Held To A Draw: Perez Free-Kick Rescues A Point Against Sydney FC

NPL NSW Men's | Round 27

We were made to work for every inch of it on a cold winter's night at Seymour Shaw, sharing the points with Sydney FC in a 1-1 draw that leaves us frustrated we didn't take all three.

Ryley moving on the take a corner

The first half was tight and scoreless, but it was all our doing in the final third. Nicholas Olsen pounced on a Sydney FC giveaway early on and found Yianni Nicolaou in space, only for the ball to fly narrowly over the bar. We had our moments through Brendan Gan and Diego Bonilla too, and by half-time it felt like a performance that deserved more than a stalemate.

Sydney FC had other ideas after the break. A long ball forward found Zac Fowler in the 49th minute, who ran between two of our defenders and while his shot hit Danijel Nizic, he luckily opened the scoring.

We answered in style. Jordan Perez stepped up from outside the box in the 59th minute and bent a free-kick straight into the top corner, sending the Seymour Shaw crowd into raptures and levelling things back up.

Then boys celebrating Perez’s equaliser

From there it was end to end. Sydney thought they'd snatched the lead back moments later when Fowler tried an audacious lob that cannoned back off the crossbar, and we pushed hard for a winner ourselves. Tye McGowan tested Sydney's young keeper Jared Williams, Olsen went close from distance, and Bonilla forced another good save late on. We had chances in the final minutes too through Perez and a Bonilla acrobatic effort that just wouldn't drop for us, but the equaliser was as good as it got.

A point against a top side is nothing to be ashamed of, and we're still sitting pretty in the race for a top-four finish. Coach David Perkovic was proud of the performance but couldn't hide his frustration at not taking the three points.

"You are never fully happy with a draw, especially as I thought we dominated the first half and Nizic didn't have to make a save," Perkovic said. "We didn't really take our chances tonight and we did have some really good ones. Our general play in the first half was the best it has been all season, including our movement of the ball and our defensive marking, where we really pinned Sydney FC in their half."

He also had plenty of praise for the Seymour Shaw faithful. "The crowd here at home really gets behind our players and we are in a good run of form at the moment. Hopefully we can keep that going for the remainder of our matches and secure that fourth position."

Result: Sutherland Sharks FC 1 – 1 Sydney FC
Scorers: Perez 59'
Venue: Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda, Saturday 9 August 2026

We're off the Marconi this weekend, before heading back home for our last 2 games against St George City FA & SD Raiders FC. Come on you Sharks. 🦈