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Scenes as Sydney United 58 break Stallions hearts with magic comeback

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Sydney United 58 managed a sensational comeback to take three points from a hard-fought local derby against the Marconi Stallions at Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon.

The physical battle saw the Stallions open scoring in the 28th minute through James Temelkovski then follow up with another in the 44th minute through Cameron Windust.

Sydney United 58 took hold of the second half with goals from Aidan Milicevic and Patrick Antelmi to equalise, because securing the lead through Carlos de Oliveira in the 92nd minute.

It was a relatively slow start to the match as both sides settled in.

The first chance of the match came from the hosts in the 5th minute as de Oliveira took at shot at the target, however it stuck to the palms of Marconi custodian James Hilton.

A ball from Domenic Costanzo met Hiroshima Aoyama in the area in the 15th minute, however he wasn’t able to get a shot off as United 58s defence kept it out of play.

Sydney United 58 responded quickly as Bailey Rule crossed into the area, but Milicevic’s header passed over the crossbar.

Costanzo took a chance from afar for the visitors in the 17th minute, but his shot was off target.

Matthew Hatch’s speedy forward run saw him looking dangerous in the 20th minute, however his effort was thwarted by Hilton.

Brandon Vella jumped on an opportunity to intercept in the 28th minute, blazing forward before passing it off to Franco Maya.

Maya used some quick footwork to get in position to let off a shot, sending the ball past Oliver Kalac in goals, with Temelkovski guiding it over the line at the finish.

A hand ball from United 58 in the 44th minute gave Marconi an opportunity from the right edge of the 18-yard box before the break.

Maya sent the ball into the area and a deflection saw it pop up in front of Windust, who simply nodded it over the line.

A free kick from Milicevic found Anthony Tomelic in first-half injury time, but he guided his header outside the sticks leaving the visitors with a two-goal advantage heading into the half-time break.

A free kick early in the second stanza saw the hosts with a chance to get back in the match but Antelmi sent his effort over the crossbar.

A strike from Antelmi from range in the 56th minute brought Hilton into action again as the hosts continued to show their hunger for a goal.

The sustained pressure paid off for United 58 in the 60th minute as they made their way onto the scoreboard.

Hatch received the ball from the left flank and crossed it to Milicevic in the area, who finished it off from in front of the goal.

The goal certainly buoyed the home side as the pace of the match picked up and the crowd grew louder.

The hosts managed the equaliser in the 80th minute through Antelmi, bringing even more life to the fiery derby.

Substitute Alessandro Lacalandra sent a ball into the area, which was kept out by Nathan Millgate.

Shunta Nakamura retrieved the ball and passed to Antelmi in front of goal, who fired it in to finish from close range.

Antelmi was back in action in the 92nd minute, holding the ball on the edge of the 18-yard box before tapping to off to De Oliveira, who fired past a diving Hilton to take the lead for the hosts.

Captain Marko Jesic had the last chance to net an equaliser in injury time from a well-positioned free kick, however his effort skewed just wide of the goal.

Sydney United 58 coach Zeljko Kalac was pleased his side was able to work their way to a victory after a rocky first half.

“In the first half we continued from how we trained on Friday – rubbish,” he said.

“In the first half, it was just so transitional, every time we got the ball we lost it, then we were always chasing so we couldn’t play our style of football.

“All I said to them at half time was ‘this is not us, we need to go out there and show who we are, lift our game by 10 or 20 per cent and we’ll score five goals against this team’.

“We didn’t quite score five, we scored three, but I’ll take that.

“We started retaining the ball, putting together three or four passes and they just couldn’t deal with that.”

Match Stats

Sydney United 58 3 (Milicevic 60’, Antelmi 80’, de Oliveira 92’)

Marconi Stallions 2 (Temelkovski 28’, Windust 45’)

Sunday 21 April 2024

Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park

Referee: Adrian Arndt

Assistant Referees: Aaron Bloch and Joel Crawford

Fourth Official: Hayden Langholz

Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Oliver Kalac, 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 5. Anthony Tomelic (21. Dejan Bakrdanikosksi 73’), 8. Shunta Nakamura, 9. Patrick Antelmi, 10. Carlos de Oliveira, 11. Matthew Hatch (7. Jordan Ivancic 73’) 14. Liam McGing, 19. Aidan Milcevic, 22. Stephan de Robillard (13. Alessandro Lacalandra 73’)

