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Zeljko Kalac appointed Sydney United 58 Head Coach

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National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s side Sydney United 58 have appointed former Socceroo Zeljko ‘Spider’ Kalac as its head coach for the 2024 season.

The 50-year-old returns to his former stomping ground, a place he called home as a junior and senior as well as having managed the ex-NSL giants in 2020.

“It’s truly special to return to Sydney United 58, a club deeply ingrained in my life,” Kalac stated.

“While our sights are set on clinching the Championship, our focus extends beyond the present.

“We’re dedicated to cultivating talent and building a strong foundation for the future.”

Kalac recently spent time managing the Bulls FC Academy during the 2023 NPL NSW Men’s campaign.

“It’s an important season as the club, as well as football in Australia, continues to evolve.

“We need to ensure our incoming playing group is committed to the standards this great club has,” the club promoted in its official press release.

Kalac replaces Miro Vlastelica who has been invaluable for the club but will still feature as part of the coaching staff in 2024.

“It’s important to keep good people and coaches around the club as we continue to progress – we’re looking forward to what the new season holds,” the club issued in its press release.

The 2023 Waratah Cup Champions have commenced it’s rebuild as the club said farewell to long serving stalwarts Matthew Bilic, Yianni Fragogiannis, Chris Payne, Devante Clut and Yianni Perkatis while Andrea Agamemnonos, Taisei Kaneko, Ante Bakmaz, Jason Madonis and Hiyori Kawaguchi will feature in new teams in 2024.

The club has resigned Leroy Jennings, Alessandro Lacalandra, Glen Trifio, Patrick Antelmi, Adrian Vlastelica, Bailey Rule, Anthony Tomelic, Luke Cukar and Tariq Maia for the new year.

St George City power over United 58

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St George City extended their unbeaten run in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s to five games on Sunday defeating Sydney United 58 2-0 at Sydney United Sports Centre. 

Franco Maya put the side in front just before halftime before Kosta Petratos added a second from the spot midway through the second half.

United 58 had the ball in the net within two minutes when Patrick Antelmi reacted fastest in the box following a left-sided corner, but he was ruled offside.

St George when forward three minutes later through Petratos who lined up from the left edge of the box, the ball bouncing wide of the near post.

The hosts went close again in the 16th minute as Leroy Jennings clipped a cross from the right to Antelmi at the far post, however, the stretching forward couldn’t direct it goalward.

City returned fired seven minutes later with Maya’s right-sided free-kick finding Dominic Cox in the middle whose downward header was parried away by Luke Cukar.

Cox had another shot only a couple of minutes after his first, this time curling one from the edge of the area forcing Cukar into a flying save to his left.

Antelmi caused more problems for St George just after the half-hour mark, turning well in the box, before clipping the right post with his sliding effort.

Chances continued to trickle through for both teams in the final stages of the first half, and City snatched the lead with a minute of regular time to play.

United 58 defender Bailey Rule’s header back to his goalkeeper was short allowing Maya to nip in and poke it beyond Cukar.

The home side should have made amends straight away as Jennings bore down on goal after latching onto a ball over the top, forcing Yaren Sozer into a sharp save.

St George took their slender into halftime having capitalised on that late Sydney United error.

They nearly added their second just before the hour mark when Pedro Ferrari slipped Cox into the right of the box, the midfielder cannoning a shot off the goal’s frame.

In the 65th minute, City found their second goal with Petratos sending a penalty down the middle after Cox was fouled by Cukar in the box.

Six minutes later, United 58 sought to pull one back when Antelmi stole the ball on the right corner of the box; his consequent shot repelled by Sozer.

With six minutes to play, St George substitute Marley Peterson got into the right of the box and fired towards the near post, but Cukar held on to deny a third.

The side saw out the remaining minutes to make it four wins in their past five matches.

Match Stats

Sydney United 58 FC 0

St George City FA 2 (Franco Maya 44’, Kosta Petratos 65’ penalty)

Sunday 20 August 2023

Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park

Referee: Craig Fisher

Assistant Referees: Matt Staples and Amirhossein Hosnani

Fourth Official: Jackson Mackie

Sydney United 58 FC: 20. Luke Cukar (GK), 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica (C), 5 Anthony Tomelic, 7. Taisei Kaneko, 9. Patrick Antelmi (13. Alessandro Lacalandra 82’), 10 Devante Clut (6. Christopher Payne 62’), 12. Hiyori Kawaguchi, 14. Andreas Agamemnonos, 21. Yianni Fragogiannis (16. Ante Bakmaz 46’), 22. Leroy Jennings (17. Matthew Bilic 62’)

