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Late Sean Symons strike rescues point for APIA

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APIA Leichhardt fought their way back into their battle with Sydney United 58, settling with a 2-2 draw at Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday evening.

United 58 managed two goals in the first half through Patrick Antelmi and Chris Payne, leaving APIA stunned as they made their way to the sheds for the half-time break, but the visitors worked their way back into the match with Jack Armson scoring their first in the 60th minute and Sean Symons equalising at the death.

The hosts wanted to kick off its winning run once more after they defeated local Blacktown District FA side Quakers Hill 7-0 on Thursday evening in their round 4 Australia Cup Preliminary fixture which set them up with a juicy round 5 clash against Rockdale Ilinden.

Sydney United 58 didn’t wait long to start the action, creating a shot on target in the first minute of the match.

Some combination play saw Payne with a chance to shoot from range, but APIA Leichhardt shot-stopper Ivan Necevski collected.

A few early chances to APIA in the opening stages showed that they were hungry for a win after a 4-1 loss to Marconi in Round 10.

One of APIA Leichhardt’s strongest goal scorers in 2022, Jason Romero, came close in the 12th minute, but his effort travelled across the goalmouth.

APIA were inches away from opening the scoring in the 28th minute as Romero drove forward and let off a shot that came off an incoming Danijel Nizic and fell to Walter Scott.

Scott passed back to Armson, whose shot hit the crossbar before hitting the ground around the line and bouncing away.

APIA earned a free kick in the 29th minute and Romero swung it into the area to Themba Muata-Marlow who got on the end of it but couldn’t send it into the netting.

While there were plenty of chances for both sides, United 58 were the next to convert their chances, scoring through Antelmi in the 38th minute.

Payne played the ball off Tariq Maia and to Antlemi, who weaved past Muata-Marlow and sent his shot into the goal.

Sean Symons sent a ball up the park to Romero in the area, who weaved through United 58’s defence and sent a strike towards goal, but Nizic was well prepared to parry it away.

As the first half tipped into extra time, Maia had his chance to extend the lead, but Necevski tipped it over the bar.

Glen Trifiro sent in the resultant corner, which came off the head of a APIA defender and fell to the edge of the box.

Devante Clut sent the ball towards Payne in front of goal, who neatly sent it into the netting, giving the home side a two-goal advantage at the break.

The visitors made their way onto the scoreboard in the 60th minute through Armson, whose low drive was out of reach of Nizic as it slid over the line.

United 58 were quick to retaliate, with Devante Clut sending a strike blazing towards the target in the 61st minute, but Necevski made a sensational save to tip it over the bar.

Sean Symons had a chance for APIA in the 63rd minute, but this shot had a bit too much on it and it skimmed high and wide of the goal.

APIA continued to mount pressure and create chances as they tried to claw something from the match, and their perseverance paid off in the fifth minute of additional time.

Romero swung the ball into the area and substitute Nathanael Blair collected, sending it across to Armson in a central position.

Armson directed it into the area and Symons quickly got on the end of it and cleanly finished to equalise in sensational fashion, stealing a point from the match that drowned the home fan noise as Danial Cummins’ troops secured a draw.

Match Stats

Sydney United 58 2 (Antelmi 39′, Payne 47′)

APIA Leichhardt FC 2 (Armson 61′, S. Symons 96′)

Sunday, 15th May, 2022

Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park

Referee: Michael Weiner

Assistant Referees: Emma Kocbek and Patrick Teleki

Fourth Official: Mujtaba Ebrahimi

Sydney United 58 FC 1. Danijel Nizic, 3. Jordan Roberts (16. Jacob Poscoliero 63’), 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 6. Chris Payne, 9. Patrick Antelmi ( 8. Kyle Cimenti 77’), 10. Devante Clut (5. Anthony Tomelic 77’), 11. Yianni Perkatis, 15. Tariq Maia (14. Andreas Agamemnonos 67’), 17. Matthew Bilic, 18. Glen Trifiro, 22. Yianni Fragogiannis