Substitutes Not Used: 2. Cristian Gonzalez, 6. Adam Zervas, 17. Mathew Nikolovski

Yellow Cards: Nakamura 22’, de Oliveira 31’, McGing 37’, Vlastelica 42’, Milicevic 89’

Red Cards: Nil

Marconi Stallions: 1. James Hilton, 2. Nathan Millgate, 3. Cameron Windust, 6. Domenic Constanzo (17. Milislav Popovic 81’), 7. Franco Maya, 8. Daniel Bouman (25. Jonathan Soares 81’, 14. Dylan Susovic 86’), 9. James Temelkovski (21. Jakov Malbasa 81’), 10. Mario Jesic, 11. Hirokai Aoyama, 18. George Daniel, 23. Brandon Vella

Substitutes Not Used: 24. Mackenzie Syron, 26. Matthew Martignago

Yellow Cards: Maya 45’, Bouman 60’, Windust 86’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings

3 – Aidan Milicevic (SU)

2 – Patrick Antelmi (SU)

1 – Brandon Vella (MS)

-By Madeline Riley

APIA battered by ruthless United 58 in stunning display

By

Sydney United 58 have defeated APIA Leichhardt 5-1 in a cohesive, clinical performance at Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre.

It was Sydney United 58 that had the first chance of the match, with a genius, bounced pass from Carlos De Oliveira freeing Patrick Antelmi in behind.

The striker was presented with a highly attractive opportunity to find the back of the net in a one on one against Anthony Bouzanis, but Antelmi dragged his volley wide.

APIA had a strong string of dominance over the next 10 minutes, threatening with a mixture of patient possession and direct chance creation, but it was the away team who found the opener in the 12th minute with a well-worked move.

A pass from Adrian Vlastelica found the run of the purposeful Matthew Hatch in behind on the left, and the fullback whipped in a brilliant ball to the back post.

His cross found the foot of Aidan Milicevic, who made no mistake in converting to give United 58 a valuable lead.

The away side consolidated a strong start by clinically doubling their lead with a brilliant, classy strike from Antelmi.

The striker received the ball in the box and shrugged off Josh Symons, before earning himself space in the box.

With his newfound room, Antelmi produced a delightful chip, which arched over the head of Bouzanis and gave United 58 an imperative second goal against the reigning Champions.

APIA had a strong chance to halve the deficit in the 19th minute, with a long-range strike from Dakota Askew troubling Oliver Kalac and presented Jack Armson with a close range chance off the rebound, but the goalkeeper did well to smother Armson’s effort and retain United 58’s strong lead.

United 58’s afternoon was only getting better, with the away side adding a third after a sloppy attempt to retain possession from APIA.

An intercepted pass found Hatch in behind, who curled another incisive, quality ball into the box.

Antelmi latched onto the lobbed pass and, after taking the ball down, efficiently slid the ball beyond Bouzanis and into the back of the net to stretch United 58’s lead to three.

APIA had chances of their own to claw a goal back on two separate occasions, with a dangerous low cross from Armson being cleared well by the away side’s defence in the 36th minute, before a Ben Gibson header was prevented by a strong save from Kalac.

Before APIA were able to go into the sheds and regroup at halftime, United 58 spectacularly added a fourth in the 45th minute, with a spectacular strike from Hatch capping off a sensational first half performance from the left-back and his side.

Receiving the ball just outside the box, Hatch unleashed a deadly first-time strike, slicing the ball into the top-right corner to make it four.

On the stroke of halftime, United 58 could have added a fifth in a half that was characterised by a sluggish APIA against a sharp, incisive Sydney United 58, but an Antelmi hattrick was prevented by both Bouzanis and the post.

In the 61st minute, United 58 added a fifth to continue their crushing rout against APIA.

Shunta Nakamura received the ball in behind on transition, and converged towards goal, before firing a shot past Bouzanis into the far corner.

However, APIA clawed a goal back three minutes later, with a clever pass in behind from Jack Stewart finding the feet of fellow substitute Rory Jordan, who was tripped by Kalac.

Stewart stepped up from the spot and converted to claw a goal back for the home side.

United 58 were presented with a 72nd minute chance to make it a sensational six, but an instinct stop from Bouzanis off a stinging volley from Antelmi prevented the forward from finding a hattrick.

