Record Crowd, Tough Result: We Fall To Marconi In Six-Goal Thriller
NPL NSW Men's | Round 13
In front of our biggest crowd of the season, and the third time we've broken our own attendance record at Seymour Shaw this year, we went toe to toe with Marconi Stallions in one of the games of the NPL NSW season.
A great shot of our amazing crowd
Richard Shoueiki put us 2-0 up inside 13 minutes, and for long stretches it looked like we'd hold on. But Marconi produced a remarkable second-half comeback to claim a 4-2 win that will sting for a while.
Richie Shoueiki & Nicholas Olsen celebrating Richie’ second goal
The atmosphere was electric from the off. Shoueiki opened the scoring in the 10th minute, beating the offside trap and slotting calmly past Joel Wade. Three minutes later he doubled it with one of the best goals you'll see at this ground, spotting Wade off his line and lobbing him from a tight angle. The crowd was bouncing, and we looked comfortable.
Richie scoring a banger
Marconi began to find their way back into it late in the first half. Anton Mlinaric ghosted in at a free-kick to pull one back just before the break, and the complexion of the game changed. Danijel Nizic had already made a brilliant point-blank save earlier in the half to keep us in front, and he was called upon again in the second as the visitors pushed harder.
Franco Maya levelled with a clean left-footed finish on 62 minutes, and from there we struggled to stem the tide. Teng Kuol headed Marconi in front from a Maya free-kick on 73, and substitute Sunday Yona set up Damien Tsekenis to put it to bed in the final minute.
Danijel Nizic under the pump late on in the game
A tough one to take. We created the chances, got the early goals, and the crowd was right behind us. Marconi are a quality side with genuine title ambitions, and they showed why in that second half.
Shoueiki was exceptional on the day, and Nizic made some crucial saves to keep us in it as long as we were. But tonight belonged to Marconi.
Danijel Nizic leading the team talk before kick off