Manly United keep finals hopes alive
The Stallions have been on the rise in recent weeks, and no doubt headed to the northern beaches in a confident mood.
6? minutes in they were delirious after taking the lead. One time Manly striker Josh Sama beat Dylan Mitchell at the near post with a textbook free kick.
The Stallions then attempted to boss the game, but the home side were up for a big showing.
Joey Gibbs should have squared proceedings after 15? minutes. After he was played in y Adam Foti, he produced a weak shot from the edge of the box which James Chronopoulos gleefully picked up.
For whatever reason, both teams were then intent on playing continual long balls.
As each squad tried to control proceedings, the ball never seemed to be on the deck.
29? minutes in Stallions midfielder Sean O?Connell fired a ball into the area, but none of his team-mates were alert enough to tap it home.
They paid the price 10? minutes from the break when United equalised.
A corner from Scott Balderson was eventually hacked in by Michael Daly, and the home side then lifted a gear.
Marconi were clearly rattled, and missed chances from Matthew Mayora on 41? and 47? minutes left them feeling even more at sea.
So you can imagine their despair when Sama missed a glorious chance with 52? minutes played. With only Mitchell to beat, he placed his shot, but it crashed onto the post, out for a goal kick.
Manly coach Craig Midgley reacted by introducing Justin Hayward and Robbie Cattanach to the fold.
Both looked in the mood, with the former asking many questions of the Stallions defence whenever he had the ball at his feet.
Ex-United wingback Andrew Mailer came to life in the second-half, bombing forward at every opportunity.
His overlapping runs gave Marconi much needed impetus in the final third, with Manly growing in confidence.
Just as the contest appeared to be heading towards a stalemate, United took the lead after 81? minutes.
A lightning counter attack saw Cattanach release Hayward, who used his electric pace to run into space pat two defenders and drill the ball past Chronopoulos.
The patient faithful in the Lucas Neill Stand stood united as one, standing to applaud a brilliantly executed team goal.
Hayward almost got a second after 86? minutes, before his team-mate Balderson ensured three points were in the bag with a deflected effort on 89? minutes.
To round out the game, Mitchell produced a world-class save to deny Marconi skipper Nahuel Arrarte from distance.
The result lifts Manly to seventh, with the Stallions just two points clear in sixth.
Arrarte felt Manly deserved the result:
?It was one of those games, we had it, but a few lapses of concentration hurt us,?? he said.
?Credit to them, they (Manly) never gave up and in the end got the better of us.
?We just have to keep our heads up and keeping working hard??it is an even competition, we just have to make sure we pick up points consistently.?
Midgley was understandably in a more buoyant mood:
?We were under the pump in the first half, but the way we responded after halftime was great,?? he said.
?The boys showed fantastic character??we made the right decisions and it paid off.
?We also have a few lads coming back from injury, so it is a good spot to be in.?
In the Grade-20s clash, Marconi emerged winners, 1-0.
Match Stats
Manly United FC 3 (Daly 35?, Hayward 81?, Balderson 89?)
Marconi Stallions 1 (Sama 6?)
Cromer Park
Sunday 26th June, 2011
Referee: James Lewis
Assistant Referees: Craig Fisher and Roland Hunt
Fourth Official: Jamie Gavin
Manly United FC: 1.Dylan Mitchell; 2.Jimmy Oates, 4.Graeme Forbes, 5.Marc Richards, 6.Michael Daly, 7.Scott Balderson, 10.Adam Foti, (11.Justion Hayward 58?) 18.Colin Iley, 21.Joey Gibbs, 25.Jordan Edwards, 26.Daniel Grant (9.Robbie Cattanach 67?)
Substitutes Not Used: 22.Kang Ho Lee, 14.Seung Soo Lee, 17.Matt Sim
Yellow Cards: Foti 38?, Gibbs 78?
Red Cards: Nil
Marconi Stallions: 22.James Chronopoulos; 2.Andrew Mailer, 5.Adel El Jamal, (9.Keith Shevlin 82?) 6.Brenton Rhodes , 8.Sean O?Connell, 14.Graziano Trimboli, (11.Matt Gordon 71?) 15.Matthew Mayora, 20.Josh Sama, 23.Chris Nunes, 24.Daniel Petrovski, 26.Nahuel Arrarte
Substitutes Not Used: 12.Daniel Ott, 16.Domenic Trimboli, 21.Nikodin Matic
Yellow Cards: O?Connell 54?, Petrovski 74?
Red Cards: Nil