Antelmi had another chance to secure his third and United 58’s sixth off another electric transition, but his shot from inside the box dragged wide off the target.

A minute later, Bouzanis was forced into another save, preventing a strong effort from Stephen De Robillard after cutting in from the left flank.

United 58 coach Zeljko Kalac was immensely proud of his side’s performance.

“I thought it was a fantastic performance in the first 45 minutes, really good.

“We just continued on from where we’ve been playing in the last couple of weeks and today we got the just reward.

“We scored some fantastic goals and played some fantastic football in the first 45.

“The second half wasn’t so pretty to watch, but when you go to 4-0 at halftime things can go wrong – you can get a little complacent, but overall a great result.

“To win 5-1 away from home against a team like APIA is a fantastic result.”

Meanwhile, APIA coach Franco Parisi was disappointed with the defeat, but remained calm and expressed that he knew where his team had to improve for next weekend.

“We’ve come away with no points so it’s a bad day,” he said.

“In terms of the performance and football, there’s some things we’ll work on.

“Credit to Sydney United – they executed their game plan really well and scored five goals, so it’s tough to come back from that.

“Credit to United for the way they took the game, and for us, the attitude – we kept fighting the whole way through the 90 minutes – and we know where it went wrong.

“There was no surprise in where it went wrong but we’ll just keep working on it and focus for next week.”

Match Stats

APIA Leichhardt FC 1 (Stewart 64’)

Sydney United 58 FC 5 (Milicevic 12’, Antelmi 16’, 30’, Hatch 45’, Nakamura 61’)

Sunday 14 April, 2024

Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre

Referee: Danny Horstead

Assistant Referees: Arinath Gobinath and Mayson Griffith

Fourth Official: Rowan Fisher

APIA Leichhardt FC: 1. Anthony Bouzanis, 2. Seiya Kambayashi, 4. Josh Symons, 9. Ben Gibson, 14. Jack Armson (11. Rory Jordan 59’), 15. Themba Muata-Marlow, 16. Sean Symons (8. Nick Sullivan 73’), 17. Jordan Segreto (7. Jack Stewart 59’), 18. Adrian Ucchino (C) (41. Nicholas Azzone 79’), 22. Edward Caspers (19. Luigi Ditroia 79’), 23. Dakota Askew

Substitutes Not Used: 20. Alexander Parkes

Yellow Cards: Caspers 36’, Jordan 71’

Red Cards: None

Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Oliver Kalac, 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica (C), 5. Anthony Tomelic (21. Dejan Bakrdanikoski 85’), 8. Shunta Nakamura, 9. Patrick Antelmi (13. Alessandro Lacalandra 85’), 10. Carlos De Oliveira, 11. Matthew Hatch (7. Jordan Ivancic 90’), 14. Liam McGing, 15. Tariq Maia (22. Stephen De Robillard 70’), 19. Aidan Milicevic (2. Cristian Gonzalez 90’)

Substitutes Not Used: 17. Mathew Nikolovski

Yellow Cards: Kalac 64’, Antelmi 72’

Red Cards: None

Player ratings:

3 – Matthew Hatch (SU)

2 – Patrick Antelmi (SU)

1 – Shunta Nakamura (SU)

By Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)

Ilinden break United 58 hearts with late winner

By

Rockdale Ilinden struck late pain on Sydney United 58 thanks to a 92nd minute winner via Hunter Elliot as they recorded a memorable 2-1 victory at the Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday. 

Former United 58 player Alec Urosevski scored in the first half with a well taken goal before Shunta Nakamura equalised via a howler from Ilinden keeper Harrison Devenish-Meares.

The game looked destined for a draw before Elliot slid in thanks to a brilliant run and cross by Giorgio Speranza and that was all she wrote.

Rockdale were immediately into their stride when Urosevski forced an error from United skipper Adrian Vlastelica inside the opening seconds that set the tone for the remainder of the match..

Helter-skelter football produced several tame efforts that were easily dealt with however it showed the attacking intent of both and underlined just how much the three points meant.

Vlastelica, a colossus at the back for the hosts, slid in to perfectly time a tackle in the box to prevent Bai Antoniou advancing further, 11 minutes in with the visitors making good progress but lacking the finishing touch.

