Stallions and Olympic settle for point
The Marconi Stallions shared points with Sydney Olympic in a 1-1 draw at Marconi Stadium on Saturday night.
The visitors made an immediate impact on the match with a goal from Teng Kuol in the first minute.
Despite plenty of action throughout the match, Olympic held the 1-0 lead until the 83rd minute when the hosts were finally able to break onto the scoreboard through substitute Matej Busek.
The result leaves the two sides at one point apart on the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s ladder at the end of Round 5.
A throw in just 16 seconds into the match started the action for Olympic.
Connor O’Toole threw the ball to Kuol, who confidently ran through Marconi’s defence to shoot from close range and open the scoring.
Cyrus Dehmie tried his luck to double the lead for the visitors in the 7th minute as he sent a lob over Marconi ‘keeper James Hilton, however his effort rebounded off the woodwork.
A pass from Jake Trew set up a great opportunity for Tyren Burnie in the 10th minute, but Burnie’s shot skewed high and wide of the target.
Trew made another promising move in the 13th minute, pushing forward before crossing over to Damian Tsekenis whose header went wide.
Olympic responded quickly as Dehmie used his speed to blaze forward before sending a shot across the face of the goal.
A brilliant save from Olympic custodian Jack Gibson kept the hosts at bay in the 17th minute as a Tsekenis header floated towards the target.
Both teams continued to apply pressure and chase goal-scoring opportunities but hit the sheds for the half-time break with the visitors holding a 1-0 victory.
Ruiz-Diaz tried his luck at making his mark early in the second half, taking a shot from range trying to catch Hilton by surprise, but the effort went wide.
Marconi came close in the 55th minute as Trew took a shot from the edge of the box and Tsekenis jumped on the follow up, but the effort couldn’t meet the target.
Seth Clark sent a shot blazing towards the target in the 65th minute but Hilton was well positioned to parry the ball away
The continued effort from the hosts paid off in the 83rd minute as substitute Busek netted an equaliser.
Busek received the ball from Tsekenis at the edge of the 18-yard box and pushed forward before sending his shot into the netting.
Olympic came agonisingly close to taking the lead again in the 92nd minute but Bailey Callaghan wasn’t able to make the finishing touch.
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions FC 1 (Matej Busek 83’)
Sydney Olympic FC 1 (Teng Kuol 1’)
Saturday 8 March, 2025
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Logan Jones
Assistant Referees: James Makris & Joshua Eiser
Fourth Official: Luke Chapman
Marconi Stallions FC: 1. James Hilton, 2. Tyren Burnie, 4. Anton Mlinaric, 5. Lachlan Griffiths, 6. Dom Costanzo (24. Matej Busek 69’), 8. James Bayliss, 10. Marko Jesic, 14. Jake Trew (9. Kyle Cimenti 69’), 17. Damian Tsekenis, 18. George Daniel, 23. Brandon Vella (16. Liam Youlley 69’)
Substitutes Not Used: 11. Milislav Popovic, 20. Patrick Williams, 22. Aleksandar Gvozdenovic
Yellow Cards: Bayliss 60’, Tsekenis 85’
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney Olympic FC: 1. Jack Gibson, 3. Connor O’Toole, 5. Ian Gordon, 8. Sam McIllhatton, 9. Cyrus Dehmie (7. Michael Vakis 88’), 10. Jack Armson, 12. Zac Zorocich, 14. Seth Clark (11. Adam Parkhouse 69’), 15. Dylan Ruiz-Diaz (16. Bailey Callaghan), 18. Teng Kuol, 28. Doni Grdic
Substitutes Not Used: 13. Monty Parlington, 17. Joshua Hong, 19. Gianni Di Pizio
Yellow Cards: Gordon 26’, Ruiz-Diaz 33’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Teng Kuol (SO)
2 – Marko Jesic (MS)
1 – Anton Mlinaric (MS)
-By Madeline Riley
