Manly United drew 0-0 with St George FC on a wet Friday evening at Cromer Park, keeping themselves just outside the NPL Men’s NSW finals places.
The match-up began with some early pressure from St George FC in the opening two minutes, with Matthew O’ Donoghue dislodging the ball away from Justin Poon for a corner kick. United defender Aaron O’Driscoll then flew into action to head away Evangelo Souris’ pass into the area.
In the 5th minute, St George FC’s Nicholas Kalogerou went on a mesmerising run, tripping up Jasper Chipman on the edge of the box before his shot blazed over the bar.
Mackenzie Syron had to be sharp in the 22nd minute, winning the race to the ball twice to deny Lucas Meek an opener.
Unfortunately, St George FC’s Aedan O’Shea had to be substituted just after the half hour mark, but there were no clear chances at either end for the remainder of the half.
Manly nearly opened the scoring in the 52nd minute as Meek had his attempt palmed away by Syron, before Farah Koko was denied due to offside.
St George returned serve in the 63rd minute through Kalogerou as his mid-air chance from the sidelines was thwarted by a diving Levi Kaye.
Nine minutes later, Meek missed a one-on-one chance against Syron, shooting wide of the far post.
As the game reached its climax, Jaden Casella forced a stunning save out of Kaye in the 81st minute.
Harry Van Der Saag could have scored the winner soon afterwards, firing over the crossbar from a decent position.
In the 85th minute, Van Der Saag forced a Saints handball in the penalty area. Lucas Meek couldn’t capitalise however, as his spot kick was sensationally saved by Syron to keep the hosts at bay.
That save was to be the final major highlight as St George FC hung on for a point.
Post-match, Syron spoke about his penalty save as well as clinching a point at what is a tricky place to go to on a Friday night.
“My first thoughts were don’t let it go in, but for me it was important to keep a clear head and not be distracted,” Syron stated to Football NSW about the penalty save.
“Thankfully the result went my way, but from a goalkeeping standpoint, sometimes you need luck on your side. It’s all about the fundamentals and getting it right.
“For us a point is a positive step in the right direction. Now we just need to score some more goals next week.”
Manly United 0
St George FC 0
Match Stats
Friday 16 May 2025
Cromer Park
Referee: Craig Fisher
Assistant Referees: Isaac Riggs and Jasper White
Fourth Official: Rory McFarlane
Manly United: 1.Levi Kaye, 2.Matthew O’Donoghue, 4.Jesse Piriz, (6.Bilal Belkadi 65’), 8.Stefano Rossello, 10.Harry McCarthy, 11.Lucas Meek, (12.Rocco Pelle 65’), (13.Taiga Kawano 70’), (14.Maxwell Pengelly 75’), 19.Alen Aganovic, (23.Darcy Burgess 65’), 26.Harry Van Der Saag, 28.Jasper Chipman, 33.Aaron O’Driscoll, 38.Farah Koko
Unused subs: 21. Anthony Carreras
Yellow cards: Jesse Piriz 29’
Red cards: None
St George FC: 3.Troy Danaskos, 4.Mark Rodic, 5.Nicholas Kalogerou, 6.Pat O’Shea, 7.Aedan O’Shea, 8.Evangelo Souris, 10.Jaden Casella, (12.Thomas Dunn 90’), (13.Sunday Yona 83’), 14.Justin Poon, 15.Bai Antoniou, (16.Kaidyn Wright 32’), 27.Jayden Seeto, 99.Mackenzie Syron
Unused subs: 20.Daniel Axford, 34.Kota Toyooka, 37.Jayden Dorevski
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: None
Player Ratings:
3: Mackenzie Syron (St George FC)
2: Jaden Casella (St George FC)
1: Aaron O’Driscoll (Manly)
By Football NSW