Substitutes Not Used: 13. Jordan Ivancic, 55. Goran Palecek

Yellow Cards: Bilic 30’, Payne 36’

Red Cards: Nil

Northbridge Bulls: 1. Ivan Necevski, 4. Joshua Symons, 5. Nicholas Azzone (20. Nathanael Blair 73’), 8. Deigo Celis, 9. Jason Romero, 14. Jack Armson, 15. Themba Muata-Marlow (21. Michael Kouta 79’), 16. Sean Symons, 18. Adrian Ucchino, 23. Walter Scott, 38. Yianni Nicolaou

Substitutes Not Used: 3. Paul Galimi, 10. Franco Parisi, 19. Fabian Monge, 22. Luke Turnbull

Yellow Cards: Romero 36’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings

3 – Jack Armson (AL)

2 – Chris Payne (SU)

1 – Ivan Necevski (AL)

 

 

 

 

 

Manly United too strong for United 58

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Sydney United 58’s woes continued as the former NSL giants suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Manly United at the newly upgraded Cromer Park on Friday night in round 10 of the NPL NSW Men’s competition.

A lone goal to Manly’s Japanese star import Seiya Kambayashi was all it took for the Northern Beaches side to collect three points from the match as Sydney United 58 were unable to retaliate.

The win gives valuable points to Manly, while the loss for United 58 was not the start new interim coach Miro Vlastelica would have liked since stepping back into the head coaching role earlier this week following the departure of Joe Haywood.

Both teams kicked into gear as soon as the whistle blew as the hosts looked to put on a show for their home fans.

It was Andreas Agamemnonos who had the first real chance of the match in the 12th minute when his shot from outside the box was saved by Jack Greenwood.

Devante Clut then joined in on the action with a long range effort in the 24th minute but again Greenwood was equal to the task saving well.

After a number of half chances as well as battle in midfield it was United 58 that thought they got the first goal of the match.

Former Manly United star Chris Payne smashed the back of the net only to be denied by an offside call by the assistant referee much to the dismay of the travelling fans.

The match finally started to settle midway through the first half and the crowd at Cromer Park began to find their voice every time Kambayashi touched the ball.

It was however the visitors that thought they grabbed the opening goal once more and it was that man again, Chris Payne.

Fate though would play a role once more as his header was adjudged to be offside but it was yet another warning side for the hosts in the 29th minute.

A long-range strike from Kambayashi nearly broke the stalemate however a diving save from Danjiel Nizic saw it pushed away for a corner in the 35th minute but the signs were ominous that Seiya meant business.

Both teams hit the sheds for the half-time break scoreless as they looked to regroup and make an impact in the second stanza.

Looking to take the lead, United 58 came out firing as Jordan Roberts had a shot saved by Greenwood in the 49th minute.

It was Manly however who finally broke the deadlock and it was that man, Kambayashi that would etched his name on the scorer’s sheet with a well taken goal in front of a healthy crowd in the 58th minute.

The Japanese star drove towards goal and smashed a low drive that deflected off Nizic’s shin to send the ball into the bottom left corner and it was 1-0 to the hosts.

That goal sparked scenes for Manly United who were buoyed by their home fans as they went searching for a second of the match.

Manly United keeper Jack Greenwood stood tall and pulled off a couple of good saves as the game started to stretch but it was Kambayashi’s goal that would separate both teams as Adam Griffiths’ men took home the three precious points.

“It was great to be back in front of a nice crowd,” Adam Griffiths stated to Football NSW.

“Firstly, thanks to Dave Mason he has done an exceptional job with everything to do with this football club we are really pushing with a positive football mentality.

“In terms of the game it was a very tough match against a well organised Sydney United 58 team.

“They just changed their manager, and they have a lot of talented players but we dominated the majority of the game.

“They had a couple chances, and we had a lot more.

“I think we lacked a bit of quality in the final quarter but 100% we deserved the win, and it was a great goal by Seyia.”

Newly appointed Sydney United 58 coach Miro Vlastelica, although disappointed with the result, could not fault his team.

“Its always tough coming up here on a Friday night, but I can’t fault our performance,” he explained.

