Manly United have thrashed a ten-man Wollongong Wolves 6-0 to help close out Round 9 of the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW competition at Cromer Park.
Six different players got on the scoresheet for the hosts in what was a team-orientated victory, one that lifts the Northern Beaches side to an impressive third on the ladder. It was a tough pill to swallow for the visitors, who played with ten men for almost thirty minutes of the second half.
Manly made a very promising start as Harry McCarthy dispossessed Lachlan Scott after less than ten seconds. Then on the minute mark, Darcy Burgess had a crack from long range as Wollongong Wolves shot stopper Oliver Yates made his first save of the day.
Following that flash point, the 4th minute saw a cheeky chip pass inside the box from Burgess which almost found Taiga Kawano, only for Yates to intervene.
Raphael Lea’i responded in style on eight minutes for the Wolves as he picked apart Manly’s attacking sequence with a steal and down the other end of the field, the striker’s shot landed just wide from the corner of the box.
In-spite of Lea’i being a constant threat for Wollongong, it was Kawano who opened the scoring for Manly in the 17th minute after Harry Van Der Saag picked out the Japanese star.
Then in the 30th minute, the hosts doubled the margin after a barnstorming run from Burgess down the sideline eventuated into a pinpoint pass for Lucas Meek, who with no one in front of him, nestled the ball into the bottom corner.
Van Der Saag helped open the second half in scintillating fashion as he curled home a brilliant strike from the edge of the box to make the score 3-0. The goal came courtesy of Harry McCarthy’s initial run which left multiple Wolves defenders in his wake.
It took just four more minutes for Manly to hit up Wollongong for four. Burgess’s header was too powerful and from too close in to be stopped after McCarthy placed the ball at the perfect height.
Things went from bad to worse for Wollongong when Ben Giason abruptly halted Meek’s run in the 62nd minute and was given his marching orders.
With some luck on Manly’s side, it was Farah Koko who scored next, from just outside the box in the 72nd minute, as his attempt went through the hands of Yates and into the back of the net.
It didn’t take long for Benjamin Koop to score after coming on as a substitute. In the 82nd minute, a sneaky backheel off Meek’s cross was enough to beat Yates, making the score a resounding 6-0.
Post match, a beaming Harry Van Der Saag discussed what was an excellent result for the hosts.
“Today was an important win as there are a bunch of teams around us on similar points, and to do it at home in front of a packed crowd made it more special.
“To get six goals comes down to confidence and what we’ve been working on in training.
“Once we got a few it was almost like a roll-on effect, whilst for my own strike, I also practice it a lot and it’s good to see it come off in today’s match.”
Manly United 6 (Taiga Kawano 17’, Lucas Meek 30’, Harry Van Der Saag 55’, Darcy Burgess 59’, Farah Koko 72’, Benjamin Koop 82’)
Wollongong Wolves 0
Match Stats
Sunday 06 April 2025
Cromer Park
Referee: Danny Horstead
Assistant Referees: Isaac Riggs and Arinath Gobinath
Fourth Official: Travis Griffith
Manly United: 1.Levi Kaye, 2.Aaron O’Driscoll, 3.Matthew O’Donoghue, (6.Bilal Belkadi 59’), (7.Peter Kekeris 59’), (9.Benjamin Koop 59’), 10.Harry McCarthy, 11.Lucas Meek, 12.Rocco Pelle, 13.Taiga Kawano, (16.Ryan Devine 59’), (17.Farah Koko 59’), 19.Alen Aganovic, 23.Darcy Burgess, 26.Harry Van Der Saag, 28.Jasper Chipman
Unused subs: 18.Jay Coates
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: None
Wollongong Wolves: 1.Oliver Yates, 2.Harrison Buesnel, (4.Dylan King 61’), 5.Banri Kanaizumi, 6.James Anagnostopoulos, 7.Sim Woon-sub, (8.Sebastian Duarte 61’), 9.Damon Gray, (11.Liam Ball 56’), (17.Marcus Beattie 35’), 21.Nicholas Olsen, 24.Lachlan Scott, 25.Alex Masciovecchio, 29.Ben Giason, 77.Raphael Lea’i
Unused subs: 13.Daniel Solsky, 15.Dax Kelly
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: Ben Giason 62’
Player Ratings:
3: Harry McCarthy (MU)
2: Taiga Kawano (MU)
1: Darcy Burgess (MU)
-By Football NSW
