Manly United have opened their 2025 National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW season in style with a 5-0 thrashing of a bewildered Central Coast Mariners at a packed Cromer Park.
Both sides opened the first half displaying their attacking flair and skill, yet in the 12th minute it was the hosts who opened the scoring in the most surprising way possible. Mariners goalkeeper Jack Warshawsky lost possession of the ball due to some simple pressure from Taiga Kawano, with the new recruit pouncing to score into a virtually open net.
Then just six minutes on from the opening goal, Harry Van Der Saag marked his return to Cromer Park with a bang as his collision into Freddie Clunas’s chest left the Mariners midfielder reeling and on the ground.
The hosts continued to ravage the opposition in the 23rd minute as Darcy Burgess found himself inches away from scoring. His header glided just over the crossbar and drew an audible ooh from the crowd.
The Mariners came close when Arthur De Lima’s pinpoint ball landed at the feet of Logan Sambrook, only for his shot to be blocked by a desperate Jesse Piriz.
Then De Lima’s powerful run in the 31st minute ended when Bilal Belkadi dislodged the ball in the nick of time. At the other end, Van Der Saag dragged his shot just wide of the post.
As the second half began, Manly United picked up where they left off as a low, driven attempt from Lucas Meek was unlucky not to find more than the side netting.
A minute later, it was Peter Kekeris who forced the opposition defence to scramble back with his testing pass causing havoc. His ensuing corner kick in the 51st minute was eventually slammed into the back of the net by Aaron O’Driscoll, after a scramble in the box.
Levi Kaye denied Freddie Clunas a legitimate chance in the 62nd minute as his outstretched hands reached the headed attempt at goal.
Clunas’ miss proved costly as only minutes later, the hosts thumped home another, courtesy of Meek’s bullet header from close range.
Things quickly got worse for the Mariners, as seven minutes later Meek calmly secured his brace from the spot after Jai Rose pulled him down inside the box.
Farah Koko put the icing on the cake in the 79th minute with his first touch of the ball. The young gun saw his effort fly into the back of the net for Manly’s fifth and final goal of the evening.
Koko was very pragmatic following the fulltime whistle.
“We came here to get three points and that’s what we got. We got the win through taking our chances and that’s what football is all about, converting when it matters. At the end of the day we finished off our attacking plays and they didn’t. It felt good to get my first goal after two years and there’s plenty left to come.”
Match Stats
Manly United 5 (Taiga Kawano 12’, Aaron O’Driscoll 51’, Lucas Meek 66’, 72’, Farah Koko 79’)
Central Coast Mariners 0
Sunday 07 February 2025
Cromer Park
Referee: Stephen Lucas
Assistant Referees: James Makris and Thomas Aalders
Fourth Official: Sophie Allum
Manly United: 1.Levi Kaye, 2.Aaron O’Driscoll, (3.Matthew O’Donoghue 61’), 4.Jesse Piriz, 6.Bilal Belkadi, 7.Peter Kekeris, (9.Benjamin Koop 73’), 11.Lucas Meek, 13.Taiga Kawano, (14.Maxwell Pengelly 73’), (16.Ryan Devine 67’), (17.Farah Koko 61’), 19.Alen Aganovic, 23.Darcy Burgess, 26.Harry Van Der Saag, 28.Jasper Chipman
Unused subs: 21.Anthony Carreras
Yellow cards: Ryan Devine 90’
Red cards: None
Central Coast Mariners: 2.Luca Pecora, 3.Michael Paragalli, 4.Rocco Smith, 5.Ben Mewett, 9.Ahmad Elhelou, 10.Arthur De Lima, 11.Jai Rose, 13.Logan Sambrook, 15.Freddie Clunas, (17.Jesse Mantell 82’), 19.Prayaag Thapa, (21.Muginga Mpota 56’), (24.Kye Schumacher 82’), (25.Zayd Kassaby 67’), 30.Jack Warshawsky
Unused subs 23.Laurence Taylor, 40.Joel Wade
Yellow cards: Michael Paragalli 53’, Prayaag Thapa 59’
Red cards: None
Player Ratings:
3: Lucas Meek (Manly)
2: Jesse Piriz (Manly)
1: Peter Kekeris (Manly)
By Football NSW