“We worked on things at training, obviously I’m new to the team, the boys adapted, we worked on certain parts of our game, the boys executed.

“Unfortunately, we got punished, we switched off for a split second when everyone thought the ref would call a foul for the injury or stop the play and Manly kept playing and we stopped.

“Apart from that I don’t think they were the better side.”

Match Stats

Manly United 1 (Seiya Kambayashi ’58)

Sydney United 58 FC 0

Friday 6th May 2022

Cromer Park, Cromer

Referee: Sam Kelly

Assistant Referees: Joon Park and Joel Crawford

Fourth Official: Alessandro Llana

Manly United FC: 2. Kieren Paull, 3. Jesse Piriz, 4. James Oates, 5. Thomas Fay, 7. Seiya Kambayashi, 10. Luca Kmet (29. Marcus Lal, 87’), 12. Finn Ashton (8. Dominic Ferguson 76’), 17. Jack Greenwood, 18. Lucas Rainbird, 19. Alan Aganovic, 22. Bruno Mendes

Substitutes Not Used: 6. Kristian Santich, 20. Zenden Hart, 21. Nick Rainbird, 31. Max Martinello

Yellow Cards: Fay 32’, Ferguson 91’

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Danijel Nizic, 3. Jordan Roberts, 4. Adrian Stephen Vlastelica, 6. Christopher Baden Payne, 8. Kyle Cimenti (9. Patrick Antelmi 65’), 10. Devante Autupuna Clut (13. Jordan Ivancic, 81’), 14. Andreas Agamemnonos (16. Jacob Poscoliero, 81’), 15. Tariq Maia (21. Mihael Marcic 76’), 17. Matthew Joseph Bilic, 18. Glen Trifiro, 22. Yianni Fragogiannis

Substitutes Not Used: 23. Adrian Knez, 55. Goran Palecek

Yellow Card: Vlastelica ’38, Fragogiannis ‘44

Red Cards: Nill

Player Ratings

3 – Seiya Kambayashi (MU)

2 – Alan Aganovic (MU)

1- Finn Ashton (MU)

By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Sophie Tarrant-Foder

 

Sydney United 58 appoint Miro Vlastelica as new Head Coach

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National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s side Sydney United 58 have appointed former coach Miro Vlastelica as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2022 season.

Vlastelica coached the senior squad in 2019 where the club finished Grand Finalists losing out to APIA Leichhardt but stepped down following that match for personal reasons.

The club parted company with Joe Haywood on Monday with Vlastelica given the task to take charge of the squad’s round 10 clash against Manly United tonight in a bid to stop the rut and falling behind the top five placings.

Sydney United 58 currently sit in eighth spot with ten points from nine matches.

Sydney FC Hit United 58 For Six

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Sydney FC have retained top spot in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition, with a convincing and stunning 6-1 victory over Sydney United 58 on Sunday afternoon at Sydney United Sports Centre.

A Jaiden Kucharski hat-trick, along with a brace from Clayton Taylor, saw the Sky Blues put on a clinic in front of goals against a United 58 that has struggled for form in the last few weeks and has now put Jimmy Van Weeren’s troops in the eye as being one of the club’s to catch in 2022.

Taylor opened the scoring in the 17th minute, shortly before Kucharski bagged a brace to finish off the half – scoring in his fifth straight game and getting into double figures for the season.

The flood gates opened in the second-half, as Taylor secured a double and Kucharski capped off his afternoon with his third goal minutes later.

After setting up the opening two goals, Zac Sapsford netted the visitors sixth in the 65th minute.

Glen Trifiro magnificently picked out the top corner in the 86th minute, giving United 58 an earned consolation.

Sydney FC started off the game in a rapid fashion, pressing United 58’s defence in numbers and forcing some errors from the hosts early on.

In-form striker Kucharski found himself with the first real chance of the game, narrowly putting a one-on-one chance wide.

The sky blues enjoyed a successful opening period to the game, shutting down United 58 in attack while creating some dangerous chances on the other end.

