Marconi Stallions defeat Mt Druitt Town Rangers to win NPL 2 NSW men’s football competition
Marconi Stallions confirmed what everyone else already knew: they’re the best team in the PlayStation 4 NPL 2 NSW competition by a country mile.
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Marconi Stallions confirmed what everyone else already knew: they’re the best team in the PlayStation 4 NPL 2 NSW competition by a country mile.
After winning the premiership by a remarkable 18 points and also the club championship, Peter Tsekenis’ Stallions capped the perfect season with a dominant 5-1 victory over a brave Mt Druitt Town Rangers in Sunday’s grand final at Edensor Park.
Golden Boot winner and grand final Man of the Match Sean Rooney grabbed a double, including a brilliant volley.
Rooney’s double complemented goals from Mirjan Pavlovic, Judah Cleur and Marko Jesic, while Daniel Rezo scored a late penalty for Rangers.
As expected, both sides adopted a direct approach from the opening whistle, with Rooney and Pavlovic causing problems for the Rangers’ defence with their pace and physicality.
As early as the second minute Mirjan Pavlovic – sporting a new blue hairdo – sent in a dangerous cross, an effort that was dealt with easily by Rangers goalkeeper Carlos Saliadarre.
The pro-Marconi crowd jumped for joy when Rooney scored the opener, clinically tucking home a corner from close range.
Despite the early setback, Mt Druitt pushed forward and three minutes later, missed a chance to equalise.
At half-time, Marconi maintained just a 1-0 lead.
After the restart, Mt Druitt went close but at the other end Rooney was also causing plenty of grief with his pace, reaching balls that looked like they’d beat him into touch or over the goalline. And it was from one such ball that Rooney turned on the after-burners to put away his second.
Rooney was in the thick of the action for Marconi’s third, making a simple pass to Pavlovic who slotted it home superbly.
Penalties to Judah Cleur and Marko Jesic completed the scoring, enabling Marconi to cap a fantastic year where they won every piece of silverware on offer.
Stallions’ coach Peter Tsekenis was delighted with his side’s performance.
“At the end of the day we thoroughly deserved it,” Tsekenis told Football NSW.
“We were good value the whole game and probably left it a little bit late to score all our goals, but we’ve been doing that all year.
“Mt Druitt kept in the game without really creating much but our boys stuck to the plan. They played it to a tee and I’m very proud of them.”
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