Manly comeback stuns Stallions

After a goalless first-half, Matthew Mayora?s double against the run of play put Marconi in the driver?s seat before substitute Justin Hayward did the damage for Manly United, coming on to net a late brace to ensure the sides shared the spoils in a scrappily contested affair.
Marconi were first out of the blocks from the opening whistle, forcing Kang Ho Lee into a string of early saves, first blocking Matthew Mayora from a tight angle before spectacularly tipping over strikes from Sean O?Connell and Nahuel Arrarte within the first 5? minutes.
Kang Ho Lee again held off early Marconi pressure, touching Keith Shelvin?s header wide after Jordan Edwards had cheaply conceded possession on the left-hand side of defence.
Robbie Cattanach came within inches of breaking the deadlock for Manly on 20? minutes when he struck the frame of the goal with a well placed 20-yard free-kick following Arrarte?s clumsy foul on the edge of the penalty-area.
Cattanach found space in the Marconi area soon after, forcing James Chronopoulos into a brave block. The rebound fell to Joey Gibbs, who scuffed his shot into the ground, letting Marconi?s defence off the hook.
With the match swinging in Manly?s favour, Jimmy Oates broke out of defence and down the right wing, cut inside Daniel Petrovski and crossed for Seung Soo Lee, who controlled the cross well before volleying inches wide of Chronopoulos? right-hand post.
Both sides made late attempts to break the deadlock before the interval, with Kang Ho Lee holding Matthew Mayora?s low drive before Adam Foti placed his finish wide of goal after beating Adel El Jamal inside Marconi?s 18-yard box.
Christopher Nunes gave Manly an early second-half scare when he intercepted Marc Richards? poor pass in defence; the fleet-footed winger the skipped past Richards before drawing a fine block from Kang Ho Lee to clear his dangerous driven cross.
Despite Manly dominating possession Marconi grabbed the lead on 57? minutes when Matthew Mayora rose to divert the ball past Kang Ho Lee with a fine header from Matthew Gordon?s corner.
Chronopoulos denied Manly a quick equaliser soon after, showing lightning reflexes to block Adam Foti?s header from Joey Gibbs? corner.
Mayora then doubled Marconi?s advantage on 67? minutes, rounding the goalkeeper and knocking the ball into the back of the net after Arrarte had darted through the Manly defence and picked out the unmarked attacker in the box.
Manly coach Craig Midgely reacted immediately, bringing on Justin Hayward for Sueng Soo Lee, who had put in a fine performance.
The move paid dividends immediately when Hayward rose to place a fine header past Chronopoulos from Oates? pinpoint cross after fine lead up work on the right.
Adam Foti then played Hayward through on goal with a smart chip on 82? minutes; the beanpole forward held off his marker to place a crisp shot into the bottom corner to level the scores.
Both sides made a late surge for a winning goal, with Mayora twice heading over either side of Chronopoulos? block on Hayward?s shot as both strikers were denied hat-tricks while the match ended with the points shared.
Craig Midgely was content with the result after guiding his squad to a stirring comeback:
?In the end we were happy to come back from 2-0 down,? said Midgely.
?We came out in the second-half, conceded a couple of soft goals, and had to fight back.
?My boys have shown great resilience there ? especially Justin (Hayward), who came on and got us back in the game,? Midgely added.
Midgely was delighted with Hayward?s impact, praising his substitute?s late efforts:
?He?s a great lad,? said Midgely.
?Great enthusiasm, his work rate, he?s quick and he?s strong.
?We?ve got Adam Foti and Catta (Cattanach) up there who are good players at this level, and Justin?s came on to really compliment them,? added Midgely.
Marconi coach Luke Casserly was similarly happy with the draw, despite seeing a two goal lead slip through his team?s fingers:
?To be honest I thought we were lucky to go up 2-0,? said Casserly.
?I think we started quite brightly, but after the 15-20 minute mark Manly really took control.
?We were lucky to go into the break at nil all, we regathered and got ourselves into the game and up to a 2-0 leads ? from there we seemed to stall.?
Casserly was however disappointed with his side?s inability to hold onto a clean sheet in their first three outings:
?That?s three games we?ve had and in all games we?ve conceded goals and that?s just simply not good enough,? said Casserly.
?We can?t concede goals every week and expect to win games,? he concluded.
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 2 (Matthew Mayora 57?, 67?)
Manly United 2 (Justin Hayward 77?, 82?)
Saturday April 8th, 2011
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: Nick Backo and A. Buchar
Fourth Official: D. Fuda
Crowd: 300 Approx.
Marconi Stallions: 22.James Chronopoulos; 2.Andrew Mailer, 4.Umut Tokdogan, 5.Adel El Jamal, 8.Sean O?Connell, 9.Keith Shevlin (20.Josh Sama 65?), 11.Matthew Gordon, 15.Matthew Mayora, 23.Chris Nunes (17.Mitchell Mallia 58?), 24.Daniel Petrovski, 26.Nahuel Arrarte
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Nikodin Matic, 7.Timothy McGowan, 6.Brenton Rhodes
Yellow Cards: Keith Shevlin 45?
Red Cards: Nil
Manly United FC: 1.Kang Ho Lee; 2.Jimmy Oates, 5.Marc Richards, 6.Michael Daly, 7.Scott Balderson (12.Mitchell Macedo 46?), 8.David Dodd, 9.Robbie Cattanach, 10.Adam Foti, 14.Sueng Soo Lee (11.Justin Hayward 70?), 21.Joey Gibbs, 25.Jordon Edwards (17.Matthew Simm 80?)
Substitutes Not Used: 22.Tonu Liiband, 4.Graeme Forbes
Yellow Cards: Marc Richards 39?
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 ? Jimmy Oates (MU)
2 ? Matthew Mayora (MS)
1 ? Justin Hayward (MU)
-By Michael Shoolman