The visitors opened the scoring in the 17th minute, after a clearance from the United 58 defence deflected perfectly to Taylor, who neatly tucked his chance away.

With the momentum firmly in their corner, Sydney FC quickly doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute.

After beating his man on the wing Sapsford picked out an oncoming Kucharski in the centre of the area where he chested it past Danijel Nizic and into an open net.

United 58 began to ignite their attack following the second goal, coming close to halving the deficit when Jordan Roberts picked out Jordan Ivancic in the box, with his shot being blocked by the valiant Sydney FC defence.

Jake Girwood-Reich came within an inch of an incredible third goal moments later, as his shot from long range narrowly sailed past the target.

Kucharski ensured the visitors went into the break with a three-goal lead, after a perfect over the top ball from Oscar Priestman, set the clinical-striker up to powerfully place the ball into the roof of the goal.

Sydney FC headed into the break full of confidence and importantly with a three-goal advantage.

The young Sky Blues picked up from where they left off from in the first half, scoring within minutes of the restart.

An incredible solo run from the halfway line from Taylor, saw him break through the centre of the park and on a path to goal, where he made no mistakes to give his side their fourth.

The visitors quickly found a sixth goal in the 50th minute, as Kucharski capped off an eventful afternoon with a hat trick.

After being awarded a free kick from just outside the area, Kucharski picked out the bottom corner and with an assist from the post, got himself a well-earned third.

It was his eleventh goal of the NPL NSW Men’s campaign with the young gun putting his name in lights as bein one of the hottest young prospects in 2022.

Chris Payne came within inches of finding an opener for the hosts, with his powerful effort smashing back against the bar.

It wasn’t going the hosts way throughout the game, so much so that when a fan tried to kick the ball away it came straight back to them

The hosts began to find a groove in attack, putting the young Sky Blues’ defence under some late pressure.

Sapsford got his name on the scoresheet in the 65th minute, after following up from an incredible double-save from Nizic, to tap the ball into an open net.

Immediately following Sydney FC’s sixth, Payne once again came agonisingly close to an opener, after his chip shot went past the oncoming Max Vartuli, but falling wide of the target.

Nizic stood tall in the final period of the game, making several key stops and coming out to meet the sky blue attackers head on.

Glen Trifiro gave United 58 a consolation goal in the final minutes of the game, with an incredible free kick that picked out the top corner.

It was a stellar showing from the visitors, who never looked back after starting the game on a positive note.

Sydney FC coach, Jim Van Weeren was pleased with his side’s performance and was impressed with his sides pressing off the ball.

“First-half we were extremely dominant, we had three and could have potentially had more,” he explained.

“Second-half we kind of dropped a bit, but we still scored three goals so you can’t really complain

“For us being a young team it helps if we can get pressure on the ball and stop balls from being played in behind us, the boys are capable of winning it and we are very good on the break, it’s definitely something we worked on and it’s come a long way.”

United 58 coach, Joe Haywood noted his disappointment with his side’s outing and is looking for an improvement going forward.

“Disappointing result, defensively we need to start looking at ourselves and improve,” he said.

“We didn’t come alive [in the second half], they just stopped playing.”

Match Stats

Sydney United 58 FC 1 (Trifiro 86’)

Sydney FC 6 (Taylor 17’ 47’, Kucharski 22’ 37’ 50’ Sapsford 65’)

Sunday 1st May 2022

Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park

Referee: Karl Davies

Assistant Referees: Matthew Staples and Ivica Covic

Fourth Official: Ayad Naji

Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Danijel Nizic, 3. Jordan Roberts (4. Adrian Vlastelica 26’), 5. Anthony Tomelic (14. Andreas Agamemnonos 71’), 6. Christopher Payne, 8. Kyle Cimenti, 11.Yianni Perkatis (16. Jacob Poscoliero 71’), 13. Jordan Ivancic (23. Adrian Knez 57’), 17. Matthew Billic, 18. Glen Trifiro, 21. Mihael Marcic, 22. Yianni Fragogiannis, (10. Devante Clut 57’)