Substitutes Not Used: 37. Dany Ghetti, 50. Joshua Lakkis (GK)

Yellow Cards: Hiyori Kawaguchi 40’

Red Cards: Nil

St George City FA: 1. Yaren Sozer (GK), 2. Pedro Ferrari, 3. Daniel Alessi (C), 4. Brendan Hooper, 8. Dominic Cox, 11. Kosta Petratos, 14. Dean Pelekanos, 23. Franco Maya (9. Marley Peterson 74’), 24. Alexander Kyriacou, 30. Presley Ortiz (7. Nathan Roberts 74’), 70. Maki Petratos (16. Mohammed Khamis 86’)

Substitutes Not Used: 10. Paolo Mitry, 12. Jack Kenny (GK), 25. Andrew Vlahadamis

Yellow Cards: Alexander Kyriacou 43’, Franco Maya 54’, Brendan Hooper 56’, Marley Peterson 90’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings: 

3 – Dominic Cox (STG)

2 – Franco Maya (STG)

1 – Patrick Antelmi (SU58)

Report by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_

United 58 victorious after last-minute winner in drama-filled contest 

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A late strike from 19-year-old Alessandro Lacalandra has given Sydney United 58 a much-needed 2-1 win over the Central Coast Mariners on Sunday afternoon at Sydney United Sports Centre.

With many of the mainstays out for the Mariners, United 58 set the tone from the early stages and took control of the game from the first kick.

The strong start was capped off in the 11th minute when Leroy Jennings skilfully broke through the Mariners’ defence and perfectly placed his chance for the opening goal.

After a slow start to the half, the Mariners came out with intent and matched the intensity of the hosts to finish off the first half.

The second half produced the majority of the drama, starting in the 55th minute when shostopper Luke Cukar denied Jordan Segreto from the spot.

Segreto extracted revenge just four minutes later, levelling the game, but it was Glen Trifiro’s red card in the 68th minute that left the fans with a grandstand finish.

The Mariners’ on-field advantage was cancelled out in the 81st minute when Dean Larson was shown a straight red card.

United 58 secured the win in the final minute of regular time when Alessandro Lacalandra broke away and finished his chance across the face of goal.

Coming into this fixture with a youthful-looking side, due to the coinciding Australia Cup tie, the Mariners were up against it facing a much more experienced side.

United 58 dominated the opening exchanges, restricting the Mariners’ time with the ball and limiting their attacking opportunities.

Glen Trifiro gave the hosts their first chance of the game, setting up Patrick Antelmi who expertly got himself free and fired off a shot that fizzled away off the post.

After a handful of close chances, United capped off the strong start with the opening goal of the game courtesy of Leroy Jennings.

The United 58 attacker put his full set of skills on display, dribbling past the Mariners’ backline and calmly slotting his effort in the bottom corner.

After conceding the first goal, Central Coast clicked into gear and found their groove going forward after previously being put on the backfoot to start the match.

The Mariners’ first chance came through Luke Oresti after his curling effort was pushed away by the fingertips of Cukar before clipping the top of the crossbar.

Oresti continued to test Cukar and the United defence, coming close to levelling the score moments later shortly before the man between the sticks did his best to deny Nicholas Duarte.

With the game begging to even out in the latter stages of the second half, it was United who came closest to scoring again when Patrick Antelmi found an open Taisei Kaneko, but his close-range effort agonisingly went wide of the target.

After another close call, the Mariners turned the tide to end the first half, forcing United back into their own half and unloading a flurry of long balls into the box.

Both sides staked their case to find a goal in the backend of the first half, but it was the United 58 defence that came out on top, giving them a 1-0 lead going into the break.

Upon the resumption of play both sides picked up from where they left off in the first half, putting a strong display of physicality and fast-paced attack.

Despite the fast-paced start, neither could muster a genuine chance in the first ten minutes of play in the second half.

The action kicked off just after the 55th minute when Cristian Gonzalez conceded a penalty for taking down Duarte in the box.

Segreto stepped up and struck the ball with all his power only to be denied by a strong right arm from Cukar.

After missing the penalty, Segreto repaid his team with the Mariners’ lone goal of the game in the 59th minute.

Segreto was played through on goal courtesy of a long ball out from the back and with the United 58 defence assuming he was offside, he went through untouched and slotted his chance home.

