Manly United’s Finals Charge Continues With Win Over Stallions

Manly United continued their remarkable late-season surge with a 3-1 victory over Marconi Stallions at Cromer Park, moving into the NPL Men’s NSW Top Six for the first time since the early stages of the season.

The victory was headlined by a standout performance from Manly youth product Cai Evans, who scored his first senior goal and provided an assist as the hosts extended their unbeaten run to nine matches.

For Marconi, the result marked a fourth consecutive defeat and continued a difficult period for the Stallions as their Premiership hopes come under increasing pressure.

The contest took just five minutes to burst into life, with Damian Tsekenis copping an unfortunate ball to the face from Aaron O’Driscoll.

The opening stages were scrappy, with neither side able to establish sustained control.

In the eighth minute, Kakeru Ono produced a powerful burst before playing in Darcy Burgess, but Cameron Windust was able to shut down the attack.

Just two minutes later, Burgess was again placed under pressure and eventually surrendered possession to Tsekenis inside his own penalty area.

Manly gradually settled into the contest and eventually found the breakthrough in the 19th minute.

Evans opened his senior account after receiving an excellent long ball from O’Driscoll. The 18-year-old took the ball onto his left foot before calmly sliding his finish beyond Marconi goalkeeper Joel Wade to give Manly a 1-0 lead.

The hosts doubled their advantage just three minutes later.

Evans was again at the centre of the action, producing a perfectly weighted pass inside for Benjamin Koop, who made no mistake from close range to put Manly 2-0 ahead.

Marconi attempted to respond before the break, with Franco Valiente seeing a 27th-minute free-kick headed away by Burgess.

Tsekenis then came within inches of reducing the deficit in the 29th minute, with his header narrowly missing the inside post.

Tyren Burnie also went close in the 36th minute, but his effort flew straight into the waiting gloves of Manly goalkeeper Mackenzie Syron.

Valiente continued to search for a way through after the restart, but Burgess again dealt with his free-kick before another long-range attempt from the Stallions midfielder in the 51st minute failed to trouble Syron.

Marconi began to find more attacking momentum, and James Bayliss went close in the 52nd minute, forcing Syron into an excellent one-handed diving save at the far post.

That proved to be a turning point.

Just three minutes later, Marconi pulled a goal back through Marko Jesic, who reacted quickest to finish Bayliss’ deflected effort and reduce the deficit to 2-1.

Manly pushed for a third and came close in the 66th minute when O’Driscoll rose above George Daniel and headed powerfully towards goal, but Wade was equal to the effort.

Marconi continued to search for an equaliser, with Valiente and Jesic both going close but unable to find the target.

Those missed opportunities proved costly in the 80th minute.

O’Driscoll was brought down inside the penalty area by Tsekenis, giving Manly a chance to restore their two-goal advantage.

Stephan De Robillard stepped up and calmly converted the resulting penalty into the far corner to make it 3-1.

Manly’s resolute defence held firm through the closing stages to secure another important victory and extend their unbeaten run to nine matches.

The result moves Manly into the Top Six and strengthens their finals ambitions, while Marconi’s difficult run continues following the recent announcement that Peter Tsekenis and Peter Papoythis will depart the club at the conclusion of the season after a decade together.

For Manly, however, the focus is firmly on the future, with the Northern Beaches club now firmly entrenched in the race for second place and an Australian Championship position.

Match Stats

Manly United 3 (Cai Evans 19’, Ben Koop 22’, Stephan De Robillard 82’)

Marconi Stallions 1 (Marko Jesic 55’)

Saturday 08 August, 2026

Sydney United Sports Centre

Referee: Rebecca Mackie

Assistant Referees: Aaron Bloch and Chloe Gray

Fourth Official: Oscar Stewart

Manly United: (3.Matthew O’Donoghue 83’), 4.Jesse Piriz, 5.Aaron O’Driscoll, 6.Saxon Hillyer, 7.Stephan De Robillard, 8.Kakeru Ono, 9.Benjamin Koop, 10.Darcy Burgess, (11.Ayumu Kimura 83’), 15.Max Martinello, 19.Cai Evans, (24.Toby Bakewell 77’), (28.Ashton Hulme 70’), 29.Douglas John, 99.Mackenzie Syron

Substitutes not used: 2.Luka Krizan, 16.Will Faulder, 21.Harry Turner

Yellow cards: Saxon Hillyer 62’, Douglas John 89’

Red cards: None

Marconi Stallions: 1.Joel Wade, 2.Tyren Burnie, 3.Cameron Windust, 4.Anton Mlinaric, 5.George Daniel, 7.Franco Valiente, 8.James Bayliss, 9.Damian Tsekenis, 10.Marko Jesic, 14.Jack Armson, 17.Sunday Yona, (19.Ahmad Elhelou 83’), (38.Daniel Osei 83’)

Substitutes not used: 12.Julian Monge, 15.Aleksander Duricic, 16.Luca Pecora, 20.Oliver Yates, 27.Antonio Marvello

Yellow Cards: None

Red cards: None

-By Tobias Canning