NWS Spirit FC Crowned 2022 Waratah Cup Champions

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NWS Spirit FC have secured a sensational 2-1 victory over Sydney United 58 FC to claim the Waratah Cup at Blacktown City Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon.

Goals to Michael Konestabo and Richard Darko in the first half gave Spirit the advantage, but Sydney United 58 came out with renewed vigour in the second half.

Chris Payne managed to get one back for Sydney United 58 FC in the 68th minute, but it wasn’t enough for them to climb back into the match as the League One outfit took the glory.

For NWS Sydney Spirit the match gave them a great opportunity to show they can hold their own against NPL NSW Men’s heavyweights, after earning promotion to the top tier competition next season, and will give them some extra confidence heading into the final stages of their season.

Sydney United 58 started off with plenty of energy, but their game was quickly altered as experienced attacker Patrick Antelmi went down in the 4th minute clutching his hamstring, forcing coach Miro Vlastelica to make an early substitution, bringing on Kyle Cimenti in his place.

Spirit had a brilliant chance to open the scoring early in the 3th minute as Jordan Gomez made a forward run and let off a curling ball behind the Sydney United 58 defence for Konestabo, who was just off the pace and the chance fizzled out.

Spirit came asking again in the 14th minute as Darko made a run down the right flank and cut to Louis Bozanic who tapped the ball goal bound, but Danijel Nizic was well placed to deny.

Their attacking pressure paid off in the 18th minute as they opened the scoring through Konestabo.

Captain Grant Cornwell played a ball from the back to Kota Odakura, who passed to Konestabo just past the halfway mark.

Konestabo took a few touches to get United 58’s defence out of the way before letting off a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box and out of reach of Nizic.

Spirit created another opportunity in the 35th minute as Mitchell Davidson crossed a ball into Bozanic, but he wasn’t able to control the ball.

Chris Payne came close for United 58 in the 36th minute as he received the ball from Cimenti, turned and let off a shot, but it was just wide of the goal.

Spirit doubled their lead in the 38th minute, this time through Darko.

Corey Kavanagh played a long ball to Davidson, who flicked the ball on to Darko as he tumbled to the ground from a challenge.

Darko darted forward and let off a shot amongst the pressure of Jacob Poscoliero and Matthew Bilic to send the ball past a diving Nizic and take the Spirit tally to two.

United 58 came out with some extra energy, with substitute Glen Trifiro making a big impact on the match after coming off the bench during the half-time break.

Payne came close in the 54th minute as Trifiro set him up with a great ball, but he was slightly off target.

Taisei Kaneko sent a ball firing towards the goal in the 56th minute, but it curled just wide.

After continued pressure in the second half, a goal finally came for United 58 in the 68th minute through Chris Payne.

Bilic sent a long throw in to Payne inside the 18-yard box from the sideline and the attacker found himself some space and sent a ball high over Spirit ‘keeper Christopher Marques into the corner of the goal.

Komestabo came close to another in the 76th minute as his powerful strike flew just inches over the crossbar.

Spirit ran away with the ball in the 81st minute and looked poised to score, but Nizic jumped into action to deny.

Konestabo had a chance to put the game to bed in the 85th minute, but his effort rebounded off the crossbar.

Despite end-to-end action from both teams and a lot of close chances, there were no more goals to come from the battle as it finished up 2-1 to NWS Spirit FC.

The victory for the League One side was something of a rare occurrence as NPL NSW Men’s club’s had dominated this space taking out the Cup for the last 30 or so seasons.

It’s been a huge year for the club who have reached this year’s League One Finals Series, winning entry to the NPL NSW Men’s competition for 2023 as well as reaching the Round of 32 of the Australia Cup.

Spirit FC coach David Perkovic was elated his team was able to earn the honour of the Waratah Cup title.

“A lot of hard work has come to this point,” he explained.

“I’ve been at the club for six years now and the first few years we didn’t really even have a home ground and then the last two years we’ve had COVID so we hadn’t been able to complete a season and this competition hasn’t been able to be played.

“To win the first one coming back from COVID is a fantastic feeling and it’s a true reward for all the hard work that the club has put in.

“I think our league is sometimes not appreciated for how good it is and it’s a credit to our league to prepare us for moments like this as well.

“It was really pleasing for our division and obviously, for us to be able to lift the trophy.

“We’re really looking forward to playing the pinnacle of New South Wales football – it will be a new challenge and or an enjoyable one too.

Following Konestabo’s fantastic Cup performance, the midfielder was awarded the honour of ‘Man of the Match’ as voted by the Football NSW Media Unit.

Match Stats

NWS Spirit FC 2 (Konestabo 18’, Darko 38’)

Sydney United 58 FC 1 (Chris Payne 68’) 

Blacktown City Sports Centre, Seven Hills

Sunday, 7th August, 2022

Referee: Craig Fisher

Assistant Referees: Joon Park & Matt Staples

Fourth Official: Adrian Arndt

NWS Spirit FC: 1. Christopher Marques, 2. Brian Jamba, 3. Musashi Kokubo, 4. Kota Odakura, 5. Jordan Gomez (19. Dominic Johns 75’), 6. Corey Kavanagh, 8. Grant Cornwell, 9. Richard Darko (18. Jake Mamone 90+2), 10. Louis Bozanic (12. Blake Ilitch 81’),11. Mitchell Davidson (7. Goffry Lino 75’), 23. Michael Konestabo

Substitutes Not Used: 13. Luke Cotten,

Yellow Cards: Gomez 72’

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Danijel Nizic, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 5. Anthony Tomelic, 6. Christopher Payne, 7. Taisei Kaneko, 9. Patrick Antelmi (8. Kyle Cimenti 6’ (3. Jordan Roberts 60’)), 11. Yianni Perkatis (14. Andreas Adamemnonos 70’), 15. Tariq Maia (18. Glen Trifiro 72’), 16. Jacob Poscoliero, 17. Matthew Bilic, 22. Yianni Fragogiannis

Substitutes Not Used: 69. James Husoy

Yellow Cards: Tomelic 32’

Red Cards: Nil

 

Waratah Cup Player Ratings

NWS Spirit FC

Christopher Marques: 7

Came up big when his side needed him with a crucial save in the second half. Apart from that was solid with his distribution in the winning side.

