Marconi Maintain Title Charge With Convincing Win Over Wanderers
Marconi Stallions maintained their four-point lead at the top of the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW competition after a comfortable 3-0 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday afternoon at Marconi Stadium.
First-half goals from Franco Maya and captain Marko Jesic gave the league leaders a commanding advantage at the break, before golden boot leader Damien Tsekenis sealed the three points with his 15th goal of the season 16 minutes from time.
The Round 23 fixture brought together two of the competition’s most dangerous attacking sides, with both teams showing their intent early. Alat Abdul-Rahman and Tsekenis were quick to test their opponents as the second and third-best attacks in the league traded chances in the opening stages.
Marconi captain Jesic came close to breaking the deadlock twice in quick succession, with two free-kicks from the edge of the penalty area. His first effort was the more dangerous of the two, narrowly grazing the top of the crossbar.
The Stallions eventually found the breakthrough just after the half-hour mark through a superb half-volley from Maya. An inswinging corner was initially punched clear by Wanderers goalkeeper Lucas Sinnot, but the ball fell perfectly to Maya, who connected sweetly to fire into the top corner and give the hosts the lead.
Marconi doubled their advantage just four minutes later, with Jesic finally finding the back of the net on his third attempt. Jack Armson created space on the right before finding Tyren Burnie’s overlapping run, with the full-back cutting the ball back for his captain to strike first time and wrong-foot Sinnot.
The Stallions entered the second half determined to put the result beyond doubt and almost added a third shortly after the restart. A swift counter-attack saw Tsekenis drive towards goal and attempt to find the far corner, only for Sinnot to produce a brilliant one-handed save to keep the Wanderers within reach.
However, the Wanderers defence could only hold out for so long, with Tsekenis heading home in the 74th minute to complete the scoring and secure another important victory for the league leaders.
“It was a very good performance against a team that scores a lot of goals. We kept them pretty quiet and I thought we played some really good football against a good footballing team,” Marconi head coach Peter Tsekenis said.
Reflecting on his goal, Marko Jesic said the second strike gave Marconi greater control of the contest.
“It was always good to score, but it was also good to get that little buffer that we needed. I thought first half we had total control and we had a few chances we couldn’t put away, but once we had that second we had that buffer and more freedom to play.”
The Stallions now turn their attention to the Traditional Derby against Sydney United 58 next weekend, with Jesic relishing the importance of the fixture as the season reaches its final stages.
“With it being so close to the end of the season and so close in the title race, it adds that little bonus. Everyone is motivated and looking forward to next week’s game.”
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 3 (Franco Maya 33’, Marko Jesic 37’, Damian Tsekenis 74’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 0
Sunday 12th July, 2026
Marconi Stadium
Referee: Declan Woods
Assistant Referees: Amirhossein Hosnani and Charlie Hollings
Fourth Official: Alec Baele
Marconi Stallions: 1. Joel Wade, 2. Tyren Burnie, 3. Cameron Windust, 5. George Daniel, 6. Teng Kuol (27. Antonio Marvello 83’), 7. Franco Maya (17. Sunday Yona 72’), 8. James Bayliss (19. Ahmad Elhelou 75’), 9. Damian Tsekenis, 10. Marko Jesic (11. Matej Busek 72’), 14. Jack Armson, 23. Quinten Blair
Substitutes Not Used: 12. Julian Monge, 16. Luca Pecora, 40. Aaron Hage
Yellow Cards: Teng Kuol 57’
Red Cards: Nil
Western Sydney Wanderers: 1. Lucas Sinnott, 4. Ricky Fransen, 5. Jesse Cameron, 6. Oscar Morrison, 7. Alat Abdul-Rahman (31. Emile Katrib 60’), 9. Awan Lual, 16. Tristan Arrarte (8. Corey Da Cruz 83’), 23. Oscar Moore (17. Joshua Cetinic 60’), 25. Marko Radovancevic, 26. Bradley Marszal (18. Thomas Cutuk 86’), 30. Anderson Back
Substitutes Not Used: 12. Samuel Goldberg, 19. Ewan Gasowski, 28. Georgio Hassarati,
Yellow Cards: Marko Radovancevic 45’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Marko Jesic (MAR)
2 – Teng Kuol (MAR)
1 – Lucas Sinnott (WSW)
By Keane McKenna