The goal caused plenty of confusion amongst the United 58 squad, so much so that the hosts almost conceded a second just as quickly when Duarte’s header narrowly missed the top corner.

With the game hanging in the balance, United 58 were dealt a crucial blow after Trifiro was given a straight red card in the 68th minute.

Having to play the remaining 22 minutes with ten men, United 58 took it in their strides and maintained a strong physical presence in defence.

The playing field was evened out 12 minutes later when Dean Larson was also shown a straight red card for an incident with United 58 substitute Chris Payne.

With ten men on either side, both teams threw caution to the win desperately searching for all three points.

The winning goal came in the final minute of regulation as Chris Payne played Lacalandra goal bound, where the substitute riffled his effort into the bottom corner.

Central Coast produced a late surge of attacking chances, headlined by a flurry of corners but the United 58 defence remained solid and held on for the dramatic win.

Reflecting on a thrilling contest, United 58 coach Miro Vlastelica noted his joy in the performance whilst crediting an equally good showing from his opponents.

“We were dominating and dominated a lot of the game but it’s good to get a win at home, the boys played well and showed plenty of character after went down to ten men,” he said.

“First half we hit the post twice then had another chance to go up 2-0 then it probably would’ve been game over, but we let them back in the game and credit to them, they started getting a bit of momentum, but we managed it and got the result in the end.”

Despite the disappointing result, Mariners coach Abbas Saad remained positive when discussing his side’s performance.

“It was a great performance apart from the first 20 minutes, United were excellent in the first 20 they played great football… but then we got into the game, started to create chances and finished the first half the better team,” he said.

“Second half was predominantly us and it was only going to be one team to win it and it was going to be us but credit to them they went down to ten men, it was a great second goal from them.

“It’s down to taking our chances and we didn’t but I’m very proud, I thought we were probably the better team on the day, good football, great energy… I love playing against them because they play football the right way, it was a great game to watch.”

Match Stats

Sydney United 58 FC 2 (Jennings 11’, Lacalandra 89’)

Central Coast Mariners 1 (Segreto 59’)

Sunday 13th August 2023

Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park

Referee:  Karl Davies

Assistant Referees: Emma Kocbek and Arinath Gobinath

Fourth Official: Rowan Fisher

Sydney United 58 FC: 20. Luke Cukar, 2. Cristian Gonzalez (4. Adrian Vlastelica 85’), 3. Bailey Rule, 5. Anthony Tomelic, 7. Taisei Kaneko (17. Matthew Bilic 85’), 9. Patrick Antelmi (6. Christopher Payne 70’), 12. Hiyori Kawaguchi, 14. Andreas Agamemnonos (13. Alessandro Laclandra 70’), 18. Glen Trifiro, 21. Yianni Fragogiannis, 22. Leroy Jennings (10. Devante Clut 70’)

Substitutes not used: 50. Ryan Warner,

Yellow cards: M.Vlastelica 64’, Chris Payne 83’, Kawaguchi 86’

Red cards: Trifiro 63’

Central Coast Mariners: 30. Lewis Alvarez, 3. Cameron Windust, 4. Dean Larson, 10. Nicholas Duarte (18. George Daniel 70’), 14. Luke Oresti, 15. Jordan Segreto (32. Tommy Edmonds 79’), 16. William Arnold, 21. Maksim Kasalovic (39. Dylan Susovic 70’), 23. Gianni Di Pizio (26. Max Middleby 45’), 24. Zac Zoricich, 31. Amponsah Antwi

Unused subs: 20. Alexander Parkes, 22. Andre Parkes

Yellow cards: nil

Red cards: Larson 81’

Player Ratings

3: Anthony Tomelic (SU)

2: Luke Cukar (SU)

1: Jordan Segreto (CCM)

By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Dominic Criniti @DominicCriniti

Sydney United 58 brought back down to earth by NWS Spirit FC

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NWS Spirit FC have brought Sydney United 58 back down to earth following their recent Round of 32 Australia Cup victory with a thrilling 3-2 victory to complete Round 27 of National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition at Christie Park on Wednesday evening. 

The visitors were buoyed following their 4-2 victory over Broadmeadow Magic last Friday but were dealt a hammer blow as they suffered their twelfth loss of the 2023 NPL NSW Men’s campaign in tough circumstances thanks to a stunning second half hat-trick from an unlikely source in Jordan Gomez.

The hosts started the better of the two sides, Luiz Lobo perhaps having the best chance of the half early with a toe poke effort forcing a good save from Luke Cukar after an interchange of passes on 20 minutes.

