Manly United held out against Sydney United 58, drawing 0-0 in an incredibly tough National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW at Cromer Park on Friday night.
It took just a few minutes for Sydney United 58 to place Manly United under immediate pressure as Bilal Belkadi dispatched Matthew Hatch’s testing pass safely.
Hatch continued to threaten around Manly’s area in the 4th minute when he had a nice back-and-forth sequence with Stephan De Robillard, only for Belkadi to thwart him again.
The hosts forged their first legitimate chance of the affair five minutes later when a pinpoint through ball from Ben Koop found a raring Lucas Meek, however the American eventually conceded possession to Alessandro Lacalandra.
Manly continued to take advantage of the scarce chances presented to them as Harry McCarthy saw his hit take a deflection and be pounced on by Josip Orlovic.
Alessandro Lacalandra grinded away and in the 16th minute was nearly rewarded as his shot beat a diving Levi Kaye, only to be dragged just wide of the far post.
It almost identically occurred to Hatch ten minutes later as he beat his opposing marker and put a shred too much power on his attempt as it rifled past the far post and out.
A surprising early chance popped up for the hosts at the beginning of the second stanza as a quickly taken free kick from Harry Van Der Saag ended up inches away from the posts with Josip Orlovic falling down.
It wasn’t too long before Sydney United 58 returned fire and Aaron O’Driscoll defused an uneasy situation with his headed clearance.
On the hour mark things turned ugly as Michael Glassock’s attempt to clear the ball saw his boot strike the forehead of Lucas Meek.
The visitors continued their push for the opener in the 66th minute with Tariq Maia’s rocket from the edge of the box blocked by O’Driscoll’s quick thinking.
Defence turned into attack via some beautiful link-up play between substitutes Peter Kekeris and Koko Farah that saw the hosts come close, whilst Meek’s header scathed the crossbar in the 76th minute.
With both teams desperately pushing for a late winner, Manly thought they had forged one through Taiga Kawano, only for the flag to be raised for offside.
Experienced Sydney United 58 striker Patrick Antelmi cut a very pragmatic figure at the fulltime whistle.
“I’m not happy with a point given how well we started.
“We’ve dropped too many early points this season so far. It comes from how we perform in the final third and that final attacking pass.
“I want to give credit to Manly because they played well. They are always a well-organised side, and it was a tough battle playing them.
“It’s frustrating though because it all comes back to if we could have created smarter passes or done this or that differently. The clean sheet is big and that’s what helps you win titles though, we’re slowly on our way.”
Match Stats
Manly United 0
Sydney United 58 0
Friday 14 February 2025
Cromer Park
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: Patrick Teleki and Rory McFarlane
Fourth Official: Blake Sanchez-Cruz
Manly United: 1.Levi Kaye, 2.Aaron O’Driscoll, (3.Matthew O’Donoghue 64’), 4.Jesse Piriz, 6.Bilal Belkadi, (7.Peter Kekeris 64’), 9.Benjamin Koop, 10.Harry McCarthy, 11.Lucas Meek, (13.Taiga Kawano 70’), 16.Ryan Devine, (17.Farah Koko 65’), 19.Alen Aganovic, 23.Darcy Burgess, 26.Harry Van Der Saag, (28.Jasper Chipman 70’)
Unused subs: 21.Anthony Carreras
Yellow cards: 26.Harry Van Der Saag 78’
Red cards: None
Sydney United 58: 4.Adrian Vlastelica, (6.Thomas Makko 76’), (9.Patrick Antelmi 66’), 10.Carlos De Oliveira, 11.Matthew Hatch, 13.Alessandro Lacalandra, 14.Liam McGing, 15.Tariq Maia, 16.Anthony Krilic, 17.Michael Glassock, 22.Stephan De Robillard, 23.Mason Wells, 31.Josip Orlovic, (32.Leroy Jennings 76’)
Unused subs: 1.Mitchell Carter, 3.Bailey Rule, 29.Joshua Attard
Yellow cards: Carlos De Oliveira 35’, Anthony Krilic 55’, Adrian Vlastelica 82’
Red cards: None
Player Ratings
3: Matthew Hatch (SU58)
2: Bilal Belkadi (MU)
1: Aaron O’Driscoll (MU)
-By Football NSW
