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Jesic chasing Cup glory

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Marconi Stallions striker Marko Jesic is confident the historic club is on the cusp of a new era of success starting with victory in this Sunday’s TAFE NSW Waratah Cup final.

The match against local rivals Sydney United 58 at Lily Homes Stadium will be the first top flight final for Marconi since 2012 and comes after the club fought their way back after relegation in 2015.

The Stallions have been desperate for silverware since returning to the NPL NSW Men’s competition and boast a team stacked with talent and big game experience.

Former A-League striker Jesic is one of those players hoping to help Marconi return to the glory days of yesteryear.

The 29-year-old signed for the Bossley Park based club at its lowest point in 2016 after they were relegated from the NPL NSW Men’s competition for the first time.

While it hasn’t been a straightforward journey, the Marconi junior believes qualifying for the Waratah Cup is proof the Stallions are on the right path.

“A club of Marconi’s history deserves to be at the top of the game so when I was approached to join them after they were relegated I took it on as a challenge to help get them back to the level I think this club deserves to be at.,” he said.

“Since we’ve been back in the top tier, results have been up and down but by making this final goes to show we have what it takes to be successful.

“Winning this game is really important to the players because it is proof of what the club and this playing group is capable of.

It is the camaraderie among the current squad which Jesic said has played a major role in their cup run.

Marconi were hardly tested on their way to Sunday’s final scoring an incredible 19 goals in only six games.

While Jesic’s prolific form in front of goal has been a big part of the Stallions free scoring ways, he says it wouldn’t have happened without the selfless play of those around him.

“The best thing about our team this year is that it’s just a good group of lads who all put in for each other both on the training paddock and in matches,” he said.

“There isn’t much in the way of egos and everybody just wants to help each other succeed.

“In saying that we are all fighting for our position in the team each week which means you can’t let your standards slip. We are always pushing each other to perform to our best.”

Coming up against rivals Sydney United 58 in the final will bring a bit of extra spice to the final according to Jesic.

Marconi has had the upper hand against United so far this season defeating them 5-0 in April before holding on for a 0-0 draw, despite being reduced to 10 men for most of the match, in their most recent clash only a fortnight ago.

It is because of these recent contests that Jesic is confident his team will have the mental edge against their opponents.

“I think first and foremost the fact two legendary NSL clubs are facing off in the final means more than anything either team has done this past season,” he said.

“But looking at what we’ve done this year I think for sure they would be worried coming up against us because we’ve proven we know how to score against them and how to stop their attack.

“They are yet to score a goal against us this year and even when we had less players on the field they couldn’t break our defence down.

“While publicly they will probably say they aren’t thinking too much about their 5-0 loss against us I’m confident it will be something they’ll be planning around and talking about in the locker room. I can’t see why it wouldn’t be in their head.”

Jesic said Marconi’s formula for victory for the final will be very simple.

“It all comes down to winning the individual battles on the day,” he said.

“If we can all do our job on the day and beat our opposite player then I know we have the quality to be lifting the trophy.

“It will be a massive day for Marconi and hopefully we can get the job done and deliver more silverware to this great club.”

2019 TAFE NSW Waratah Cup Final

Sunday 14th July

Lily Homes Stadium – 2:30pm kick-off

Marconi Stallions v Sydney United 58

Click here to pre-purchase tickets

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Blacktown City and APIA share the points

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A second half Grant Lynch goal has helped Blacktown City claim a 1-1 draw against APIA Leichhardt Tigers at Lily Homes Stadium on Sunday.

The City central defender fired home from the penalty spot after 71 minutes to ensure the Mark Crittenden coached side took home a point from a hard fought contest.

Franco Parisi helped give APIA the lead when he delivered a perfect pass to set up Josh Symons for the opener just after the restart.

However, it didn’t last for long with Mason Versi taken down in the penalty area soon after to set up Lynch for the equaliser.

Despite the result APIA and Blacktown City maintain their second and third positions on the ladder.

Neither started the match with fanfare, with Symons struggling to clear the ball a number of times, and Galimi being caught out by Leroy Jennings.

There wasn’t much to write home about in the first ten minutes as either sides live wires attempted to inject life into the match.