United’s best period following soon after that, however they were up against a Spirit defence who were willing to get their body in the way of their shots. Taisei Kaneko most notably having a shot deflected wide before a couple of in swinging corners caused Christopher Marques some issues.

This followed by another chance for the visitors before the half hour, a poor turnover at the back allowing Andrea Agamemnonos to pick it up in a dangerous position who found Chris Payne ahead of him, his shot blocked before it could reach the goal.

Spirit were to have the best two chances of the first half however, the second of which coming in the 41st minute. Jared Lum released through on goal after some nice bodywork from Matthew Cahill in the build-up. His shot was denied by a good Cukar save with his right foot.

Perhaps the more fortunate of the two sides to go in level, Sydney United 58 came out an improved side at the resumption.

Spirit were still threatening though and they had another good chance to take the lead in the 49th minute. Kota Odakura picking out Musashi Kokubo with a well weighted delivery into the area from the set piece – Kokubo denied by another good Cukar save.

The hosts however paid the ultimate price for not taking their chances soon after. Hiyori Kawaguchi won the spot kick in the left side of the box which saw Chris Payne make no mistake from the spot sending the keeper the wrong way.

David Perkovic’s men finally broke down the door in the 66th minute. A Lobo cross from the right headed down by Cahill for Gomez to score with his first touch of the game for the equaliser.

Not content with the one goal, it was Perkovic’s reinforcements who were having the impact. Gomez grabbed their go ahead with just over ten minutes left. Odakura with a free kick from deep was turned home by Gomez inside the area for his brace. It must be said that the United 58 defence found it difficult to clear Spirit’s dangerous free-kicks all evening.

Despite not looking likely for much of the second half, Sydney United 58 were able to level things in the 92nd minute. Leroy Jennings with the simplest of finishes after Christopher Marques fumbled a Yianni Fragogiannis free kick. It was Jennings’ third goal for the club in 2023.

You thought that was the end right?

Not quite, it’s NWS Spirit FC we are talking about, a team that has a knack of dramatic finishes.

Jordan Gomez grabbed his hat-trick from close range, Odakura once again with the delivery into the area in the 5th minute of added time which again was not dealt with by United 58, that gave the hosts a crucial victory.

Post match, David Perkovic was in a joyous mood reflecting on the game.

“I thought we lost a point there with the late goal there at the end but we got to the other end of the park and got the winner.

“We’ve done it a couple of times now.”

“You can’t complain when you score three goals, we could have scored more still and deserved to win.”

Match Stats

NWS Spirit FC 3 (Jordan Gomez 66’ 78’ 94’)

Sydney United FC 2 (Christopher Payne 53’, Leroy Jennings 92’)

Saturday 9 August 2023

Christie Park, Macquarie Park

Referee: Stephen Lucas

Assistant Referees: Jackson Tippett & Aaron Bloch

Fourth Official: Amber Morris

NWS Spirit FC: 1. Christopher Marques, 3. Musashi Kokubo, 4. Kota Odakura, 6. Corey Kavanagh, 7. Richard Darko (15. Paul Katsetis 73’), 11. Ollie Wiggin (2. Anthony Younis 87’), 13. Simon Nicholas, 17. Matthew Cahill (16. Kyle Shaw 87’), 19. Daniel Mitwali, 20. Jared Lum (5. Jordan Gomez 65’), 21. Luiz Lobo (10. Peter Kekeris 73’).

Substitutes Not Used: 13. Jacob Madden

Yellow Cards: Mitwali 93’

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney United FC: 20. Luke Cukar, 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica (21. Yianni Fragogiannis 65’), 5. Anthony Tomelic, 6. Christopher Payne (9. Patrick Antelmi 78’), 7. Taisei Kaneko (19. Ante Vojvodic 78’), 11. Yianni Perkatis, 12. Hiyori Kawaguchi, 13. Alessandro Lacalandra (22. Leroy Jennings 73’), 14. Andreas Agamemnonos (10. Devante Clut 46’), 17. Matthew Bilic

Substitutes Not Used: 50. Ryan Warner

Yellow Cards: Perkatis 49’, Vojvodic 94’

Red Cards: Nil 

Player Ratings:

3 – Jordan Gomez (NWS)

2 – Kota Odakura (NWS)

1 – Matthew Cahill (NWS)

By Justin Smith (@smiththejustin).

 

United 58 edge out Wolves contest

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Sydney United 58 secured a well-deserved 2-1 win over Wollongong Wolves at Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon. 

