Sydney United 58 Hold Firm To Secure Grand Final Berth
Sydney United 58 delivered Father’s Day delight for their faithful, sealing a 3-1 victory over Manly United at Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon to book their place in the NPL Men’s NSW Grand Final next Sunday.
United 58 produced a strong showing to overcome the young Manly outfit in their Preliminary Final clash, securing their first Grand Final appearance in six years and moving one step closer to adding another Championship to the club’s trophy cabinet.
The hosts came out firing and took the lead after just seven minutes.
Mason Wells delivered a dangerous inswinging corner from the right, with the ball deflecting towards Julian Cop, who rushed in from the edge of the box and drilled his finish into the bottom-left corner.
United 58 had a great chance to double their advantage after some strong pressing forced Manly into a giveaway inside their own half and initiated a rapid attack.
Michael Krslovic latched onto the loose ball and intelligently played it left to Carlos De Oliveira, but the midfielder could only fire his effort over the crossbar.
Manly refused to be overawed by the occasion and restored parity in the 37th minute in stylish fashion.
Some excellent team play culminated in Saxon Hillyer producing a perfectly weighted pass into the box for Benjamin Koop.
The Manly striker showed great composure, guiding the ball past Adam Pavlesic and into the bottom-right corner to make it 1-1.
The visitors’ joy from the equaliser was short-lived, however, as United 58 restored their lead almost immediately.
And what a goal it was.
Wells produced another dangerous inswinging corner in the 39th minute, but this time the delivery did all the work.
The ball sailed towards the top-left corner, clipping the post and a defender on its way into the back of the net to put United 58 back in front.
Wells continued to cause problems for the visitors and nearly created another opportunity in the 44th minute.
He sent a quality low ball towards Cop at the six-yard box on his weaker right foot, but the midfielder failed to get a strong connection and the ball settled into the arms of goalkeeper Harry Turner.
Manly came within inches of levelling the contest again just three minutes after the restart.
A Kakeru Ono free-kick found Jesse Piriz, whose header flew narrowly wide of the right post.
Both sides continued to create opportunities as the second half progressed, but neither could find the decisive breakthrough.
United 58, however, managed the second half extremely well, controlling the contest and limiting Manly’s ability to create clear-cut chances.
With Manly pushing for an equaliser and the clock ticking towards full-time, United 58 finally put the game beyond doubt in stoppage time.
Wells found Tomislav Ozanic with a pass, with the midfielder striking through Turner’s hands to make it 3-1 and spark wild celebrations among the home crowd.
The result sends Sydney United 58 into the NPL Men’s NSW Grand Final, where they will now wait to discover their opponent as they chase Championship glory.
After the match, United 58 coach Miro Vlastelica said his message to the players had simply been to enjoy the occasion.
“Manly is a good team, they’ve been enjoying their football. That’s why they have had a great run and we said the same thing to our boys: go and enjoy it, work hard, and the main thing is to have fun,” Vlastelica told Football NSW.
He praised his team’s character and their ability to continue pushing forward regardless of the scoreline.
“It is your character that gives us your self-belief, whether you’re down or up, you just keep going on the front foot.”
With the Grand Final now awaiting, Vlastelica said the message would remain the same heading into the biggest game of the season.
“The message will be to go and enjoy the moment, enjoy the week leading up to it,” he said, while stressing that the team would continue working hard and building the self-belief they have developed throughout the campaign.
“A lot of people wrote us off at the start. There were a lot of doubters. We’re not a big spending team and club like people might think.
“I’ve got young boys that are mixed with some experienced players that have all worked their asses off, and they deserve to be here.”
For Manly United, the defeat brings an end to a remarkable 2026 campaign that saw the club defy expectations to reach the Championship Series.
For United 58, however, the job is not finished.
One more victory stands between them and Championship glory.
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 3 (Julian Cop 7’, Mason Wells 39’, Tomislav Ozanic 90+3’)
Manly United 1 (Benjamin Koop 37’)
Sunday 6 September 2026
Sydney United Sports Centre
Referee: Rowan Fisher
Assistant Referees: Aaron Bloch and Patrick Teleki
Fourth Official: Matthew Staples
Sydney United 58: 1. Adam Pavlesic, 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 6. Dylan Rose, 7. Leroy Jennings (14. Liam McGing 86’), 10. Carlos De Oliveira (Gabriel Tilo 86’), 15. Julian Cop (35. Tomislav Ozanic 74’), 17. Michael Glassock, 19. Michael Krslovic (44. Farah Koko 68’), 21. Koya Nakano, 23. Mason Wells
Substitutes Not Used: 5. Anthony Tomelic, 22. Nicholas Pratezina, 41. Adrian-Jamie Bazina
Yellow Cards: Michael Glassock 14’, Leroy Jennings 42’
Red Cards: Nil
Manly United: 21. Harry Turner, 4. Jesse Piriz, 5. Aaron O’Driscoll, 6. Saxon Hillyer, 7. Stephan De Robillard, 8. Kakeru Ono, 9. Benjamin Koop (93. Charlie Coles 63’), 18. Luke Nieuwenhof, 19. Cai Evans (16. Will Faulder 74’), 28. Aston Hulme (31. Monty Peppel 81’), 29. Douglas John
Substitutes Not Used: 14. Max Walker, 15. Max Martinello, 20. George Russell, 24. Toby Bakewell
Yellow Cards: Jesse Piriz 45+2’, Charlie Coles 83’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3: Mason Wells (SU58)
2: Dylan Rose (SU58)
1: Koya Nakano (SU58)
By Dimitri Kallos