Mercurial attacker Franco Parisi came deep to pull the strings for APIA and set free Corey Biczo to keep the Blacktown City defenders focused on 15 minutes.

Blacktown goalkeeper Tristan Prendergast had a few nervy moments in the first half, fumbling a routine cross by Sean Symons and a shot by Adrian Ucchino.

The juices started flowing at Lily Homes Stadium with the hosts having the first clear cut chance of the match.

Mason Versi collected a delightful cross field ball and beat Galimi on the turn but poked the finish just wide of the post.

Joey Gibbs’ free-kick effort had Ivan Necevski sweating as the top corner beckoned, but it wasn’t to be.

The height and presence of Muata-Marlow was missed as two headers by Grant Lynch almost gave Blacktown the lead in the first half. Lachlan Campbell’s deliveries into the box were causing some serious problems for the in form Tigers defence.

With APIA front man Chris Payne struggling for a touch on the ball, The Tigers were being kept to outside of the box ‘Hail Mary’s’ for their attempts at goal.

It was truly a tale of two halves.

APIA Leichhardt came out of the blocks firing with Sean Symons taking on Campbell and Yianni Spyrakis before trying to curl one into the back of the net, unsuccessfully.

Blacktown’s midfielders were getting frustrated, giving away sloppy free-kicks which saw Daniel Collins enter the referee’s book. The following free-kick saw the breakthrough.

The veteran Parisi put the ball on a dime for Josh Symons who headed past Prendergast for 1-0, the momentum well and truly with The Tigers.

APIA kept up their relentless pressure with Payne and Biczo wreaking havoc in Blacktown’s final third.

Leroy Jennings’ efforts were rewarded as he skipped past Symons before cutting back to the waiting Gibbs, he controlled but his shot was tame, safely into the hands of Ivan Necevski.

The breakthrough came for Blacktown as the clock hit 70. Mason Versi charged into the box and got the run on Galimi who brought down the attacker.

Grant Lynch stepped up against Necevski and his penalty, low into the left corner was saved but the defender was quickest on the follow-up.

Two chances for APIA came thick and fast with Parisi breaching the City defence before hesitating to pull the trigger to take the lead. Corey Biczo went on his own and had Blacktown hearts jumping with his low drive.

Chris Payne was almost the hero, bringing down the loose ball on his chest and volleying first time. His shot on 85 minutes, slammed against the crossbar with a huge sigh of relief settling in at Lily Homes Stadium.

It ended all square, a result befitting of these two exceptional teams.

Blacktown goal scorer Grant Lynch was happy about the teams game plan and believes they have a blueprint to build form ahead of the finals.

“I thought I had an all right game to be honest, we had a clear game plan for us,” said Lynch.

“We executed it pretty well, I put my name forward to take the penalty and I was lucky.”

APIA striker Chris Payne was disappointed his side couldn’t maintain their lead following their great results in June.

“We definitely could have had all three”, said Payne. “A draw is a fair result, it was a bit up and down for both sides.”

“The second half opened up for both teams, it’s two points lost for us because we took the lead in the second half.”

APIA Leichardt Tigers take on Sydney Olympic in round 19 while Blacktown City take on Rockdale City Suns next week.

Match Stats

Blacktown City FC: 1 (G. Lynch 71’)

APIA Leichardt Tigers FC: 1 (J. Symons 53’)

Sunday, 7th July 2019

Lily Holmes Stadium, Seven HIlls

Referee: Jack Morgan
Assistant Referees: Nick Blacko, Nathan Watton

Fourth Official: Kyle Hockings

APIA LEICHHARDT TIGERS FC: 1. Ivan Necevski (gk), 3. Paul Galimi, (15. Themba Muata-Marlow, 74’), 4. Joshua Symons, 6. Christopher Payne, 7. Tynan Diaz, 8. Corey Biczo, 10. Franco Parisi, 12. Sam McIllhatton, 16. Sean Symons, 18. Adrian Ucchino, 21. Michael Kouta

Substitutes not used: 14. Lachlan Hughes, 19. Dominion Nasrabadi, 22. Luke Turnbull, 23. Nicholas Stavroulakis,

