Manly United continued their preparations for the 2020 NPL NSW season with a 6-1 victory over the Manly Warringah Football Association Mens Select team on Friday night.
After a tight start to the contest, the floodgates were flung open mid-way through the first half.
Scott Balderson was introduced inside 15 minutes and immediately made his mark by registering a quick-fire brace before Marley Peterson, who is returning to Manly this season, coolly shrugged off his marker and slotted home a third.
Seaforths shot-stopper Dan Trueman made a strong save to deny Brendan Cholakian from the spot but Dejan Pandurevic was on the mark to tap home Uniteds fourth.
Wakehursts Taylor Cahill produced a moment of brilliance to pull one back for MWFA Select, as he cut inside and unleashed a stunning curler from distance that left Dylan Mitchell with no chance.
Pandurevics close-range free kick was fortuitously deflected home late in the first half to cap off a six-goal opening 45 minutes.
MWFA Select fought hard to stem the flow in the second stanza and only conceded with 15 minutes to go as United substitute Jamie Glover pounced on a loose ball in the box to poke home the final goal of the evening.
Seaforth Premier League and MWFA Select head coach Jordan Lefebvre treasured the overall experience granted by the annual fixture.
It was nice to meet some new boys who you only usually see for 180 minutes a year, he reflected.
After a good hit-out against Northern Suburbs we enjoyed coming up against a quality side that are well prepped and hopefully ready to go big in NPL 1 this season.
We didnt want to sit back and absorb pressure; we have good players and wanted to give them a chance to show what they had, and I thought they did that in passages.
Manly were fantastic on the night and it was a very good challenge.
