*Header photo by Jaime Castaneda (@jamcas50)
A Mitch Mallia hat trick has helped Marconi Stallions to a 5-2 win against Sydney FC at Marconi Stadium on Sunday.
Mallia scored twice in the first half and again in the third as the Stallions scored five goals for the second straight week.
The former Blacktown City star gave the home side a perfect start with goals in the 16th and the 36th as they claimed a 2-0 lead at the interval.
The home side went from strength to strength in the second stanza as Mallia snatched his third before James Andrew and Damian Tsekenis also found the back of the net.
Sydney FC claimed two goals in the second half but they proved to be mere consolation as a rampant Marconi outfit claimed their second win in as many weeks.
Sydney FC thought they had taken an early lead when Hamish Lamberton found the back of the net, however he was ruled to be offside.
In the 11th minute James Andrew forced a great save from young Sky Blues shot stopper Adam Pavlesic
A long range free-kick from Teague for Sydney FC didn’t miss the target by too much in the 15th minute as the ball sailed over the crossbar by a fine margin.
Marconi replied almost immediately and struck the lead a minute later. A long ball forward bounced awkwardly but Mallia was able to place it neatly into the far bottom corner of the net.
An effort from Liam Youlley soon after nearly made it two in quick succession but Pavlesic was able to turn it around the post.
Marconi found their second in the 36th minute with Mallia volleying past the keeper after a long throw in from Marko Jesic.
In the second stanza of play Marconi scored two goals in the first two minutes of play to virtually kill off the contest.
The first goal was a penalty which was duly awarded to the Stallions after Patrick Scibilio brought Mallia down in the box.
Mallia made no mistake from the spot to score his and his team’s third of the afternoon.
A mere 30 seconds later a long Zac Cairncross ball found James Andrew sprinting towards goal and with, all the calmness of a true professional, he drove the ball home past Pavlesic to make it four for the home side.
In the 52nd minute Andrew again was in the thick of the action and this time it was with a wonderful volley from short range that brought out the best in Pavlesic who saved instinctively to deny Marconi their fifth.
Sydney FC struck back in the 56th minute with a long range effort from Harry Van Der Saag. It had too much power on it and the ball end up directly in the back of the net before anyone had time to really notice.
In the 81st minute Marconi made it five when Damian Tsekenis capped off his debut with a classy chipped finish to score.
Benjamin Koop scored late on for Sydney FC with a tap in from close range.
Marconi boss Peter Tsekenis praised his side’s ruthless attack.
“It has been a big week and definitely goal scoring is not a problem for the boys,” he said.
“I am a bit disappointed that we have leaked some goals but sometimes when you are scoring, you take a risk and concede some too.
“Sydney FC is a young side that had nothing to lose but I am very happy with our young boys and they did a job both midweek and today.”
Sydney FC coach Jim Van Weeren accepted the defeat as a lesson for his squad.
“Early in the second half was a big learning moment for our young players and we got caught switching off,” he said.
“Even though we lost 5-2, the pleasing part was that we could have scored some more ourselves. It was an entertaining game today but now we’ll move one and prepare for another tough test against Wollongong next week .”
Match Stats
MARCONI STALLIONS: 5 (Mallia 16’, 36’ & 47’, Andrew 48’, Tsekenis 81’)
SYDNEY FC: 2 (Van Der Saag 56’, Koop 82’)
Sunday, 9th June 2019
Marconi Stadium,
Referee: Ben Abraham
Assistant Referees: Brad Wright, Nathan Walton
Fourth Official: Sebastian Andrews
MARCONI STALLIONS: 1.Nenad Vekic, 2.Nathan Millgate, 3.Giorgio Speranza, 4.Roberto Speranza, 7.Sean O’Connell, 10.Marko Jesic (40.Damian Tsekenis 74’), 11.Mitchell Mallia, 12.James Andrew (14.Peter Pelekanos 68’), 13.Yianni Nicolaou, 16.Liam Youlley (23.Brandon Vella 62’), 19.Zac Cairncross.
Substitutes not used: 17.Kristian Sekutkoski, 28.Martin Fernandez.
Yellow Cards: Cairncross 86’
Red Card: Nil
SYDNEY FC: 30.Adam Pavlesic, 3.Benjamin Van Meurs, 5.Patrick Scibilio (34.Callum Nieuwenhof 82’), 6.Harry Van Der Saag, 9.Hamish Lamberton (24.Jake Hollman 65’), 12.Giuseppe Tilio, 14.Thomas Fay, 15.Ryan Teague, 16.Paolo Bonanni (54.Anton Minaric 61’), 17.Callum Talbot, 18.Benjamin Koop.
Substitutes not used: 20.David Malishev, 23.Harry McCarthy.
Yellow Cards: Teague 84’
Red Cards: Nil
