SUTHERLAND Sharks FC got off to a winning start defeating Blacktown Spartans FC, 3-1, on Saturday night at Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda.
Striker Jordan Figon scored two goals for the home team in the opening round of the Football NSW men's 1 competition.
"We'll take the win; it was a tough game. They came out early and were firing and put us under a lot of pressure and other than the goal which was pretty poor, we defended pretty well," Sutherland coach Steve O'Connor said.
"We had to do quite a bit of defending tonight but managed to score with three headers which is unusual and maybe we could have had a few more.
"The boys have been working hard and working well but we still have a lot of improving to do so we're looking forward to that over the course of the season."
The Rockdale Suns didn't shine in their opener against APIA Leichhardt Tigers, losing 4-2 on Sunday at Ilinden Sports Centre.
The Tigers led 4-0 at one stage; two goals to Suns' Marko Jesic made the score respectable for the home team.
Suns coach Branko Culina made several changes during the game in a bid to spark his team into action.