Brian Jamba: 7

Sitting in an inverted fullback position, Jamba was crucial at controlling the tempo of the first half. Played a tough role in manning the fort in the second half as United 58 piled the pressure which Jamba duly handled.

Musashi Kokubo: 7

Rating possibly influenced by what we know he can do, Musashi Kokubo was solid in defence yet potentially a little off in his distribution from the back.

Kota Odakura: 7

Apart from Konestabo, potentially the man of the match. Clever in defence while his distribution was on another level in defensive midfield, plays a pivotal role in David Perkovic’s side.

Jordan Gomez: 7

A player who has improved as the season has kicked on, Jordan Gomez was energetic and involved in many Spirit attacks.

Corey Kavanagh: 7.5

Taken out of his usual role in recent times, Corey Kavanagh was impressive playing on the right, a key clog in Perkovic’s side, he impressed once again in a string of solid performances.

Grant Cornwell: 7.5

Does this guy ever have a bad game? A real captain’s performance, leading his side from the back, you would struggle to recall a moment where he put a foot wrong. If anyone deserves this trophy, it’s Grant, he’s been Spirit  through and through.

Richard Darko: 7

Spirit’s second goal scorer, Richie Darko looked dangerous every time the spirit got forward in the first half while also providing an option as they looked to counter in the second half.

Louis Bozanic: 7.5

You could make a good argument that Louis Bozanic is perhaps underrated in this Spirit side, having found a home on the left wing in recent times, his combination with Mikey Konestabo is a key foundation.

Mitchell Davidson: 7

After a long injury saw him miss three months of the season, Davidson was resembling the player we know he is leading the line, in a team performance where there was no real weak links, he along with Odakura and Konestabo stood out.

Michael Konestabo: 9

Trademark Konestabo performance in attacking midfield, scored a great goal in the opening half and was a constant threat, man of the match performance.

Geoffry Lino: 7

Brought off the bench into a game which suits him up front, Lino proved to be a dangerous attacking outlet on the counterattack, nearly notching up an assist or goal on a few occasions.

Dominic Johns: 6

Like Lino, this was a situation which suited Johns coming off the bench. Dynamic in attack, his was nearly apart of a third spirit goal late on.

Blake Ilitch: N/A

Came off the bench with ten minutes left, Ilitch only got a few touches of the ball, having contributed to the side in recent weeks, deserved to be apart of the final winning side.

Jake Mamone: N/A

Late injury time substitution, Mamone came on to add stability to the Spirt defense late.

 

Sydney United 58

Danijel Nizic: 7.5

On the face of it, no keeper wants to concede twice in a game, but Nizic was crucial in reducing the damage with some good saves as he showed his quality underneath the sticks.

Adrian Vlastelica: 6

It was a tough day at the office for Sydney United’s defence. Vlastelica however marshalled his troops the best way he could as he once again gave his all for the jersey.

Anthony Tomelic: 6

If you don’t control the midfield against a Perkovic coached side, the games going to be tough. Anthony Tomelic had a game of two halves. Struggling in the first half before bouncing back well in the second period.

Christopher Payne: 7.5

Scoring a high quality goal in the second half and leading the United attack, Payne was impressive as came into the game during the second half. Definitely one of United’s best on the park.

Taisei Kaneko: 7.5

The Japanese star was another standout for the visitors. Going about his job while floating across the attack, he seemed always dangerous.

Patrick Antelmi: N/A

Went off early with a hamstring injury, Antelmi really didn’t have the chance to influence proceedings, FNSW wishes him the best with his recovery.

Yianni Perkatis: 6

Failed to control proceedings in the centre of the park in the first half, Perkatis similar to others around him came out from the break improved.

Tariq Maia: 5

Substituted at half-time as United were chasing the game, Maia along with Tomelic struggled in central midfield during the first half as Spirit got players forward, was one of his off games for this season.

Jacob Poscoliero: 5.5

Poscoliero was kept busy for a good chunk of the game however there were instance where the Spirit attackers got the better of the former A-League player, especially in the first half.

Matthew Bilic: 6

Bilic had a game of two halves. Struggling in the first half as Spirit had the ascendency but delivered some quality balls into the box during the second half which his troops appreciated. If only this was evident in the first half.

Yianni Fragogiannis: 6

Fragogiannis proved an overlapping option as United pushed for an equalizer yet struggled along with his fellow defenders in the first half.

Kyle Cimenti: 5.5

A substitute for Antelmi in the first half, Cimenti failed to live up to that lofty bar with Glen Trifiro and Chris Payne the standouts in United attack.

Glen Trifiro: 8

Made a significant impact coming off the bench, Trifiro was instrumental in the NPL NSW Men’s side coming back into the contest.

His known trickery and read of the game was the reason by Milo Vlastelica’s men had a sniff at turning the game on its hand after the break.

Andrea Agamemnonos: 5

Deployed in an unspectacular role, Agamemnonos did his job coming off the bench at a crucial moment of the game, did nothing spectacular but nothing wrong.

Jordan Roberts: 5

Like the other substitutes mentioned, Roberts who was brought on in the second half and played his part in the second half as United pressed for an equalizer.

Football NSW would like to acknowledge Deploy Football, the official ball sponsors of the Waratah Cup.