Yellow Cards: nil

Red Cards: Nil

BLACKTOWN CITY FC: 1. Tristan Prendergast (gk), 3. Daniel Collins, 4. Yianni Spyrakis, 5. Grant Lynch, 6. Matthew Lewis, 9. Joey Gibbs, 12. Lachlan Campbell, 15. Mason Versi (11. Emmanuel Gonzalez 79’), 17. Dakota Askew, 19. Adam Berry, 22. Leroy Jennings (10. James Demetriou 84’)

Substitutes not used: 7. Devante Clut, 20. Dylan Niski, 24. Jackson Bandiera

Yellow Cards: 3. Daniel Collins (50’),

Red Card: Nil

Wolves inch closer to Premiership title

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A first-half strike from Wollongong’s Lachlan Scott helped the Wolves beat competition strugglers Hakoah Sydney City East 1-0 at WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon. 

Scott’s 34th minute strike helped the league leaders go seven points clear at the top of the National Premier League NSW Men’s ladder with just four rounds remaining.

It was the hosts who dominated most of the early play, with early chances from the league-leading goal scorer Thomas James and Japanese dynamo Takeru Okada troubling travelling Hakoah gloveman Ryan Norval to no avail.

However, the Wolves finally broke through in the 34th minute after Okada was able to slide a ball out to Taylor McDonald on the right-hand flank.

McDonald quickly swung in a pinpoint cross aimed at former A-League striker Lachlan Scott, who was able to deftly nod the ball past Norval, squeezing the shot into the back of the net and handing the hosts the lead.

Despite going behind, the bottom-placed Hakoah side refused to count themselves out of the fixture and the side almost levelled the scores in the 57th minute thanks to a quick break from Adrian Vranic. Vranic was able to slide a quick ball past a rushing Justin Pasfield and find Dominic Cox on the right-hand side of the Wolves box.

However, Cox was unable to level the scores, mis-hitting his shot past Pasfield, causing it to be swept up by the Wollongong backline.

The visitors continued to prove problematic in the second half as Wollongong attempted to stamp their authority on the encounter, but neither side was able to add to the match’s goal tally, with the Wolves holding on for a 1-0 win.

Wollongong coach Luke Wilkshire was slightly disappointed in his side’s performance despite the result but noted the side still did well to earn a clean sheet and put themselves in a strong position for the final stretch of the season.

“People say that it’s a cliché that there is no such thing as an easy game, but they fight for their lives, they make it difficult and they [Hakoah] did,” he said.

“I think for me we didn’t reach the levels that I know this team can play at, so in that respect it’s disappointing.

“It’s not bad when you come after another victory and another clean sheet and feel a little bit disappointed. It shows what’s expected of us and expected of ourselves but it’s another three points, we’ve got four games left to go and we’ve got a couple of weeks now to prepare for the next one.”

Meanwhile, Hakoah Sydney City East coach Gavin Rae thought his side played well against the league leaders but noted the side continues to lack a fatal quality in the final third.

“We came here with a game plan, we know they’re [Wollongong] a good team [and] try and stifle them as much as we could and limit chances,” he said.

“I thought overall, we did ok at that and we made a couple of half chances ourselves and that’s what we are aiming for, to try and get something out of the game.

“That’s probably what has let us down all season to be honest. Little bits like that and its’ been very disappointing, getting in good positions and we’re just not taking advantage of it.

“We’ve got a good team that has just fell a bit short at times this season and that’s disappointing, but hey, that’s football and you’ve got to take it.”

Match Stats

Wollongong Wolves 1 (Lachlan Scott 34’)

Hakoah Sydney City East FC 0 

Sunday 7th July, 2019

WIN Stadium, Wollongong

Referee: H. Jomaa

Assistant Referees: M. McOrist and J. Park

Fourth Official: S. Quinn

Wollongong Wolves: 1. Justin Pasfield, 2. Taylor McDonald (14. Harry Callahan 62’), 3. Darcy Madden, 4. Nikola Djordjevic, 7. Christopher Price, 9. Thomas James (23. Jordan Nikolovski 78’), 11. Takeru Okada, 15. Nick Littler, 16. Guy Knight, 17. James Stojcevski, 24. Lachlan Scott (8. Bul Juach 88’)