Substitutes Not Used: 55. Goran Palecek

Yellow Cards: Perkatis 49’, Knez 71’

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney FC:  3. Aaron Gurd, 4. Nathan Grimaldi, 7.Aidan Simmons, 10. Jaiden Kucharski (9.Ben Gibson 64’), 12. Jake Girwood-Reich(5. Kai Kamikura 74’), 13. Clayton Taylor, 14. Zac Sapsford, 17. Jayden Trenkoski (33. Zane Schreiber 74’), 18. Oscar Preistman, 20. Max Vartuli, 28. Louis Agosti (16. Matthew Scarcella 63’)

Substitutes Not Used: 1.Gus Hoefsloot,  26. Aleksandar Duricic

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Card: Nil

Player Ratings

3 – Jaiden Kucharski (SFC)

2 – Clayton Taylor (SFC)

1 – Zac Sapsford (SFC)

Written by National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter, Dominic Criniti @DominicCriniti

 

Stallions gallop to victory at the ‘Palace’ despite late drama

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Marconi Stallions took all three points with a 4-2 victory over Sydney United 58 at Marconi Stadium on Saturday night in a six-goal thriller.

There was plenty of action and excitement at the Palace as a late comeback from the visitors had home fans on the edge of their seats, but the hosts’ held on to secure the victory.

Charles Lokolingoy, Domenic Costanzo, Thomas James and Samuel Gulisano all added points to the scoreboard in the home side’s second win of the season, the first since their opening victory over Sutherland Sharks in Round 1.

Two consolation goals to Kyle Cimenti got the visitors on the scoreboard late in the game but wasn’t enough to change the result of the match.

The win, and successful attacking display, will give Marconi important momentum as they head into a make-up clash with Mt Druitt Town Rangers on Tuesday night.

While the performance will give Marconi positive momentum, the result will leave United 58 scratching their heads as they continue a lackluster run in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition.

Marconi opened the scoring early through Lokolingoy as Costanzo made a promising forward run before cutting to the burly striker in front of goal.

Lokolingoy clinically finished to send the ball into the netting and take an early lead in the 5th minute as well as notching up his fifth goal of the NPL NSW Men’s campaign.

Costanzo had another chance in the 10th minute as he received a stunning ball from James and ran towards goal, but his strike was sent blazing past the goalmouth.

James had an opportunity in the 14th minute as he sent a strike towards the goal, but it hit the crossbar, much to the dismay of the Marconi faithful.

Sydney United 58 missed a golden opportunity in the 19th minute as Patrick Antelmi made a speedy run behind Marconi defender Rob Speranza, drawing out goalkeeper Nenad Vekic in the process.

Vekic couldn’t stop Antelmi on his run, leaving the striker with an open goal, but his effort flew past the goal.

Joe Haywood must have given an inspirational half-time talk as United 58 came out firing in the second half looking to crawl back from their one-goal deficit.

Matthew Bilic stepped up to take a free kick in a dangerous area just outside the 18-yard box in the 49th minute but his shot soared above the crossbar.

Costanzo showed off his talent in the 56th minute, doubling the hosts’ lead with an impressive display of technical ability.

The young-gun managed to intercept the ball from United 58’s defensive line and calmly sent the ball into the netting from outside the 18-yard box.

Tariq Maia came forward for the visitors in the 57th minute, sending a shot towards the goal from well outside the 18-yard box but it drifted wide of the sticks.

Costanzo made a speedy run down the left flank in the 59th minute before crossing to Lokolingoy who had the perfect chance to finish off a sitter but was well off target.

Lokolingoy continued to hunt for more and came close in the 65th minute, but his shot was tipped over the crossbar by Danijel Nizic.

The hosts took the lead to three in the 71st minute as Connor Evans combined with James.

Evans crossed in from the left to James in front of the goal and the number nine tapped it in from close range.

United scored a consolation goal in the 85th minute as substitute Jordan Ivancic sent a delightful cross from outside the 18-yard box into Kyle Cimenti in the area.

Cimenti cleanly headed home the ball to get United 58 on the scoreboard and ruin Marconi’s hopes of a clean sheet.

