Resurgent Wolves bite back in second half against United 58
Wollongong Wolves ended their poor run of form in dramatic fashion by overturning a two-goal deficit to beat Sydney United 58 3-2 on Sunday at Albert Butler Memorial Park.
Sydney United 58 went into halftime with a two-goal advantage after Carlos De Oliveira’s first-minute goal, followed by Alessandro Lacalandra’s finish midway through the half – Zeljko Kalac’s men thought they had the win in the bag, but were unstuck by some Wolves fire in the second half.
The Wolves comeback started when De Oliveira scored an own goal, and then Lachlan Scott equalised just after the hour mark.
Takumi Ofuka won the points for Wollongong in the 78th minute to end the team’s three-game losing streak.
Wollongong had been susceptible to slow starts over the past few weeks and could have done with a solid first 10 minutes against the higher-placed United 58.
“We’ve been discussing it [starting slowly] at training, and we’ve been working hard on things,” midfielder Christopher McStay said.
This did not materialise, though, and the hosts conceded within the first 30 seconds of the match.
A move down the right from Sydney United 58 saw De Oliveira receive the ball on the edge of the area, where he drove a right-footed finish off the right post and in.
The visitors were happy to concede possession after their profitable early foray forward. Over the next 20 minutes, the Wolves shifted the ball between central defenders Banri Kanaizumi and Harrison Buesnel and looked to clip it into the channels.
However, their closest effort so far came from a set piece on the right 21 minutes in as Dylan Ryan curled a free-kick over the bar.
The Wolves’ pursuit of parity was dealt a significant blow seconds later as they conceded a second goal. Samuel Riak’s over-hit pass back left Buesnel to battle for the ball with Lacalandra – the attacker won it – chopped onto his left foot and lifted it just over Vedran Janjetovic.
Wollongong found themselves two behind for the second week running and would need to find their first earlier than they did a week before against Marconi Stallions to get back into it.
United 58 almost went out of sight in the 26th minute, but Tariq Maia’s effort flew just past the right post.
Ryan looked to get the Wolves’ resurgence underway a minute later as his left-footed shot barely cleared the crossbar.
The Wolves continued to create chances with McStay’s low free-kick held well by Oliver Kalac in the United 58 goal 35 minutes in.
Hernandez – whose directness was proving one of the Wolves’ main threats again – carried the ball through the middle of the pitch to bare down on goal, but his shot rolled comfortably for Kalac.
Scott then forced Kalac into a sharp save down to his right, however, the Wolves walked into the sheds two behind.
United 58 were compact and clinical in the first period. They got off to the best possible start in the first moments of the game. Some resilient defending throughout the half gave them the platform to go forward and create more.
Wollongong were eager to put their first-half performance behind them and were out of the sheds after eight minutes, waiting for their opponents to reappear.
This eagerness produced a goal less than two minutes after the restart as McStay’s in-swinging corner from the left was diverted into his own goal by De Oliveira.
Wollongong flooded forward again five minutes later, with Scott spreading the play out to Ofuka on the left – the winger’s side-footed effort looked destined for the top right corner – but Kalac expertly palmed it behind for a corner.
The side conjured up another good opportunity soon after when a corner dropped for Ryan in the box; his overhead kick went over.
In the 65th minute, the home side’s pressure paid off with an equaliser. Ryan headed centrally for McStay, who played it across the 18-yard line to Scott, where the captain picked out the left side of the goal.
The Wolves’ equaliser provoked a timid next few minutes, but with 12 regular minutes to play, Wollongong completed the turnaround.
Scott linked up with Ofuka to send the Japanese in behind in the left channel of the box and, from there, drove forward and caressed the ball inside the right post.
A stunned Sydney United 58 failed to muster any chances of note in what remained.
Wollongong claimed all three points after an unrecognisable second-half display compared to the first.
Wolves midfielder McStay said being in a losing position at the break galvanised the needed motivation to go and win the game.
“I think we were just disappointed coming in [to halftime] two goals down,” he said.
“We were playing against a quality side, but I think the chat at halftime really spurred the boys on.
“We had something to come back for and work towards.
“It was a great response from the boys.”
The first part of the hosts story today was a familiar one, however. Starting the game slowly and then responding with more intensity in the second half. McStay said he was not sure why the team continued to find themselves needing to come back into the game in the second half.
“We need to be up for it mentally as well. Off the back of a few defeats, it can take a hit sometimes,” he said.
“We need to be fired up and right from the start.”
The Wolves’ first goal came early in the second half from McStay’s whipped corner, forcing De Oliveira to head the ball into his own goal. McStay’s deliveries from set pieces have been one of Wollongong’s most potent methods of scoring this season.
He said there are a variety of factors contributing to this good record.
“It’s something that I’ve been working on in the offseason,” McStay said.
“A big part of my lifestyle is coaching as well so I’m coaching these youngsters to be able to hit these set pieces as well.
“You’ve got to have players on the end of it, and some of the headers and the goals we’ve scored have been pretty sensational, so it certainly doesn’t come down to me.”
Match Stats
Wollongong Wolves FC 3 (Carlos De Oliveira own goal 47’, Lachlan Scott 65’, Takumi Ofuka 78’)
Sydney United 58 FC 2 (Carlos De Oliveira 1’, Alessandro Lacalandra 22’)
Sunday 2 June 2024
Albert Butler Memorial Park, Primbee
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: Brodie Merchant and Mayson Griffith
Fourth Official: Matthew Staples
Wollongong Wolves FC: 20. Vedran Janjetovic, 2. Harrison Buesnel, 4. Dylan Ryan, 5. Banri Kanaizumi, 6. Samuel Riak (8. Andre Takami 46’), 7. Takumi Ofuka, 9. Jake Trew, 10. Yagoub Mustafa, 11. Sebastian Hernandez (27. Damon Gray 85’), 24. Lachlan Scott (25. Alex Masciovecchio 63’) (3. Darcy Madden 90+2’), 88. Christopher McStay
Substitutes Not Used: 13. Oliver Yates, 15. Dax Kelly
Yellow Cards: Christopher McStay 41’, Lachlan Scott 58’
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Oliver Kalac, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 5. Anthony Tomelic (12. Marco Arambasic 80’), 7. Jordan Ivancic (2. Cristian Gonzalez 80’), 8. Shunta Nakamura, 9. Patrick Antelmi, 10. Carlos De Oliveira, 13. Alessandro Lacalandra (6. Adam Zervas 66’), 14. Liam McGing, 15. Tariq Maia, 21. Dejan Bakrdanikoski
Substitutes Not Used: 17. Mathew Nikolovski, 29. Joshua Attard, 40. Malik Chamseddine
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Lachlan Scott (WW)
2 – Andre Takami (WW)
1 – Oliver Kalac (SU58)
*Photo by Pedro Garcia
