Late goals to Dallo Sandy and Noah Peacock secured a 3-2 win in the first competition Youth Team F3 Derby since 2020
Lineup: 20. Cayden Lobach (GK), 2. Makye Buettner, 4. Ben Van Dorssen (c), 15. Angus Reid, 47. Meliwethu Nkomo, 6. Nicholas Badolato, 7. Lucas Scicluna, 10. Alexandro Nunes, 9. Oliver Cockle, 17. Ethan Debono, 16. Jake Goodwin
Bench: 8. Dallo Sandy, 11. Lucas Johnson, 12. Jesse Hill, 14. Luca West, 21. Callan Prestwidge, 24. Noah Peacock, 30. Bryn Wells
Ethan Debono opened the scoring in the 3rd minute. Lucas Scicluna, fresh off lifting the A-League Premier’s Plate, drove through the midfield before sliding Debono through on goal. Debono slotted the ball past Peraic-Cullen in net, giving the Jets Youth a 1-0 lead.
However, the Mariners quickly found an equaliser through Harvey James, who burst through the defence before slotting his 1 on 1 past Lobach. Oliver Cockle came close to grabbing the lead just minutes later, with Scicluna sending him through on goal, only for him to drag his shot narrowly wide of the post.
In the 24th minute, Mariners Youth captain Michael Paragalli headed home a corner to put the Mariners Youth in front. Callum Mccaskey almost added another soon after, as his volleyed effort struck Lobach’s post, with Harvey James tapping in the rebound, only for his effort to be ruled offside.
Ten minutes into the second half, Alex Nunes came close to finding an equaliser. Nkomo sent a ball over the top of the Mariners defence, with Nunes firing from a tight angle. Peraic-Cullen batted away Nunes’s effort, before the ball was eventually cleared.
The Jets kept threatening, with Lucas Scicluna created several chances. Lucas linked up with fellow Malta youth international, Debono, playing him in behind, with the winger attempting to find Jake Goodwin in the middle of the park, only to have his cross intercepted.
The equaliser would finally come in the 85th minute, through substitute Dallo Sandy. Scicluna found Sandy in the middle of the pitch, who then passed it to fellow substitute Lucas Johnson. Johnson cut inside, before playing it back to Sandy, who poked his effort into the back of the net.
The Jets Youth weren’t done yet. Jesse Hill, who had only been on the pitch for 12 minutes, stole a loose pass from Peraic-Cullen, before beating his defender and cutting the ball across the 6-yard box to the unmarked Noah Peacock, who tapped his effort into the back of the empty net, winning it for the Jets Youth in the 91st minute. The Jets held on for the remaining few minutes, sealing their fourth win of the season, as they currently sit seventh in the FNSW League One competition on 17 points (4 W, 5 D, 3 L).
