Under 18s player Simon Sesay returned to the pitch with a vengeance on the weekend and delivered a goal and an assist on the way to a 3-3 draw with Murray United.
The classy forward has been out of action recently with injury but you couldn’t tell it from his performance against Murray United. Sesay provided pace down both flanks and his deft touch on both feet proved challenging for the United defence.
South Melbourne started the match positively and with the windy conditions favouring them in the first half, they made the best of their opportunities. In the 32nd minute, the first goal came when Lachlan Beever went streaking down the right wing into the area. Faking out and cutting behind his marking defender, the left foot strike from Beever went across goal beating the outstretched arm of the Murray United keeper and into the side netting.
Just two minutes later, Beever would earn his second goal on his way to a man of the match performance. This time however it came on the back of an excellent run by Simon Sesay. Sesay was electric down the left flank overtaking his defender and less than a metre from the byline planted a powerful cross to the centre. Beever beat both a defender and the goalkeeper to the ball, with his left foot toe poke securing his brace.
Sesay and Beever continued to apply pressure in the final third well into the second half. With the match winding down into a 2-2 draw, Sesay cut loose down the right and found himself with two defenders on the inside and the keeper to beat. With his pace he moved ahead of the two defenders and from the corner of the six yard box, his right foot strike was perfectly aligned to go across the keeper and into the side of the net, giving South what was surely to be the winner in the 89th minute.
Glory wasn’t to be however as in the final minute of play, Murray United won a corner shortly after the restart. With the final play of the match the ten man visitors scored to earn themselves a point.
Regardless of the result, Sesay’s performance on the pitch this weekend was just a glimpse of the talent the forward has to offer. It is this talent that has the seventeen year old in Sasa Kolman’s Under 20s squad, a position he is looking to return to in the coming weeks.
Talking to smfc.com.au after the match, Sesay was positive about the teams performance saying “it was a hard game. Both teams had good chances and as it happens, they went a man down, still played hard and it was a good draw. Our counter attacking was positive today, our midfield at key points in the game was good with one touch passing.”
Asked about the injury that has kept him from the game, Sesay said “I’m going pretty well actually. I just came back from a fractured bone in my foot and now I’m playing well, scored a goal today and got an assist.”
The team under the leadership of coach Matthew Borowicz takes on fifth placed Northcote City on Sunday afternoon at John Cain Memorial Reserve.