Substitutes Not Used: 6. Benjamin Tosi, 12. Luke Kairies (GK)

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Hakoah Sydney City East FC: 1. Ryan Norval, 2. Connor Shaddock, 4. Bradley Walker, 5. Steven Katsionis, 6. Dominic Cox (24. Amaury Marie Gauthier 73’), 8. Oliver Green, 11. Jack Green, 12. Joshua Swadling, 13. Robert Ezekiel (14. Jordan Koton 61’), 17. Harry Jones, 23. Adrian Vranic (9. Shohei Okuno 87’)

Substitutes Not Used: 10. Nathan Roberts, 25. Max Ephraim

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.

By National Premier Leagues NSW Reporter Cal Behrendt

Kuleski steals the show at Cromer

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Two Nikola Kuleski stunners has helped Sydney Olympic emerge 2-1 victors over Manly United in a pulsating encounter at Cromer Park on Sunday afternoon.

Following a rather tame opening stanza, the contest sprung to life two minutes after the interval as Kuleski produced a goal of the season contender from long range.

Manly equalised courtesy of a Brendan Cholakian set piece twenty minutes later, however they were only level for a matter of moments as Kuleski curled in another screamer from his own dead ball scenario on the 70-minute mark.

The hosts found themselves in the ascendancy for extended periods of the match, however were left frustrated by a heroic defensive showing from the Champions.

There was no shortage of late drama as a last-gasp equaliser from substitute Charles Mendy was eventually scratched out for offside after a heart-stopping few minutes of deliberation by the officials.

Six minutes of stoppage time were eventually brought to a halt, and Olympic secured a priceless three points to tighten their stranglehold on an all-important top five position, breaking Manly hearts in the process.

In a match where the stakes were high, both sides took their time to grow into the contest resulting in a tight, scrappy first period.

While Olympic maintained possession well in the opening stages, it was Manly who finished the half the stronger.

Their best opportunity arrived in the 43rd minute, as Adam Parkhouse forced a smart save out of Paul Henderson down low to his right, before Cholakian’s attempt at turning home the opener was smothered.

Then out of seemingly nowhere, Katie Pattinson’s whistle at the commencement of the second half brought rise to a battle of epic proportions.

47 minutes in, a Harris Gaitazis effort was deflected out into the path of Nikola Kuleski at the base of Olympic’s midfield.

He confidently brought the ball under control, before unleashing an unbelievable half-volleyed strike which evaded a soaring Dylan Mitchell to nestle in the top right corner of the net.  

While the Cromer Park faithful sat stunned, they were soon on their feet as Manly so nearly replied instantly.

Adam Parkhouse flew down the left wing and shook off his marker to find himself in a promising crossing position.

He elected to produce a smart cut back into the path of Cholakian, whose attempt at curling one home into the bottom right corner was denied by Paul Henderson.

Manly could smell blood, and continued to claw their way back into the contest.

As the hosts upped the ante, the Champions found themselves conceding a string of free kicks in dangerous positions.

And after three precise Cholakian deliveries were scrambled away by Olympic’s evergreen shot-stopper, Manly were finally rewarded for their efforts on the fourth attempt.

67 minutes in, Cholakian unleashed a menacing delivery which no less than four Manly defenders attempted to guide home.

The ball managed to evade them all, as well as the outstretched palm of Henderson, to fortuitously forge the fired-up Manly outfit parity.

Then despite their ongoing persistence, the hosts were hit with a cruel sucker-punch just three minutes later.

The 70-minute mark saw another set piece spectacularly evade everyone in its path from an even more acute angle.

This time, it was the man of the moment Kuleski who struck his effort so sweetly that it reunited with the same top corner he had pinpointed twenty minutes earlier.

As was becoming customary of the game’s frantic rhythm, Manly almost swung straight back through substitute Charles Mendy.

72 minutes in, the winger drove towards the edge of the area and powered a venomous strike which whistled past the post by a matter of centimetres.

Abbas Saad then attempted to consolidate Olympic’s advantage, employing a resolute five-at-the-back shape following the introduction of Thomas Whiteside.