Chris Payne set up Cimenti for another in the 91st minute after receiving a quality ball from Trifiro.

Payne cut it to Cimenti at the far post, who tapped it in despite a strong challenge from Marconi substitute Zac Cairncross, who left the field after colliding with the post.

Substitute Sam Gulisano sealed the deal for Marconi in the 95th minute after Nizic left his post to come up for a corner kick.

After the visitors’ corner effort fizzled out, Vella collected the ball and sent it over the top to Chris Hatfield up the park.

As United 58s defence scrambled back, Hatfield took his time and played the ball to Gulisano, who slid the ball into the goal from great distance.

Marconi coach Peter Tsekenis was pleased with his side’s performance and result.

“I thought we totally dominated the game,” he said.

“They had a clear-cut chance when we were 1-0 up and we finally got some luck our way and we got to a 3-0 lead which was well deserved and probably could have scored a few more.

“We’re creating a lot of goals, and that’s not only today, but today we managed to get four and that was enough to win the game and the performance matched the result today and I’m very happy.

“We had to make some changes late in the game because we’ve got a Tuesday match and it almost came back to bite us but I think we deserved that result.”

Sydney United 58 coach Joe Haywood explained his side needed to focus on not conceding goals as they move forward in the competition.

“We’ve got to stop conceding goals, that’s our main thing at the moment and in both halves we didn’t do that so we’ve got to find a way of doing that as a group,” he said.

“We’ve just got to find that rhythm as a group and stop conceding the goals because I know we can score goals like we showed in the last 10 minutes or so.”

Haywood also touched on the injuries affecting the squad and the importance of having a fully fit team moving forward.

Losing suspended Yianni Fragogiannis as well as injuries to skipper Adrian Vlastelica, Christian Gonzalez and Jacob Poscoliero have really hurt the team’s defensive stocks.

“If you look at the defenders we had out today we had four defenders out today, which unstabilizes the team,” he explained.

“There is consistency there but within the squad, we need to get everybody back, fit, firing together and working in the right direction and players taking responsibility, coaching staff taking responsibility for what we’re trying to do as a group.”

Match Stats

Marconi Stallions FC 4 (Charles Lokolingoy 5’, Domenic Costanzo 56’, Thomas James 71’, Samuel Gulisano 90+5’)

Sydney United 58 FC 2 (Cimenti 85’, 90+1’

Saturday, 23rd April, 2022

Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park

Referee: Craig Fisher

Assistant Referees: Cameron Wayne Wright and Joon Park

Fourth Official: Logan Rhys Jones

Marconi Stallions: 1. Nenad Vekic, 2. Nathan Millgate (19. Zach Cairncross 84’), 3. Giorgio Speranza, 4. Roberto Speranza, 6. Domenic Costanzo (7. Christopher Hatfield 70’), 8. Connor Evans (23. Brandon Vella 74’), 9. Thomas James, 10. Marko Jesic, 11. Charles Lokolingoy (17. Martin Fernandez 74’), 16. Liam Youlley (13. Samuel Gulisano 84’), 22. Taylor McDonald

Substitutes Not Used: 21. Ashton Maher

Yellow Cards: Nathan Millgate 46’

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Danijel Nizic, 3. Jordan Roberts (21. Mihael Marcic 67’), 5. Anthony Tomelic, 8. Kyle Cimenti, 9. Patrick Antelmi, 10. Devante Clut, 11.Yianni Perkatis, 14. Andreas Agamemnonos, 15. Tariq Maia (6. Christopher Payne 58’), 17. Matthew Billic (13. Jordan Ivancic 74’), 18. Glen Trifiro

Substitutes Not Used: 4. Ante Vojvodic, 16. Adrian Knez, 55. Goran Palecek

Yellow Cards: Jordan Roberts 23’, Yianni Perkatis 56’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings

3 – Domenic Costanzo (MS)

2 – Thomas James (MS)

1 – Charles Lokolingoy (MS)

Written by National Premier Leagues NSW Editor Madeline Riley