Nakamura sent Matthew Hatch away into space and his low centre was met by Patrick Antelmi at the back stick but the usually reliable striker managed to send his shot over the bar from 10-yards out in the 18th minute, spurning the opportunity to put his side ahead as the hosts enjoyed their best spell of the match.

Antelmi spotted Devenish-Mears off his line moments later and attempted an audacious lob from well inside his own half but the effort lacked pace and direction and the game remained scoreless.

Both teams were having short spells of dominance yet neither ‘keeper was truly worked with Antoniou next to see his shot fizz past the upright midway through the half.

Step up Rockdale talisman and skipper ‘the Baker’ Urosevski who opened the scoring with the all important first goal in the 29th minute, adding his ninth of the season, with a shot past Oliver Kalac also seeing him edge closer to the Rockdale ‘all time’ scoring record. A mere handful away from achieving the feat and surely a record to be broken in 2024. It was a strike against his former employers too adding insult to injury.

Bailey Rule whipped in a cross that eluded everyone, including Antelmi, going across the face and out for a goal-kick on the far side.

Aiden Milicevic then tested Devenish-Meares with a well struck shot from distance but the Ilinden stopper was equal to the task.

Brendan Cholakian was fouled just outside the ‘D’ by Carlos De Oliviera with five minutes of the half remaining that forced Kalac into making a decent save low down to his right from the ensuing Antoniou free-kick fired in under the wall at pace and again bravely from Urosevski in stoppage time however the visitors reached the break a goal to the good and only time would tell if it would be enough to garner the points.

Rockdale, enjoying the majority of possession at the end of the first-half, picked up where they left off with a half-chance falling to Urosevski early on when play resumed.

Then came the Devenish-Meares blunder that led to Nakamura squaring the tie, always lurking in and around the box, the keeper had the ball tangled up under his feet allowing the Japanese import to steal in and slot home into the empty net for the easiest goal he’ll ever score.

The strike certainly fired up both sides into producing the type of football we expect from this fixture; full-blooded, robust and uncompromising, Cholakian generally on the receiving end.

Nakamura, recruited from Mt Druitt Town Rangers, found himself in acres of space with Antelmi haring through the middle with the former electing to take the shot on instead of squaring the ball and sending it hopelessly wide of the target in the 61st minute.

Kalac then pulled off a tremendous save from Cholakian in the 67th minute when the Rockdale midfielder was found by Brayden Sorge on the right. The visitors were ramping up the pressure knowing full well United 58 are more than adept at hitting on the break, as they did several times without reward.

A flurry of substitutions followed with Stephan De Robillard going close for United 58 seconds after entering the field of play but fouling Giorgio Speranza into the bargain, the game once more being played end-to-end at a frenzied pace.

It was a dramatic ending when Speranza weaved his way through down the left in a mesmeric dribble to centre for Hunter Elliot to slide home in stoppage time and secure the points for Rockdale Ilinden as pandemonium set in on the visitors bench who spilled out to the pitch to celebrate the match winner.

With no time left it would be the Ilinden side who took home three very hard fought for points.

Having notched up his ninth for the season, Urosevski was delighted with his troops mentality as they pushed for a winner till the death.

“We knew it would be a tough game from the start but we stuck to our game plan and I think overall we deserved the 3 points.

“Credit to United 58 for pushing us all the way, now our focus is on another massive match against Sydney Olympic at home next Sunday.”

Match Stats

Sydney United 58 1 (Shunta Nakamura 51′)

Rockdale Ilinden 2 (Alec Urosevski 29′, Hunter Elliott 90+2)

Sydney United 58 Sports Centre, Edensor Park

Sunday 7th April 2024

Referee: Craig Fisher

Assistants: Lance Greenshields and Cameron Wright

Fourth Official: Charbel Geha

Sydney United 58: 1. Oliver Kalac, 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 5. Anthony Tomelic, 8. Shunta Nakamura, 9. Patrick Antelmi, 10. Carlos De Oliviera (13. Alessandro Lacalandra 79′), 11. Matthew Hatch, 14. Liam McGing, 15. Tariq Maia (21. Dejan Bakrdanikoski 79′), 19. Aiden Milicevic (22. Stephen De Robillard 71′)

Subs not used: 6. Adam Cervas, 7. Jordan Ivancic, 17. Matthew Nikolovski

Yellow Cards: Tariq Maia 60′

Red Cards:

