Heartbreak for Sharks as St George City Win In Nervy 1-0 Clash
An unfortunate own goal was the difference as St George City booked its top six finals series ticket with a 1-0 victory over the Sutherland Sharks at Seymour Shaw on Saturday who are now fighting for their life with one round remaining.
It could all have been so different had Sutherland taken any of a number of chances but in keeping with their season, one they’ll want to forget, particularly in a relegation battle where everything that could go wrong has gone against them.
City attacked immediately, albeit with a suspicion of handball not given, that saw them scampering upfield on the break with the Sharks’ players stopping however Nenad Vekic eventually broke it up to salvage the situation but it set the tone for what was to follow. It would have been a tough moment had the Reds scored but the truism of ‘playing to the whistle’ needed to be heeded.
Indeed, St George were up for this match and pushed for the opener in frenetic fashion from the outset in creating a number of half-chances they couldn’t put away.
Sutherland won a corner and swung the ball into the box that ‘keeper Jack Kenny almost misjudged in the swirling breeze as Stamatellis hovered to hopefully knock home any rebound but a scrambling City defence was able to get the ball clear after several attempts in the 14’ minute as the home side gradually grew into the match.
It was raw, edgy and, understandably, nervy football from both sides with the outcome not lost on either combatant after 28-weeks of uncompromising football. At this stage of the competition with everything to play for, neither wanted to cause an error leading to a goal.
Jay McGowan unleashed a piledriver on the half-hour that Kenny appeared to have covered but was happy to see whistle past the post. It was the best move of the game from the home side to date.
St George responded when Jesse Photi got in behind but couldn’t beat Vekic and a looping follow up was ushered past the woodwork by the ever reliable Stamatellis, a cool head when required although on the balance of play, City shaded the half.
Before the forty-five minutes was up, Noah Ovens required medical attention on the pitch after a clash left him with a bloodied nose however, he was able to continue for the remaining minute of stoppage time and with no goals it remained scoreless at the break.
Within a minute of the restart City gave away an indirect free-kick with the City wall standing on the 6-yard line that did its job well when Jay McGowan rolled the ball to Jordan Roberts not once but twice and the incident passed without a goal but in keeping with the game.
Paolo Mitry then forced Vekic into a save at the other end.
However, the luck dissipated for the home side when a wickedly heavy deflection off Stamatellis wrong footed Vekic saw the ball into his own net in the 50’ minute to give City the lead.
It was a cruel blow for the battling Shire side who were forced to throw caution to the wind in attempting to get back into the game, not an isolated experience this campaign, but inevitably exposing themselves to further problems if the Reds could expose the vacant spaces left behind.
Andrew Vlahadamis, brought in during the transfer window from City, was chomping at the bit to play against his old team mates for the first time but had to be content with a spot on the bench until he replaced skipper Jordan Roberts in the 59’ minute, a little over half an hour to showcase his wares against his former club and, perhaps, be the catalyst of a much needed turnaround.
Another free-kick for the Sharks was seen as Stamatellis was unable to gain enough height to head home but the ball falling nicely for Kotaro Katsuta whose shot flashed past the upright through a crowded penalty area.
McGowan came closer still with a looping shot from 25-yards out that went over the head of Kenny who was fortunate to see the ball bounce back into play off the crossbar in the 68th minute as Sutherland threw everything at their visitors for scant reward.
St George were handling the situation well and could have increased their lead a number of times but for the final ball option yet could also have been pegged back by virtue of the same reason.
The tension around the ground was palpable and growing as the seconds ticked down, Sutherland on all out attack, City defending for all their worth but thought they had conceded a penalty two minutes from regulation time when Vlahadamis tumbled inside the area only for the young striker adjudged to have gone down easily and found himself in the book for simulation.
Absolutely nothing was going the way of the Sharks and, unfortunately for their supporters, the table doesn’t lie, particularly at this time of the season.
Sutherland couldn’t peg back the deficit, not for the lack of trying but it left them with a do or die final fixture in Round 30 next Sunday to salvage their season leaving coach Steve Zoric to comment.
“We controlled the game for long stretches and obviously we’re disappointed with the defeat,” he said.
“It’s been the story of our season and it seems we do everything the hard way by hitting the crossbar and having a penalty claim denied plus a heavily deflected shot deciding the match.
“That said, I’m proud of the effort the boys showed and the improvement made since the start of the season but todays loss is hard to take. We’ll battle hard next weekend and be up for yet another tough match and then we’ll see where we go from there but we’ll give everything and fight hard leaving nothing on the pitch,” he concluded.
You might have expected Mirko Jurilj, St George City coach, to be buoyant as his side ensured NPL Mens Final’s football for the first time in the clubs history but in a reflective mood stated.
“That’s not the way we wanted to win this game,” he said.
“But we got the points we needed today.
“We had a lot of our younger players on the bench through players leaving the club, injuries and suspension but we are really down to the bare bones when it comes to a fully fit playing roster. We’ve had to do it the hard way and I’m proud of how we’ve managed and coped with these situations.
“Obviously very pleased we’ve got Final’s football, but we would have had it last year when finishing fifth had there been any, yet we didn’t play at our best today and Sutherland were the better side.
“It was a very tense and nervous game for us and you could tell that but at least we can go into the last match of the campaign knowing we’re in the Final’s so we can go out and hopefully play the kind of football we know we’re capable of. There won’t be any resting on laurels after this result, we’ll be going out to win next weekend and look to produce our best form.”
Match Stats
Sutherland Sharks 0
St. George City FC 1 (Mitchell Stamatellis 50′ own goal)
Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda
Saturday, 17th August 2024
Referee: Brodie Merchant
Assistants: Patrick Teleki and Mayson Griffith
Fourth Official: Charlotte Flynn
Sutherland Sharks: 1. Nenad Vekic, 2. Kotaro Katsuta, 3. Jordan Roberts (9. Andrew Vlahadamis 70’), 4. Mitch Stamatellis, 5. Takahide Umebachi, 7. Lachlan Macdonald (6. Sam Gulisano 84’), 8. Mo Ahmed (17. Richard Shoueiki 66’), 10. Mason Fernandez, 11. Jay McGowan, 26. Jacob Garner (14. Chris Lindsay 66’), 27. Matty Jackson
Subs not used: 23. Ethan Beaven, 99. Jacob Cremen-Cowan
Yellow Cards: Andrew Vlahadamis 88’
Red Cards: Nil
St. George City FC: 1. Jack Kenny, 2. Cameron Fong, 4. Solomon-Johnn Monahan-Vaiika, 5. Fumoto Kamada, 7. Nathan Roberts, 8. Dominic Cox (32. Mitchy Jomaa 86’), 11. Kosta Petratos (27. Zakariya Hammoud 55’), 14. Paolo Mitri, 19. Jesse Photi, 25. Brodie Clarkson, 28. Noah Ovens
Subs not used: 21. Ryan Reid, 34. William Wright, 36. Noah Albert, 42. Oliver Chrisimos
Yellow Cards: Fumoto Kamada 78’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Jesse Photi (SGCFC)
2 – Jay McGowan (SS)
1 – Solomon-John Monahan-Vaiika (SGCFC)
By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock