HARRY MCCARTHY SAVES THE DAY FOR MANLY UNITED
A late Harry McCarthy equaliser inflicted a further dent upon Marconi’s Premiership title aspirations, as they shared the points with a fast-finishing Manly United in a 1-1 draw at Cromer Park on Saturday night.
Despite a game where the chances stacked up in favour of the home side, it appeared as though Marconi were on track for a tight victory thanks to Kyle Cimenti’s 27th-minute tap-in.
That was until Harry McCarthy popped up in the first minute of second-half stoppage time to bring the Cromer Park crowd to their feet and snatch a point for the Northern Beaches club.
It meant a second-straight draw that saw Marconi’s gap extend to ten points shy of ladder-leading APIA Leichhardt, while Manly bounced back to extend their buffer above the bottom two to seven points.
While it was an energetic start for the home side, the first clear-cut opportunity of the night fell to the Stallions, as Levi Kaye tipped Matt Hatch’s strike over the bar.
Five minutes later Seiya Kambayashi cut inside and unleashed Manly’s first shot on target, which was parried away by Hilton.
The Japanese maestro created a similar chance five minutes later which was deflected out of play for a corner, that subsequently saw Aganovic’s header cleared off the line by Giorgio Speranza.
Chances continued to stack up for Manly as McCarthy blazed over the bar; before Marconi went down the other end at hit the hosts with a sucker-punch.
After a similar chance was captured by Levi Kaye moments earlier, Hatch cut inside and released a powerful strike that was palmed out into the path of Kyle Cimenti, who made no mistake converting the game’s opening goal.
Manly nearly bounced back on the half-hour mark, as a nicely worked second-phase of corner saw Aganovic square it for McCarthy, but the former Mariner’s effort was saved from close range by Hilton.
A tight final fifteen minutes followed, seeing the Stallions carry a slim advantage into the break.
The second half kicked off in similar fashion, with McCarthy forcing the first save of the period out of Hilton in the 54th minute.
Cimenti eyed a second of the night in the 57th minute as he met Daniel Bouman’s dangerous cross but couldn’t keep his header down.
Patrick Zwaanswijk introduced experienced campaigner Matt Sim off the bench with less than half an hour remaining, and he instantly played through McCarthy, who cut inside and saw a dangerous chance deflect wide.
The 66th minute saw Manly’s pursuit of an equaliser continue, as Ben Koop skipped his way through out wide and delivered for McCarthy, who nodded it down into the path of an onrushing Kambayashi – but his powerful strike sailed narrowly over the bar.
Manly continued to push for the leveller as the 78th and 80th minute saw captain Jimmy Oates create a couple of chances that flew past the target.
The tension continued to rise in the 83rd minute as McCarthy’s backheel played through Kambayashi, who drove towards goal but opted to square it for Sim, who lost his footing at the vital moment.
Time was running out for the hosts, until McCarthy popped up in the 91st minute.
It came after nice work from substitute Lal to slip in the attacker, who rolled it past Hilton to spark rapturous celebrations.
Post-game, Manly United Head Coach Patrick Zwaanswijk was overall satisfied by what he saw to be a dominant performance from his side.
“I’m pleased by the way we played against a top team in this division, and the way we basically dominated the game,” he said.
“If we do a count of the chances for and against we probably would have won this game 10-2 or something.
“But in the end, we can’t win if we don’t score these chances so I’m very happy with the performance and the point in the end.
“This is what I like to see from my team and hope to see more of moving forward.”
Match Stats
Manly United FC 1 (McCarthy 91’)
Marconi Stallions FC 1 (Cimenti 27’)
Saturday 8 July 2023
Cromer Park, Cromer
Manly United FC: 20 Levi Kaye (GK), 3. Jesse Piriz, 4. James Oates (C), 7. Seiya Kambayashi, 9. Benjamin Koop (6. Finn Ashton 68’), 12. Kristian Santich (11. Matthew Sim 61’), 14. Connor Rose (31. Marcus Lal 78’), 19. Alen Aganovic, 29. Hunter Elliott, 23. Harry McCarthy, 32. Saxon Hillyer
Substitutes Not Used: 93. Montgomery Partington, 39. Stefano Rossello, 27. Corey Cronin,
Yellow Cards: Oates 91’
Red Cards: Nil
Marconi Stallions: 24. James Hilton, 2. Nathan Millgate, 3. Giorgio Speranza, 8. Hiroaki Aoyama, 9. Jordan Swibel (12. Sam Gulisano 83’), 10. Marko Jesic, 11. Daniel Bouman, 13. Aleksander Duricic (5. Liam McGing 86’), 19. Kyle Cimenti, 23. Brandon Vella (22. Taylor McDonald 61’), 39. Matthew Hatch (17. Martin Fernandez 86’)
Subs not used: 7. Christopher Hatfield, 20. Jack Gibson
Yellow Cards: Millgate 64’, Duricic 78’, Fernandez 88’, Jesic 89’
Red Cards: Nil
Referee: Sebastian Brennan
Assistant Referees: Emma Kocbek and Maggie Price
Fourth Official: Mitchell Renton
Player Ratings:
3 – Saxon Hillyer (MUN)
2 – Harry McCarthy (MUN)
1 – Kyle Cimenti (MAR)
by NPL NSW Reporter Chris Curulli