Rockdale Ilinden: 1. Harrison Devenish-Meares, 3. Lachie Griffiths (2. Daniel Collins 63′), 5. Giorgio Speranza, 6. Isaac Danzo, 7. Alec Urosevski, 8. Dean Pelekanos (16. So Kataoko 79′), 9. Bai Antoniou (15. Yinka Sunmola 63′), 10. Brendan Cholakian (23. Hunter Elliott 79′), 35. Lachie Constable (22. Blake Ricciuto 76′), 14. Brayden Sorge, 66. Mathieu Cordier

Subs not used: 20. Ricardo Rizzo (Gk)

Yellow Cards: Lachie Griffiths 35′

Red Cards: Nil 

Player Ratings

3 – Alec Urosevski (RI)

2 – Giorgio Speranza (RI)

1 – Oliver Kalac (SU58)

By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock

Blacktown City and United 58 play out thrilling score draw

By

Blacktown City and Sydney United 58 played out an entertaining 2-2 draw on Easter Sunday at Landen Stadium. 

Former Blacktown City star Carlos De Oliveira put United 58 ahead in the 20th minute, but Jak O’Brien equalised just before halftime.

Shunta Nakamura put the away side back in front soon after halftime, but Lachlan Campbell’s late goal ensured the points were shared in the end.

Four minutes in, the visitors got the game’s first shot away.

Nakamura turned well on the edge of the box and fired goalwards, but the ball bounced comfortably for City goalkeeper Tristan Prendergast who held on.

Blacktown were millimetres away from going in front in the 17th minute.

A well-worked move found Tyren Burnie in the right of the box. He drove towards the middle and found Jak O’Brien, who struck the right post from close range.

United 58 had a chance two minutes later when Aiden Milicevic found space on the right and took aim from a tight angle, requiring Prendergast to palm it away.

The side took the lead seconds later.

Patrick Antelmi was slipped into the right channel of the box and hit a shot across goal that bounced off the far post.

The ball rebounded conveniently for De Oliveira, who slotted it into a vacant net against his former side.

City nearly responded straight away through Joey Gibbs. The forward brought down a long ball in behind the United 58 defence but edged the subsequent shot wide of the left post.

United 58 returned fire midway through the half when De Oliveira eyed off a second from range, however, Prendergast was equal to it.

They could have been two up half an hour in when Milicevic took on a curler from outside the box on the left that dipped onto the crossbar.

Blacktown had a great opportunity for an equaliser three minutes later.

Jak O’Brien raced in behind and slid the ball across to Gibbs on the edge of the box, facing only the goalkeeper, yet dragging it narrowly past the right post.

City broke their opponents’ resilience in the 44th minute as Martin Fernandez steamed through the middle of the pitch.

Fernandez played the ball out to the right for Jak O’Brien, and from there, the striker executed an accurate finish past United 58 goalkeeper Oliver Kalac low into the left of the goal.

Blacktown’s late equaliser saw the teams go in the sheds level after an exciting first half.

Seconds into the second half, United 58 were back in front.

Milicevic capitalised on an error at the back from Nicholas O’Brien on the right before playing the ball across the edge of the box to Nakamura.

The attacking midfielder hit a powerful left-footed strike past Prendergast that nestled inside the left post.

Matthew Hatch then looked to double United 58’s advantage moments later, forcing Prendergast into a low save.

Opportunities continued to flow for both teams, and 62 minutes in, Fernandez flashed a shot past the right post for City.

United 58 had a shot of their own a couple of minutes later when Antelmi’s left-footed strike bounced just past the right post.

In the 67th minute, the away side’s Hatch burst into the left of the box and fired goalwards, but Prendergast batted the ball away strongly.

The teams continued to toil away, with the hosts chasing an equaliser heading into the final 10 minutes.

Blacktown restored parity for the second time in the 90th minute.

Mitchell Mallia’s right-sided free-kick found Campbell’s head in the middle, and the defender guided the ball past Kalac.

City then turned their attention to a winner, pumping the ball into the box, but United 58 held firm and kept the scores level at the final whistle.

Blacktown City coach Mark Crittenden said he was disappointed with what his side showed, despite fighting back to equalise late on.

“I think it’s a couple of points probably thrown away,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot more in us than that.

