KAMBAYASHI FIRES MANLY UNITED TO VICTORY
A couple of Seiya Kambayashi set-pieces saw Manly United overcome Sydney United 58 2-1 in a hotly contested battle on a chilly night at Cromer Park on Saturday night.
Kambayashi opened the scoring with another spectacular set-piece inside 20 minutes, before Chris Payne equalised at his old home six minutes later.
In a hard-fought second-half, the matchwinner arrived inside the final ten minutes, as a Kambayashi corner curled all the way into the back of the net.
Much to the delight of the home fans, Manly held on to a result that saw them snap a run of three matches without victory.
Despite Sydney United 58’s resounding victory in the Waratah Cup midweek, it was the home side who started brighter on a chilly night in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
A couple of early set pieces appeared dangerous, with Kristian Santich denied by a goal-line clearance in the first clear-cut chance of the night.
In the 20th minute the deadlock was broken, as he curled home a perfectly-struck free kick from the edge of the area.
It was the Japanese maestro’s second piece of dead ball brilliance in consecutive weeks, after scoring Manly’s sole goal against Sydney FC with a similarly impressive free kick last weekend.
But just six minutes later, the Cromer Park crowd was left in stunned silence as the visitors found themselves level.
Chris Payne, playing against the club he once represented, popped up on the six-yard box to cannon the ball home off the inside of the post.
Chances proved tough to come by for either side from that point on, with Hiyori Kawaguchi blazing one over the bar in the last chance of the first 45.
The second half started in tight fashion before Manly nearly found a way through on the hour mark as Bruno Mendes found himself through on goal, only to chip into the palms of Luke Cukar.
It was then Sydney United 58’s turn to try their luck, as Kawaguchi bombed forward and firing over in the 63rd minute, before Chris Payne and Tasei Kaneko were denied by Levi Kaye ten minutes later.
In the 77th minute Manly nearly found a winner, as Harry McCarthy’s volley dipped onto the roof of the net, before Santich was denied from close range a minute later.
After building up more and more pressure, Manly finally found a way through with a touch of fortune in the 82nd minute.
Once again it was a Kambayashi set-piece that did the trick, this time direct from a corner, as his delivery curled all the way in at the back post.
Post-match Manly coach Patrick Zwaanswijk, was pleased with his side’s ability to get the job done.
“We started well, they played a different formation to what we expected so we had to adjust a little bit but once we adapted I think we were dominant,” he reflected.
“After we scored the intensity dropped a little bit and we just got caught in between lines at a moment.
“We went into the dressing room and spoke about what we had to change, what we had to work on and then we started creating chances.
“If you look at the overall game I think it was a deserved win, and could have been easier if we finished all of our chances.”
The Manly Head Coach also praised the role of his number seven, whose goals proved the difference.
“We’ve been working with Seiya to try and help support him and find the perfect spot for how we can utilise him to his best ability,” the former A-Leagues centre-half said.
“He’s great in combination play, can score set pieces and now he is much more comfortable and has been doing really well.”
Match Stats
Manly United FC 2 (Kambayashi 20’, 82’)
Sydney United 58 FC 1 (Payne 26’)
Saturday 17 June 2023
Cromer Park, Cromer
Manly United FC: 20 Levi Kaye (GK), 3. Jesse Piriz, 4. James Oates (C), 7. Seiya Kambayashi, 8. Dom Ferguson (39. Stefano Rossello 84’), 10. Bruno Mendes (21. Nick Rainbird 90’), 12. Kristian Santich (41. Stefan Visscher 84’), 18. Lucas Rainbird (9. Benjamin Koop 45’), 22. Bilal Belkadi, 23. Harry McCarthy, 29. Hunter Elliott
Substitutes Not Used: 30 Jay Coates (GK), 37. Maxwell Pengelly
Yellow Cards: Rainbird 45’, Piriz 54’, Oates 73’, Ferguson 84’, Kaye 89’
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United 58 FC: 20. Luke Cukar (GK), 3. Bailey Rule (2. Cristian Gonzalez 83’), 4. Adrian Vlastelica (C), 5. Anthony Tomelic, 6. Christopher Payne, 9. Patrick Antelmi (7. Taisei Kaneko 48’), 10. Devante Clut (21. Yianni Fragogiannis 71’), 11. Yianni Perkatis, 12. Hiyori Kawaguchi, 16. Ante Bakmaz, 17. Matthew Bilic
Substitutes Not Used: 13. Alessandro Lacalandra,19. Ante Vojvodic, 50. Ryan Warner (GK)
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Referee: Sam Kelly
Assistant Referees: Amirhossein Hosnani and Lindsay Edmonds
Fourth Official: Rebecca Mackie
Player Ratings:
3 – Seiya Kambayashi (MU)
2 – Hunter Elliot (MU)
1 – Hiyori Kawaguchi (SU)
By Chris Curulli (Football NSW)
