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Sharks Secure NPL Spot With Stunning Win In Front Of Huge Home Crowd

A Sharks player holds a young child as fans celebrate around him

The Sharks recorded a monumental 3-1 win over St George FC at Seymour Shaw to retain its status as an NPL Men’s NSW club for another season following its final match of the season and a heroic display from club legend Mitch Stamatellis.

NPL Men's NSW Round 30 Highlights – Sutherland Sharks v St George FCWatch on YouTube

This victory maintains the Sharks’ topflight status for next season in what has been a tough period for the club having won just two of their last nine home matches.

In a half of scarce chances, it was Sutherland who took theirs with authority against St George FC just six-minutes in after Jay McGowan’s corner kick connected with Sharks cult-hero Mitchell Stamatellis who smashed his header to open the scoring.

Following Stamatellis’s goal, both teams tidied up their defence lines.

This became particularly apparent in the 13th minute when the Saints prevented a sure-fire Sharks chance after Anthony Morabito twisted his legs around the ball to claw back possession against McGowan.

A Sharks player covers his face in disbelief at the final whistle
Levi Sciuriaga makes it 2-0

A few moments later and Matthew Jackson bundled over Morabito close to the box which resulted in a free kick. The ensuing opportunity saw St George come agonisingly close to scoring as Jaden Casella’s attempt flew inches over the crossbar.

The match continued to be neck and neck as the Saints saw Morabito’s shot thump off Sharks keeper Nenad Vekic’s legs on the half-hour mark.

St George continued their pursuit of an equaliser after Casella nearly toppled Stamatellis only for the experienced Shark to pull himself off the ground and pass the ball back to Vekic at the last second.

It proved to be a costly miss as just before halftime Levi Sciuriaga made the score 2-0 when his sneaky shot went under the legs of Mackenzie Syron and into the back of the net.

Saints skipper Troy Danaskos had a crack for the Saints on the 53rd minute mark from long range, however it was met with an easy block from Lachlan Macdonald.

With the clock ticking just past the hour mark, Sutherland secured the result and their status in the top flight through an easily converted Stamatellis spot kick as he beat Syron with ease. The penalty coming after Jayden Seeto clashed into Sciuriaga as both players were fighting for possession.

A Sharks player and his family smile with fans on the pitch
Club hero Stamatellis with Simon Kennedy MP - Federal member for Cook and wife Nila Dharan.

With the game winding down, Sutherland were content to sit back and soak up the Saints pressure. This backfired somewhat in the 78th-minute as St George found their way back into the game via a stunning and curling long range effort from Conor Quilligan.

The game finished on a low for the Sharks as Takahide Umebachi saw red after his challenge went awry.

The Man of the moment Mitchell Stamatellis was nothing short of jubilant postgame for the Sharks.

“I’m elated and over the moon to have got the job done for this wonderful club. We deserve to stay here next year. The fans brought a lot as well.

“For us we’ve been very defensively solid this season, but we weren’t finishing our chances. During the week we worked on being more clinical in the final third and it paid dividends.

“For next season we want to continue with this. The club has turned a corner in the last twelve weeks, and we’ve been putting in a lot of hard work behind the scenes. We want to be fighting for finals Football and we’ll be onto bigger and better things next year.”

The Reaction

Stamma's on Fire!! The post-game celebration show how much this meant to the boys.

Photo Gallery

A club official smiles in the dressing room after the winA club official smiles in the dressing room after the winA Sharks player holds two young children after the winA Sharks player holds two young children after the winJunior players run onto the pitch to celebrate with the teamJunior players run onto the pitch to celebrate with the teamThe Sharks goalkeeper in pink hands a toddler back to a fan in the standThe Sharks goalkeeper in pink reaches up to a toddler held over the fenceSharks players and staff on the bench watch the closing minutesSharks players and staff on the bench watch the closing minutesTwo Sharks players high-five on the pitchTwo Sharks players high-five on the pitchA Sharks player sits on the bench with a coach beside himA Sharks player sits on the bench with a coach beside himA Sharks player drinks from a water bottle on the pitchA Sharks player drinks from a water bottle on the pitchThe Sharks goalkeeper in pink gives a thumbs upThe Sharks goalkeeper in pink gives a thumbs upA Sharks player greets young fans in black on the pitchA Sharks player greets young fans in black on the pitchA Sharks player fist-bumps a young fanA Sharks player fist-bumps a young fanA smiling young player in a black Sharks top on the pitchA smiling young player in a black Sharks top on the pitchYoung players in navy Sharks tracksuits wait on the pitchYoung players in navy Sharks tracksuits wait on the pitchA Sharks player carries a toddler through a crowd of cheering young fansA Sharks player carries a toddler through a crowd of cheering young fansYoung fans reach out to high-five the playersYoung fans reach out to high-five the playersA Sharks player kneels with two young players in green for a photoA Sharks player kneels with two young players in green for a photoA Sharks player crouches with two young children on the pitchA Sharks player crouches with two young children on the pitchA smiling club official in a black Sharks top on the pitchA smiling club official in a black Sharks top on the pitchA Sharks player and his family pose with fans on the pitchA Sharks player and his family pose with fans on the pitchA Sharks player poses with family on the pitch after the matchA Sharks player poses with family on the pitch after the match

Match Stats

Sutherland Sharks 3 (Mitchell Stamatellis 6’, 63’, Levi Sciuriaga 42’)

St George FC 1 (Connor Quilligan 78’)

Sunday 25 August 2024

Seymour Shaw, Miranda

Referee: Logan Jones

Assistant Referees: Aaron Bloch and Ethan Zvargulis

Fourth Official: Jeh Coutinho

Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nenad Vekic, 2.Kotaro Katsuta, (3.Jordan Roberts 90’), 4.Mitchell Stamatellis, 5.Takahide Umebachi, (6.Samuel Gulisano 82’), 7.Lachlan Macdonald, 8.Mohamed Ahmed, (9.Andrew Vlahadamis 79’), 10.Mason Fernandez, 11.Jay McGowan, (23.Ethan Beaven 83’), 26.Jacob Garner, 27.Matthew Jackson, 77.Levi Sciuriaga

Unused subs: 22.Jordan Graoroski, 99.Jacob Cremen-Cowan

Yellow cards: Nil

Red cards: (Takahide Umebachi 90’)

St George FC: 3.Troy Danaskos, 5.Nicholas Kalogerou, (7.Jesse Spang 63’), 8.Conor Quilligan, 10.Harry Jones, 11.Anthony Morabito, (16.Sebastian Cerecdeo 80’), 17.Thomas Brown, 18.Mark Rodic, 23.Evangelo Souris, (27.Jayden Seeto 63’), 30.Justin Poon, 33.Jaden Casella, (37.Jakov Malbasa 75’), 99.Mackenzie Syron

Unused subs: 20.Daniel Axford, 22.Aedan O’Shea

Yellow cards: (Jayden Seeto 63’)

Red cards: Nil

Player Ratings:

3: Mitchell Stamatellis (SS)

2: Jay McGowan (SS)

1: Mackenzie Syron (SG)

-By Tobias Canning

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