Espoir Mushegero leads University Azzurri’s five-goal comeback against former side Darwin Olympic

An Azzurri midfielder’s ‘very good game’ has sparked a win against his old side. Here’s how the game played out including the move that ‘created an opposition weakness’.

Darwin Olympic had a little extra salt rubbed in their wounds on Friday night when former midfielder Espoir Mushegero scored two crucial goals to give University Azzurri an emphatic 6-4 victory for their fourth win of the season.

After trailing 4-1, the Azzurri 2023 recruit banged in two goals in the last 30 minutes of the game to power his side to a thrilling come-from-behind win at Darwin Football Stadium.

Mushegero jumped clubs from Olympic to Azzurri in the off-season.

Azzurri president and assistant coach John Kassaras was pleased with the midfielder’s performance of two goals including one in the 65th minute to cut the deficit to 4-3 before scoring the match winner in extra time.

“He played a very good game,” Kassaras said.

“He is very strong on the ball, he is a hard man to get the ball off and he reads the game well.

“He knows how to get in right place at the right time and he took full advantage.”

Kassaras stepped up alongside stand in coach Colin Hume to help with managing in Round 8 while head coach Lee Addison was overseas for personal reasons.

University Azzurri midfielder Espoir Mushegero (pictured) scored two goals on the weekend. Picture: Daniel Abrantes Photography

Kassaras said improvement areas they identified at halftime along with some keen substitutes led to the thrilling five-goal second half.

“Combined with some proven eager substitutes wanting to come on and contribute, I think the boys managed to get up,” he said.

“We definitely had to make changes in the second half to try and stimulate a response.

“Bringing on Djuma Mweze and Atif Saeed gave us a little bit of speed both in the midfield and out on the flank.

“And I think that sort of created a weakness in the defence for Olympic which allowed us to take advantage and score a couple of quick goals to get back in.”

University Azzurri Adil Saeed (older brother of Atif) had a strong 90-minute game at centre back. Picture: University Azzurri.

Kassaras said the first half where Azzurri went down 3-1 was ‘very poor’.

“The first half was very poor, the first 15 minutes or so, we were playing really well but after conceding the first goal, I think the boys dropped their heads a little bit,” Kassaras said.

“That was reflective of the score at halftime.”

He said the team remained upbeat at the break after Rafael Yayakos led Olympic to a strong early advantage with two goals in the opening 30 minutes.

“We really tried to keep it all positive in the changerooms (at halftime),” he said.

“We pointed out a few things that the boys had to focus on in the second half to try and turn the game around and thankfully, that’s what happened.”

Kassaras said he was pleased with the team effort and depth of his squad after his substitutes showed they can make a ‘massive difference’ to the team’s performance.

In other results, Mindil claimed an important 1-nil win over Casuarina for their fourth win of the season, equalling their opponents and Azzurri for the same amount of wins.

Later on Saturday night, Port Darwin proved too strong for Darwin Hearts with a convincing 4-1 win to clinched their second win of the season.