“An entertaining game for the crowd to watch, but a very frustrating game for the coach the watch.

“I thought we created a lot of decent chances, but I don’t think we executed well enough in the final third.

“Obviously, a poor mistake right after halftime to gift them a goal and then you’re chasing the game from thereon.”

Crittenden also said that he is looking for more consistency from his team, highlighting the need for improvement in defence.

“We’ve always prided ourselves on our defence. At the moment, we are conceding way too many goals for what I would like,” he said.

“We’ve got to defend better and make life a bit easier for ourselves.”

Match Stats

Blacktown City FC 2 (Jak O’Brien 44’, Lachlan Campbell 90’)

Sydney United 58 FC 2 (Carlos De Oliveira 20’, Shunta Nakamura 46’)

Sunday 31 March 2024

Landen Stadium, Seven Hills

Referee: Jake Rose

Assistant Referees: Matthew Harris and Amirhossein Hosnani

Fourth Official: Nicolas Kour

Blacktown City FC: 1. Tristan Prendergast, 4. Lachlan Campbell, 5. Grant Lynch, 6. Adam Berry, 7. Travis Major, 8. Jak O’Brien, 12. Tyren Burnie, 16. Ben Berry, 17. Martin Fernandez (14. Mitchell Mallia 68’), 18. Nicholas O’Brien (22. Jacob Maniti 79’), 23. Joey Gibbs (9. Reuben Awaritefe 79’)

Substitutes Not Used: 19. Julian Rodriguez, 20. Cayden Henderson, 29. Zachary Butler

Yellow Cards: Joey Gibbs 37’

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Oliver Kalac, 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 5. Anthony Tomelic (13. Alessandro Lacalandra 68’), 8. Shunta Nakamura (6. Adam Zervas 90+4’), 9. Patrick Antelmi (22. Stephan De Robillard 90+4’), 10. Carlos De Oliveira (7. Jordan Ivancic 79’), 11. Matthew Hatch, 14. Liam McGing, 15. Tariq Maia, 19. Aiden Milicevic (21. Dejan Bakrdanikoski 68’)

Substitutes Not Used: 17. Mathew Nikolovski

Yellow Cards: Carlos De Oliveira 51’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings: 

3 – Shunta Nakamura (SU58)

2 – Tristan Prendergast (BC)

1 – Aiden Milicevic (SU58)

Report by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_

United 58 hang on for hard fought win

By

Sydney United 58 defeated the Sutherland Sharks 1-0 in Round 7 of the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW competition at the Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon.

It was a Bailey Rule thunderbolt that separated the two squads in the 15th minute as the Sharks pushed United 58 all the way till the end.

The hosts had the game’s first attack after nine minutes as Aiden Milicevic headed tamely towards goal that Sharks’ ‘keeper Nenad Vekic had no trouble in gathering although he needed to be strong when pushing the ball onto the bar from Milicevic who fired in a curling effort from 20-yards out that, luckily for the visitors, was ruled offside from the rebound.

United 58, having awoken from their initial inertia, hit the post via Matthew Hatch before Rule lashed home a sumptuous volley on the quarter-hour to net the opening goal for the Reds.

With the early flurry from Sutherland all but dissipated, United 58 gained the ascendency and went in search of more.

Shunta Nakamura was next to try his luck after a run down the right but shot well wide of the mark with Patrick Antelmi better placed in the box to receive the ball for an attempt on goal. Only time would tell if this would prove costly. It was the final action before the players took a mid-half water break.

Chris Lindsay fired over from a free-kick when the Sharks broke upfield in an increasingly sporadic attack however, they stuck to their guns and kept plugging away to stem the seemingly constant Red tide.

The heat began to take its toll as the half wore on and the early pace understandably dropped in intensity in the latter stages however it was United 58 who looked the more dangerous going forward. Nakamura almost made it two after the Japanese import spun neatly and fired in from distance that Vekic palmed out for a corner in the 40th minute however the resultant set piece amounted to nought.

Sutherland should have squared the ledger in stoppage time when Jay McGowan pulled the ball back for James Cakovski but he skied his effort over the bar before the half-time whistle sounded and United 58 went to the sheds one goal to the good.

Takehide Umebachi and Kotaro Katsuta replaced Chris Lindsay and Mo Ahmed after the break for Sutherland as Coach Steve Zoric looked to change the point of attack and stem the outlets United 58 were ably exploiting in the opening 45’ minutes.