Patrick Antelmi opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark, but the Wolves fired back only a few minutes later through Lachlan Scott.

Antelmi made it brace midway through the second half which proved to be the winning goal.

United were on the front foot early with two close shots within the first two minutes.

Firstly, the tricky Taisei Kaneko made his way into the left of the box before driving a shot just wide into the near side netting.

Seconds later, Kaneko proved a threat again, this time getting in a cross from the left that met Antelmi who hooked the ball over the bar.

The Wolves were put under significant pressure by United in the first half as the hosts did their best to stop their opponents from building up from the back.

Antelmi had another chance midway through the half as he latched onto a ball over the top but lobbed it wide of the left post.

Sydney United finally made the breakthrough in the 26th minute with Antelmi getting his goal.

A long throw on the right fell to the forward who muscled his way towards the byline and got a low ball into the danger area.

It bounced back to Antelmi who leathered it past Wolves goalkeeper Tomas Butkovic from a tight angle.

It didn’t take Wollongong long to respond though, knocking in the equaliser just seven minutes later.

Takumi Ofuka set off on a pacey run down the right and drove into the box before cutting the ball back to Lachlan Scott who fired into the top left corner.

Momentum was all Wollongong’s way in the final 10 minutes, and they almost took the lead with a minute of regular time to play.

Walter Scott got to the ball before United goalkeeper Danijel Nizic in the left of the box and played it across to Christopher McStay facing a vacant net.

However, under pressure, the Scotsman nudged it wide.

The sides went into halftime level after both having strong spells in the first half.

Ten minutes into the second half, a clever interception from Wollongong’s McStay saw the ball slipped through for Samuel Riak bearing down on goal, but Nizic importantly smothered.

United kicked into gear soon after as they began holding possession higher up the field eager to retake the lead.

In the 65th minute, Sydney United’s better play paid off with their second goal of the match.

Bailey Rule raced in behind the right channel and laid the ball across the top of the box for Antelmi, taking Butkovic out of the game.

The striker then had the simple task of sliding it home to notch his second.

Wollongong looked to respond eight minutes later when substitute Jake Trew rolled his defender on the edge of the box, blazing the ball over.

The game heated up in the final 10 minutes with both teams gunning for more goals.

The lively Trew had an even better opportunity 83 minutes in when Ofuka’s left-sided free-kick found the tall striker at the far post, but he glaringly nodded clear of the crossbar.

Three minutes later, McStay whipped an exquisite delivery in from the left that had just evaded Trew before United’s Cristian Gonzalez poked the ball behind.

The hosts took the ball down the other end three minutes later as Christopher Payne had a narrow-angled shot that Butkovic managed to hold onto.

United 58 had another chance to seal the result early on in stoppage time when the experienced Glen Trifiro clipped the right post with his shot from just inside the box.

The side held on to claim some important points and put their poor recent form behind them.

Match Stats

Sydney United 58 FC 2 (Patrick Antelmi 26’ 65’)

Wollongong Wolves FC 1 (Lachlan Scott 33’)

Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park

Sunday 30 July 2023

Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Danijel Nizic, 2. Cristian Gonazlez, 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica (C), 5. Anthony Tomelic, 7. Taisei Kaneko (10. Devante Clut 60’), 9. Patrick Antelmi (6. Christopher Payne 75’), 11. Yianni Perkatis (18. Glen Trifiro 75’), 14. Andreas Agamemnonos (17. Matthew Bilic 60’), 16. Ante Bakmaz (12. Hiyori Kawaguchi 72’), 21. Yianni Fragogiannis

Substitutes Not Used: 20. Luke Cukar (GK)

Yellow Cards: Yianni Fragogiannis 55’, Bailey Rule 82’

Red Cards: Nil

Wollongong Wolves FC: 13. Tomas Butkovic (GK), 5. Banri Kanaizumi, 6. Senna Stevenson (99. Sebastian Hernandez 67’), 7. Marcus Beattie, 8. Samuel Riak (10. Damon Gray 88’), 9. Takumi Ofuka, 21. Ethan Beavan, 23. Walter Scott, 24. Lachlan Scott (C), 25. Alex Masciovecchio (14. Jake Trew 67’), 88. Christopher McStay

Substitutes Not Used: 1. Nenad Vekic (GK), 4. Dax Kelly, 11. Nav Darjani

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings: 

3 – Patrick Antelmi (SU58)

2 – Bailey Rule (SU58)

1 – Cristian Gonzalez (SU58)

Report by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_