Manly United win the ‘Battle of the Beaches’
In what was crucial Round 11 National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW fixture at Seymour Shaw Park, it was Manly United who secured the three precious points in their fight against moving off the bottom half of the ladder with a 2-1 win over the Sutherland Sharks on Saturday.
The Sharks opened the scoring first via Maxx Green before William Faulder leveled for the visitors.
Stefano Rossello then bagged a second for Manly which ended up being the winner as the Northern Beaches side took all the points home.
Manly were forced into giving almost half its team their NPL NSW Men’s debuts after many first teamers succumbed to injuries and posted a very young bench which showed in a sluggish start, particularly as they were content in sitting deep and breaking up the Sharks attacks.
It was an enterprising start from Sutherland who enjoyed most of the possession without troubling Levi Kaye in the United net with the first half-chance falling to Jay McGowan as early as the 5th minute that he volleyed way wide of the mark.
It was to be a warning side as the hosts opened the scoring three minutes later when a delightful cross found Green who headed home to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead.
Manly drew level in the 18th minute following a Peter Kekeris corner where Faulder audaciously backheeled the ball into the net at the near post to draw the sides level.
Green looked to double his tally after more good work down the right from Sam Gulisano and Takahide Umebachi fashioned another chance but the youngster’s first-time shot with the outside of the foot curled into the grateful arms of Kaye.
Umebachi then gave away a free-kick for a foul on Jesse Piriz soon after just outside the box – the resulting free-kick taken by Zac Sfiligoi that went under the wall but Nenad Vekic, in the greasy conditions, spilt the ball allowing Rossello to storm in and thump home for United to take the lead.
Sutherland, visibly affected by the equalizer, were rocking but rallied to cause United some worrying moments but left themselves open at the back and were so very nearly exploited on the counter when Rocco Pelle fired wide before Vekic was forced into a near-post save from Blake Bamgbose in stoppage time.
Green came close to levelling the score almost immediately after the break when a delightful first touch saw his effort fall narrowly wide of the upright before Alen Aganovic, after more great work from Umebachi down the right, nearly sliced the ball into his own net leading to a corner.
Kieren Paull then cleared off the line from another Green effort as Sutherland pressed home attack after attack in the hope of scoring their equaliser.
The Sharks were pushing hard for parity including some terrific interchange play but Manly worked overtime and continually looked dangerous on the break in what was seen as a true six-pointer near the foot of the table.
Mason Fernandez asked questions of Kaye, the United ‘keeper answered well for his beleaguered side, Manly thus far holding firm and thwarting Sutherland’s mini season revival.
Seventeen-year-old Mitch Seaman, off the bench, should have settled it for the visitors in the 84th minute but Vekic was equal to the task and Sutherland remained in the game for the frantic final minutes of the match.
Manly sensibly sat deeper and deeper in the final stages denying the Sharks any space to maneuver and preserving their lead although Piriz needed to throw caution to the wind to stop an Umebachi effort as the game ticked over into four minutes of stoppage.
Kaye was called upon late in the game from Green but Manly held on for the precious three points leaving Coach, Patrick Zwaanswijk, to comment at the whistle.
”My phone went off this morning and two starting players pulled out sick along with 10 first team players out injured or suspended and we had no choice but to field our younger players,” he said.
“We know we have to play all the young players we have and thankfully we’ve had them for 18 months, so they’ve trained that long with the First Grade side and you never know what you’re going to get but they were up for the challenge.
“Everyone contributed which is exceptional and we’ve played some bad games and deservedly lost them.
“But in others we’ve been unlucky and of course the luck was a little bit on our side today but I think our first-half goals were deserved and our second-half performance, outside of the first five minutes, we should have made it 3-1 and killed the game off.
“We had a couple of flick-ons that we probably should have made more of but we had a couple of 18 year old players out there and they are allowed to make those mistakes.
“We set out to sit deep and not allow them room to counter us on the flanks which we didn’t execute correctly but we changed things twenty minutes in and denied them that access and I thought we controlled the game from then onwards.
“I’m thrilled for the team and the players tonight who fought hard for the points in trying conditions but held on for the win.”
While Sutherland Sharks coach Steve Zoric was a frustrated post-match as the lost left the club languishing in the bottom half of the ladder.
“I’m very frustrated and upset by the result, as are the players,” he said.
“We gave them two goals tonight after we had created such a beautiful strike of our own, and yes we managed to get through them on countless occasions, totally dominated for long periods but couldn’t find the back of the net.
“We missed a couple of clear-cut chances and as I’ve said before, if you don’t score you don’t win games and if you concede those sloppy goals, particularly their equaliser, you gift them the win.
“Some of our passing again tonight was terrific but we need to put the ball away at the end of moves and that will come,” he concluded.
Match Stats
Sutherland Sharks 1 (Maxx Green 8’)
Manly United 2 (William Faulder 18’, Stefano Rossello 38’)
Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda
Saturday, 20th March 2024
Referee: Stephen Lucas
Assistants: Lindsay Edmonds and Isaac Riggs
Fourth Official: Mitchell Renton
Sutherland Sharks: 1. Nenad Vekic, 2. Kotaro Katsuta, 4. Mitch Stamatellis, 5. Takahide Umebachi, 6. Sam Gulisano, 9. Maxx Green, 10. Mason Fernandez, 11. Jay McGowan (71. Levi Sciuriaga 76’), 26. Jacob Garner (14. Chris Lindsay 61’), 27. Matty Jackson (8. Mo Ahmed 61’), 91. Jonty Busch (3. Jordan Roberts 83’)
Subs not used: 21. Luke Sauer, 99. Jacob Cremen-Cowan
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Manly United FC: 1 Levi Kaye, 2 Kieren Paull, 3 Zac Sfiligoi, 4 Jesse Piriz, 6 Saxon Hillyer (37. Maxwell Pengelly 65’), 7 Peter Kekeris, 19 Alen Aganovic, 22. Blake Bamgbose, 25. Rocco Pelle, 29. William Faulder (38. Mitchell Seaman 75’), 39. Stefano Rossello (42. Max Walker 86’)
Subs not used: 24. Toby Bakewell, 33. Hamish Purdy, 41. Montgomery Partington
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Takahide Umebachi (SS)
2 – Stefano Rossello (MU)
1 – Maxx Green (SS)
By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock
