (O.G. Aiden Mostofi 37’)
Saturday 11th July, 2026
Christie Park
Referee: Mujtaba Ebrahimi
Assistant Referees: Daniel Cornofsky and Hannah Pola
Fourth Official: Wael Arabi
NWS Spirit: 2. Aiden Mostofi, 3. Kyah Williams, 4. Bradie Smith, 7. Shoki Yoshida (22. Stavros Tserpes 70’), 9. Callum Kealy (21. Noah Peacock, 61’), 10. Kosta Petratos (8. Grant Cornwell 90’), 12. Jay Coates, 13. Simon Nicholas, 15. Sam Armson, 17. Riku Kobayashi 18. Andre Takami (6. Corey Kavanagh 70’)
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Christopher Marques, 5. Owen Henderson, 32. Thomas Mason
Yellow Cards: Andre Takami 63’, Noah Peacock 72’, Kosta Petratos 90’, Stavros Tserpes 95’
Red Cards: Nil
St George FC: 4. Jayden Seeto, 6. Patrick O’Shea, 8. Evangelo Souris (7. Justin Poon 74’), 9. Nikolas Skataric (21. Harry Keys 65’), 12. Toshiki Makinoto, 14. Isaac Cunningham (11. Lachlan Sepping 65’), 15. Mark Rodic, 16. Kaidyn Wright, 20. Kota Toyooka, 24. Edmun Haddad (10. Jayden Casella 74’), 40. Vedran Janjetovic
Substitutes Not Used: 2. Rocco Smith, 13. Sebastian La Luz, 19 Sebastian Kiceec
Yellow Cards: Vedran Janjetovic 95’
Red Cards: Vedran Janjetovic 97’
Player Ratings:
3 – Simon Nicholas (NWS)
2 – Shoki Yoshida (NWS)
1 – Kaidyn Wright (STG)
By Keane McKenna
