SD Raiders Sign Off With Dramatic Win But Miss Finals
SD Raiders have missed out on NPL Men’s NSW finals football due to goal difference, despite securing a dramatic 2-1 victory over Sutherland Sharks at Seymour Shaw Park on Sunday afternoon.
Substitute Justin Chan Frias scored in the third minute of stoppage time to sink the Sharks and secure three points for the Raiders, but the result was ultimately not enough to break into the Top Six.
Sutherland had already guaranteed their place in the Championship Series heading into the final round under the guidance of David Perkovic, with their attention now turning towards their midweek Elimination Final against Manly United.
The opening 10 minutes saw Tye McGowan stifled defensively by Yonatan Sebhatu as the Sharks forward attempted to make his way towards the Raiders’ goal.
Charlie Ragg then twisted and turned his way through the Sutherland defence before Danijel Nizic made himself big to block the ball out of play.
Ragg also turned provider moments later when he picked out Mihael Marcic inside the box, although the midfielder could not get his effort on target.
Ragg continued to push forward for the visitors in the 14th minute, with his near-perfect delivery to the back post headed away by Gian Fiorese.
At the other end, Michael Figueira raced off his line in the 19th minute to head the ball away and deny McGowan a clear opportunity.
Figueira was not the only goalkeeper called away from his line, with Nizic denying Ragg with a clearance header in the 37th minute.
The Sharks goalkeeper was called into action again a minute later when Marcic struck an effort well, only for the ball to sail over the crossbar.
Against the run of play, however, it was Sutherland who opened the scoring in the 42nd minute.
A perfectly weighted through ball from Lachlan Macdonald released Richard Shoueiki, leaving him with only Figueira to beat.
The Sharks attacker kept his composure and rolled the ball into the back of the net to give the hosts a 1-0 lead heading into the break.
SD came out of the second half relentlessly, pushing Sutherland back in search of an equaliser.
In the 53rd minute, Lachlan Everett produced a threatening effort that Nizic was forced to push out of play.
The Raiders also showed their defensive qualities in the 57th minute when Lachlan McGrath won the race to the ball against Shoueiki in a vital moment to keep the Sharks at bay.
In the 63rd minute, SD’s Luka Knezevic found himself on the receiving end of Sutherland’s defensive attention as he attempted to curl the ball into the box, only for Bryce Harrison to comfortably clear the danger.
At the other end, Riley Hollingdale smashed an effort over the crossbar in the 68th minute after initially making a strong connection.
It proved to be a costly miss.
Just four minutes later, SD found their equaliser through an unfortunate own goal from Yianni Nicolaou.
Ragg’s shot struck Nicolaou at an awkward angle before the ball deflected through Nizic’s legs and into the back of the net to make it 1-1.
The equaliser opened the contest right up.
Shoueiki came close to restoring Sutherland’s lead in the 74th minute, but Figueira produced an excellent save with an outstretched hand.
The follow-up from Seung-Joo Choi then found the side netting.
Shoueiki continued to press and came close again in the 79th minute, only for his powerful effort to be thwarted by Figueira.
With the match heading towards a draw, the decisive moment arrived deep into stoppage time.
In the third minute of added time, substitute Justin Chan Frias collected his own deflected effort before rifling the ball into the back of the net for a dramatic winner.
The goal came after Riley Cox-Barlow produced a barnstorming run to create the space for the Raiders to attack.
Despite the victory, the result was not enough for SD Raiders to secure a finals berth, with goal difference ultimately denying them a place in the Championship Series.
The Raiders can nevertheless look back on a remarkable inaugural season in the top flight, having made a significant impact throughout their first NPL Men’s NSW campaign.
For Sutherland, attention now turns towards Wednesday night’s Elimination Final against Manly United at Seymour Shaw, with the Sharks continuing their push for Championship Series success.
Match Stats
Sutherland Sharks 1 (Richard Shoueiki 42’)
SD Raiders 2 (Yianni Nicolaou OG 72’, Justin Chan Frias 90+3’)
Sunday 30 August 2026
Seymour Shaw Park
Referee: Noah Moss
Assistant Referees: Cameron Wright and Arinath Gobinath
Fourth Official: Ayad Naji
Sutherland Sharks: 1. Danijel Nizic, 2. Lachlan Macdonald (3. Yanni Nicolaou 45’), 6. Riley Hollingdale 45’, 7. Takumi Ofuka 70’, 10. Tariq Maia, 11. Seung-Joo Choi 62’, 14. Matthew Jurman, 15. Jamie Percevski, 17. Richard Shoueiki, 18. Gian Fiorese, 21. Nicholas Olsen, 22. Tye McGowan, 40. Lukas Webber 62’, 43. Pietro Sanfilippo, 44. Bryce Harrison
Substitutes not used: 12. Samuel Smith, 24. Dane Anderson
Yellow cards: Pietro Sanfilippo 82’, Danijel Nizic 90+8’
Red cards: None
SD Raiders: 1. Michael Figueira, 5. Jett McCue-Shore, 6. Lachlan Everett, 7. Mihael Marcic, 8. James Letta, 9. Jakov Malbasa, 10. Luka Knezevic, 11. Thomas Santarossa 58’, 12. Lachlan McGrath, 15. Matthew Lee, 18. Charlie Ragg, 19. Riley Cox-Barlow 62’, 22. Yonatan Sebhatu, 37. Robert Eremugo 62’, 47. Ethan Beaven 86’, 77. Justin Chan Frias 58’
Substitutes not used: 13. Ham Donghwa, 81. Isaac Giunta
Yellow cards: Jett McCue-Shore 59’, Luka Knezevic 77’, Robert Eremugo 90+8’
Red cards: None
-By Tobias Canning
