Bedleg Strike Ignites St George City City’s Late Finals Charge
St George City have surged into the finals conversation after producing another impressive result against a Top Six opponent, defeating Rockdale Ilinden 1-0 at Penshurst Park on Saturday night.
The victory came in St George City’s final home game of the regular season and continued their remarkable late-season form, with the result their third consecutive win against a Top Six side.
The three points move City to 34 points, just three points outside the Top Six, giving Mirko Jurilj’s side a genuine chance of completing a remarkable push for finals football.
Rockdale created the first major opportunity of the contest in the 20th minute when Lochlan Constable played Moudi Najjar through on goal.
Najjar managed to get his shot away on the move, but St George City goalkeeper Jack Kenny was equal to the effort, producing a strong save low to his left.
The visitors came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock just before half-time.
A Rockdale corner in the fourth minute of stoppage time found its way towards goal, only for the ball to strike the right post and ensure the scores remained level at the break.
St George City created their first major opportunity of the second half in the 65th minute when Bassam Sabbagh unleashed a powerful effort from range.
Rockdale goalkeeper Ronan Mulgrew did well to parry the shot, before his defence reacted quickly to clear the resulting rebound.
The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 77th minute.
A long ball sent Lucas Bedleg forward, with the striker applying pressure from deep and pouncing on a loose back header from Dean Pelekanos.
Bedleg raced past the goalkeeper before calmly knocking the ball into the empty net to score for the third consecutive match.
Rockdale responded by pushing forward in search of an equaliser and almost found it seven minutes later.
Najjar broke through and managed to get a shot away, but Kenny once again stood tall, producing a crucial save to preserve St George City’s advantage.
The hosts held firm through the closing stages to secure another massive three points and keep their finals hopes firmly alive while it was yet another damaging loss for Ilinden, its 11th of the season as they cling to a finals spot as well as sit six points adrift the Sutherland Sharks who are fighting for the Australian Championship spot.
Following the match, St George City coach Mirko Jurilj acknowledged the physical challenge posed by Rockdale.
“It was a battle,” Jurilj told Football NSW.
“They are a strong side, particularly physically, and they had some good moments there, but we managed to hold our own.”
Jurilj also praised the resilience of his players, with the victory their third in a row against a Top Six opponent and another result that has firmly placed City in the finals conversation.
“I think there’s no pressure on us at the moment,” Jurilj said when asked about the reasons behind their recent success.
The City coach believes the absence of relegation pressure has allowed his players to approach matches with greater freedom and confidence.
“It’s been a simple message: play with no fear. There’s no pressure on us so we can go out and play on the front foot and have a go at teams,” Jurilj said.
“We will just go out and hopefully try to put in some good performances and see what happens.”
With their late-season surge continuing, St George City now have three matches remaining to complete what would be a remarkable rise into the NPL Men’s NSW finals.
Match Stats
St George City FA 1 (Lucas Bedleg 77’)
Rockdale Ilinden 0
Saturday 8 August
Penshurst Park
Referee: Matthew Staples
Assistant Referees: Lance Greenshields and Thomas Aalders
Fourth Official: Dante Diaz
St George City FA: 1. Jack Kenny, 4. Solomon Monahan-Vaiika, 8. Stefano Rossello (16. Yohn Pedersen 70’), 9. Lucas Bedleg (5. Lewis Miccio 82’), 11. Ben Giason, 17. Mason Tatafu, 20. Theph Theph, 25. Brodie Clarkson, 33. Louis Khoury, 35. Spencer Webster, 47. Bassam Sabbagh
Substitutes Not Used: 6. Tarik Ercan, 10. Paolo Mitry, 30. Gideon Arok
Yellow Cards: Ben Giason 80’
Red Cards: Nil
Rockdale Ilinden: 2. Hunter Elliott, 3. Lachlan Griffiths (27. Lukas Ribarevski 36’), 7. Ollie Wiggin (16. Michael Marcevski 89’), 8. Jerry Skotadis, 9. Moudi Najjar, 11. Lochlan Constable, 14. Dean Pelekanos, 21. Ronan Mulgrew, 22. Harry McCarthy (6. Stefan Simonoski 82’), 26. Harry van der Saag, 66. Mathieu Cordier
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Levi Kaye, 6. Stefan Simonoski, 18. Lucas De Sousa, 19. Dean Jovcevski, 40. Adam Khalil
Yellow Cards: Ollie Wiggan 64’, Harry van der Saag 67’, Lukas Ribarevski 80’
Red Cards: Nil
-By Dimitri Kallos