The approach worked wonders to secure the final result, however the latter stages were not without some nervy moments for Saad’s men.

There was no greater heart-in-mouth moment than when Mendy turned home Parkhouse’s flick-on at the back post with two minutes remaining, sparking jubilant scenes of celebration around Cromer Park.

However the drama did not end there; after a lengthy consultation between the referee and her assistant, the goal was deemed offside and the score-line remained in Olympic’s favour.

Manly gave their all in pursuit of the equaliser during six minutes of additional time, however a stoic Olympic defensive unit ensured they would return to Belmore with a snatch-and-grab three points.

Abbas Saad was elated with his side’s resistance which secured them a crucial three points in the finals race.

“It was a hard-fought win,” he said

“Both teams were desperate for three points, and both units defended really well.

“It took three quality goals to open things up.

“There weren’t many chances from open play, but it was end-to-end and very competitive.

“It could have gone either way, but I was happy that there was a bit of luck on our side for a change.

“Maybe a draw was a fair result, but we worked hard for the win.”

On the other hand, Paul Dee was left scratching his head as to how his side emerged empty-handed.

“It was a game where I was not happy with the result but was very happy with how the boys executed our game plan,” the Manly boss revealed.

“I thought we were threatening going forward and created a whole host of chances.

“I come away in disbelief that it was a 2-1 loss.

“It took two very special strikes to beat us today.

“It was hard to take that one; a game that our boys played really well but came away with nothing.”

Match Stats

Manly United FC 1 (Cholakian 67’)

Sydney Olympic FC 2 (Kuleski 47’, 70’)

Sunday 7th July, 2019

Cromer Park, Dee Why 

Referee: K. Patterson

Assistant Referees: L. Greenshields, J. Adabjou

Fourth Official: H. Fenton-White

Manly United: 1. Dylan Mitchell, 2. Kieran Paull, 4. Travis Oughtred. 5. Sam Gallagher, 6. Joseph Fox (9. Harry McCarthy 81’), 8. Dominic Ferguson, 10. Brendan Cholakian, 14. Dejan Pandurevic, 13. Scott Balderson (12. Charles Mendy 62’) 11. Adam Parkhouse, 17. Lewis Miccio

Substitutes not used: 32. Mackenzie Syron, 7. Sam Wilson, 23. Bradley McDonald

Yellow Cards: Ferguson 37’, Balderson 62’

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney Olympic: 1. Paul Henderson, 3. Riley Woodcock, 4. Mitchell Stamatellis, 6. Nikola Kuleski, 7. William Angel, 8. Jason Madonis, 10. Harris Gaitatzis (2. Thomas Whiteside 78’), 11. Jinya An, 12. Zachary Mackenzie, 17. Jack Steward (44. Peter Kekeris 61’), 22. Michael Gaitatzis

Substitutes Not Used: 9. Radovan Pavicevic, 20. Ezequiel Consoni, 52. Nikolas Tsattalios

Yellow Cards: Angel 64’, Kuleski 66’, Madonis 78’, Zachary Mackenzie 90+7’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.

By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Reporter Chris Curulli (Twitter handle @ChrisCurulli)

 

 

Sharks brought back down to earth by hungry Stallions

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James Andrew came back to haunt his former club scoring a brace to end Sutherland Sharks incredible ten game unbeaten streak as Marconi Stallions claimed a 3-0 win at Seymour Shaw Park on Saturday.

Andrew was a headache all night for the Sharks defence and made the most of his return to the Shire to lead his Stallions team to a much needed win following on from its midweek TAFE NSW Waratah Cup Semi-Final victory over Manly United. 

The pacy winger scored on either side of the interval to give the visitors the upper hand before veteran striker Marko Jesic wrapped up the win in the 62nd minute.

It was an incredible return to form for Marconi with the three points vital in keeping their fading finals hopes alive.

Defence was something the Sharks really worked hard on in the second half of the season but a key omission from the squad was talented central defender Liam McGing with reports circulating that he is closing in on an A-League deal with the Wellington Phoenix.  

It was a cat and mouse affair in the middle of the pitch during the early stages, particularly with both missing key personnel for what was always going to be a tight contest in the run-in for a possible spot in the top five.