Indeed, the mood had changed at the interval with two Sharks players cautioned inside eight minutes of the restart, soon to be joined by United 58’s Anthony Tomelic.

A goalmouth scramble, block on the line, the upright struck and a shout for handball in the 56th minute all went against the visitors who have found finding the net difficult this season which didn’t help their cause.

The home side were fighting a rear guard action with the seemingly rejuvenated Sharks taking the game by the scruff of the neck in search of the equaliser and testing the home defence on a regular basis.

The simmering undercurrent surfaced with a spate of additional cautions needing to be handed out and with United 58 holding on to the slenderest of leads it was an unpredictable game going all the way to the wire.

Jordan Roberts, against the club he served well for many seasons, forced Oliver Kalac into a save down to his left but the effort lacked power to make it comfortable for the gloveman before Matthew Moric headed wide from an Umebachi cross. Kalac was brave again to deny McGowan as United 58 clung on.

But cling on they did in a real tale of two halves and the battling Sharks losing out again to a solitary goal leaving Coach, Steve Zoric to state.

“It’s frustrating as we started brightly but somehow some of the players seemed to get lost,” he rued.

“We worked on our rotations but they lost their shape and we then had to reset and after the drinks break we settled in and restructured and continued that in the second-half.

“We were all over them after the break but if we can’t score those goals from the chances we created well, goals win games and we need to start putting them away.

“We get ourselves into great positions but just cannot find the net and we have to and is something we really have to work on hard.

“To lose another game by the odd goal is hard, it’s frustrating but I have confidence that with this group of players we will work on that and fix the issues and then start stringing the wins together and climb the table,” he concluded.

Zeljko Kalac, Sydney United 58’s Coach looked a relieved man at the whistle.

“We were atrocious after the break, we couldn’t retain the ball,” he said.

“We kept turning over the ball with simple, basic mistakes but defensively we did alright and we had the chances to put the game to bed yet our decision making was catastrophic at times.

“Our second-half performance was a real worry but we did enough to perhaps win three games in the opening 45’ minutes.

“It’s nice we kept a clean sheet and were able to hold on to a 1-0 lead instead of going out each week needing to score three or four but that happens in football and it’s nice to see we can hang on for the result.

“That’s a positive we can take out of the game but Sutherland did well and came at us in the second period due mainly to our collective and individual mistakes but we take the three points and move on but we need to learn from this match,” he ended.

Match Stats

Sydney United 58 1 (Bailey Rule 15’)

Sutherland Sharks 0

Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park

Sunday, 24th March 2024

Referee: Craig Fisher

Assistants: Matthew Harris and Ayad Naji

Fourth Official: James Makris

Sydney United 58: 1. Oliver Kalac, 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 5. Anthony Tomelic (7. Jordan Ivancic 85’), 8. Shunta Nakamura, 9. Patrick Antelmi (6. Adam Cervas 80’), 10. Carlos De Oliveira (21. Dejan Bakrdanikoski 87’), 11. Matthew Hatch, 14. Liam McGing, 15. Tariq Maia, 19 Aiden Milicevic 13. Alessandro Lacalandra 85’)

Subs not used:  17. Matthew Nikolovski, 52. Ali El-Sabeh

Yellow Cards: Tariq Maia 48’, Anthony Tomelic 56’, Bailey Rule 69’

Red Cards: Nil

Sutherland Sharks: Nenad Vekic, 4. Mitch Stamatellis, 6. Sam Gulisano, 7. James Cakovski, 8. Mo Ahmed (2. Kotoro Katsuta 46’), 9. Maxx Green (3. Jordan Roberts 59’), 10. Mason Fernandez, 11. Jay McGowan, 14. Chris Lindsay (5. Takahide Umebachi 46’), 15. Matthew Moric, 26. Jacob Garner (21. Luke Sauer 79’)

Subs not used: 23. Ethan Beavan, 99. Jacob Cremen-Cowan

Yellow Cards: Maxx Green 41’, Sam Gulisano 51’, Matthew Moric 53’, Mitch Stamatellis 67’

Red Cards:

Player Ratings 

3 – Bailey Rule (SU58)

2 – Aiden Milicevic (SU58)

1 – Shunta Nakamura (SU58)

By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock