Manly United were defeated 3-0 by NPL Men’s NSW front runners Marconi Stallions at Cromer Park on Friday evening.
The early exchanges between Manly and Marconi saw the hosts placed under an extreme amount of pressure. Just five minutes in, Aaron O’Driscoll flew in to head the ball away from Marko Jesic, who was in a threatening position.
A minute later, Matthew O’Donoghue snatched the ball away from Dom Costanzo after the Stallions attacker whipped his way through several Manly defenders.
After a couple of close calls, the Stallions made one count in the 8th minute with a stunning strike. Following lovely play by Jake Trew, Stallions young gun Matej Busek smashed a shot from long range that gave Levi Kaye no chance.
Manly soon woke up and had a couple of chances to equalise as Darcy Burgess went close in the 16th minute with only James Hilton to beat, while Rocco Pelle saw his effort palmed away by the Stallions keeper in the 18th minute.
The tension continued on the half-hour mark as Harry Van Der Saag came soaring in over Jesic with an attempt to steal the ball, resulting in a collision.
After the second half started, it took just three minutes for Marconi to double their advantage. This time it was Jake Trew who found himself on the end of a brilliant through ball from Costanzo, and Trew slotted the ball past Kaye with poise.
Matej Busek brushed off several opposition players during a tearing run to the halfway line in the 57th minute, before a challenge from O’Driscoll left Busek worse for wear.
In the 65th minute, the hosts earned a half-decent opportunity as Burgess curled in a nice ball to Taiga Kawano, who couldn’t quite get his header right. A few moments later, Manly substitute Farah Koko made a trademark burst down the field and appeared to have set up a sure-fire goal, only for rival defender Lachlan Griffiths to clear the lines with a last second backheel clearance.
Marconi then put the cherry on top with a third strike of the evening in the third minute of added time. Franco Maya found himself with room to move and coolly lobbed Kaye, putting the icing on the cake for the reigning NPL Men’s NSW Champions.
Manly United 0
Marconi Stallions 3 (Matej Busek 8’, Jake Trew 48’, Franco Maya 90+3’)
Match Stats
Friday 02 May 2025
Cromer Park
Referee: Kelly Jones
Assistant Referees: Hayden Langholz and Lucy Hungerford
Fourth Official: Simon Ashari
Manly United: 1.Levi Kaye, 3.Matthew O’Donoghue, (4.Jesse Piriz 58’), 6.Bilal Belkadi, (8.Stefano Rossello 67’) 10.Harry McCarthy, 11.Lucas Meek, 12.Rocco Pelle, 15.Taiga Kawano, 19.Alen Aganovic, 23.Darcy Burgess, 26.Harry Van Der Saag, (28.Jasper Chipman 67’), 33.Aaron O’Driscoll, (38.Farah Koko 67’), (45.Miles Milliner 71’)
Unused subs: 21.Anthony Carreras
Yellow cards: Patrick Zwaanswijk (coach) 44’
Red cards: Patrick Zwaanswijk (coach) 44’
Marconi Stallions: 1.James Hilton, 2.Tyren Burnie, 3.Cameron Windust, 5.Lachlan Griffiths, 6.Dom Costanzo, (7.Franco Maya Valiente 88’), 8.James Bayliss, 10.Marko Jesic, (12.Julian Monge 88’), 14.Jake Trew, (15.Jawad Rezai 72’), (16.Liam Youlley 88’), (17.Damian Tsekenis 72’), 18.George Daniel, 23.Brandon Vella, 24.Matej Busek
Unused subs: 20.Patrick Williams
Yellow cards: Tyren Burnie 74’
Red cards: None
Player Ratings:
3: Matej Busek (Marconi)
2: Jake Trew (Marconi)
1: Aaron O’Driscoll (Manly)
-By Football NSW