Jordan Morfitis claimed the first shot in anger after a neat exchange of passes with Quentin Cheng however he curled the effort the wrong side of the upright.

Raul Romero won the ball inside his own half in the 19th minute and proceeded on a delightful dribble into the area before testing Nenad Vekic between the Stallions’ sticks.

Mark Warren, leading by example for Sutherland, found himself in the book for an off the ball incident involving Andrew midway through the half. The home side could ill afford to lose their skipper who would need to watch his step for the majority of the game.

It was a full blooded encounter with Liam Youlley was cautioned for a rash challenge in the centre circle such was the desperation of the sides.

After 34 minutes Marko Jesic fired an effort over the bar with a wickedly bending free-kick but Sharks keeper Anthony Bouzanis had it covered. 

As the game seemed headed into the break without a goal, Andrew punished Sutherland with his rapid speed to score after getting in behind the defence.

The home side failed to learn their lesson during the interval with Andrew claiming his second only six minutes after the restart. 

Vella won the ball and scampered through the Sharks’ defence with a clever dip of the shoulder to tee up Andrew and complete a well-orchestrated move to make it 2-0

With the home side forced into pushing forward, the pacey attack of Marconi would remain a constant threat.

Two became three when Stallions captain Jesic reacted sharply to a Mateo Poljak error and curled it around the stranded Bouzanis to effectively settle the tie. It was his tenth goal of the NPL NSW Men’s campaign. 

Cox came close to reducing the deficit when striding through to meet a Warren shot-cum-cross in the 78th minute but it wasn’t to be Sutherland’s night

“Collectively as a unit we simply were not good enough tonight,” Sutherland coach Terry Palapanis said.

“Errors again cost us so it’s back to square one once more.

“They dominated us tonight and that cannot be denied.

“There isn’t too much more I can say to be honest, we were taught a lesson out there tonight but we’ll recover and move on to the next match.”

Marconi boss Peter Tsekenis felt his players stepped up with their season on the line.

“We needed to win tonight to keep our top five tilt alive but we are still in all competitions so it a good season so far,” he said.

“it is hard with midweek games to contend with and back up so we sat back a bit to conserve our energy and looked to hit on the break and it worked well tonight.

“We gave away some cheap possession in the first-half but we tightened up after the break and got our just desserts.”

The Sharks will have the weekend off while the Stallions prepare for the TAFE NSW Waratah Cup Final when they meet rivals Sydney United 58 on Sunday 14th of July at Lily Homes Stadium with kick off set for 2:30pm.

Match Stats

Sutherland Sharks 0

Marconi Stallions 3 (Andrew 45+1’, 52’, Jesic 61’)

Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda

Saturday 6th July 2019

Referee: Sam Grasso

Asst. Refs: Pat Teleki & Matt Staples

4th Official: Nathan McCorist

Sutherland Sharks: 1.Anthony Bouzanis, 2.Quentin Cheng, 3.Marc Warren, 4.Patrick O’Shea, 7.Bai Antoniou (12.Blair Brown 62’), 8.Mateo Poljak (25.Brodie Clarkson 85’), 9.Jeremy Cox, 10.Raul Beneit Romero, 11.Jordan Morfitis, 21.Tarik Ercan (32.Alexander Lopez 62’), 22.Jerry Skotadis

Substitutes not used: 18.Mitchell Evans, 19.Harry Sutherland

Yellow Cards: Warren 24’, Ercan 52’, Brown 90+2

Red Cards

Marconi Stallions: 1.Nenad Vekic, 2.Nathan Millgate, 3.Giorgio Speranza, 4.Roberto Speranza, 8.Connor Evans (7.Sean O’Connell 78’), 10.Marko Jesic (40.Damian Tsekenis 88’), 12.James Andrew, 13.Yianni Nicolaou, 16.Liam Youlley (20.Richie Cardozo  85’), 23.Brendon Vella, 28.Martin Fernandez

Substitutes not used: , 14.Peter Pelekanos, 17.Kristian Sekutkovski

Yellow Cards: Youlley 30’, Nicolaou 74’

Red Cards:

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.

By National Premier Leagues NSW Reporter Micky Brock