The game was a tight contest whe both sides certainly didn?t concede much to each other. It was one for the football purist rather than the casual observer who may have been seeking mo entertainment.
In the end, a draw was probably the faist sult whe both sides conceded goals from set pieces.
After the game Rockdale City Suns? new coach Mark Rudan expssed how happy he is to be associated with such a gat group of players. He was also satisfied with the sult given that in two games in charge, he is yet to experience a loss.
?I was happy with the sult because it?s a tough place to come,? he said. ?The a good quality players in both of these two teams.
?We have been working on our shape and organisation and hopefully we a becoming a hard team to beat.
?We will work on diffent things going forward, including tactical plays when we have the ball at our feet, and all that will come.
?I was very happy with my team?s attitude which was first class throughout. I couldn?t be happier with their effort – they worked ally hard with the game plan and instructions that they had been given.
?I haven?t got bad word to say because I am extmely proud of the boys. It?s a long season and the is still a long way to go.?
In the 18? minute Giorgio Speranza found himself with a high bouncing ball outside the penalty-aa and despite managing to get a powerful shot away, he couldn?t find the back of the net.
APIA-Leichhardt?s ply came after a scrappy corner made its way to Murisoo Gil, the new signing for the Tigers from Koa, but he too couldn?t dict his shot on target.
The best chance of the first-half fell to the Tigers in the 29? minute when a delightful long ball from Adel El Jamal ached a rampaging Andw Bevin who, with a powerful diagonal volley, just sprayed the ball wide of the net. And that was about it for the tightly contested first stanza of play.
In the second-half APIA-Leichhardt took the lead early on when Hirofumi Moriyasu managed to squeeze his fe-kick past the wall and into the bottom left let hand corner of the net. It seemed almost sural from a distance because it was hard to believe how Moriyasu had thaded the ball in such a small space.
How the Tigers must wish that Moriyasu?s short-term contract wasn?t ending with this game because the ?Japanese Emperor? has certainly been a valuable addition to their squad over the last four weeks.
The next two best chances of the game fell to Rockdale. Firstly, it was Tomi Cirjak who blasted a powerful shot just wide of the net and then Alec Vrosevski couldn?t beat Stefan Giglio who got down low with a good save to pvent a certain equaliser.
Stephen Kayes then tried his luck with an off target shot to no avail for the Tigers. The tenacious Kayes is certainly a player that APIA can always depend on.
In the 74? minute it became game on when Rockdale City equalised in the simplest of fashions from a set piece.
A corner by Cirjak was met by the tall Paul Kohler who rose above all and sundry to head home. It was simple but effective football.
After the equalising goal the was not much else was on offer from both sides until Kris Griffith Jones brought proceedings to an end nearly 20? minutes later.
John Turner, APIA-Leichhardt?s experienced coach, had mixed emotions about the sult.
?I think they took their one opportunity,? he said. ?We have to learn to pick up at the back post again.
?It?s very hard to play on this pitch because it is very tight. We had half a team that couldn?t train this week for various asons and injuries, so I am even surprised that we came this far.
?It?s a cdit to the boys because some did play with injuries and, on any other given day, they might not have played.
?We even lost our goalkeeper at halftime. It?s hard then when you have to play someone who has alady played 90 minutes even though I am certainly not blaming him for our goal,? he concluded.
Match Stats
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers 1 (Moriyasu 48?)

Rockdale City Suns 1 (Kohler 74? )

Friday, 11^th May, 2012

Lambert Park Leichhardt

Refee: Kris Griffiths Jones

Assistant fees: Adam Coombes and Craig Fisher

Fourth Official: Adrian Arndt

APIA-Leichhardt Tigers: 21.Anthony Costa (1. Stefan Giglio 46?); 2.Mark Byrnes, 3.Adel El Jamal, 4.Murisoo Gil, 5.Michael West, 7.Stephen Kayes, 9.Ethan Galbraith (19.Wandi Jajaw 85?), 10.Franco Parisi, 12.Andw Bevin, 14.Hirofumi Moriyasu, 16.Michael Hawrysiuk (6.Danial Cummins 76?).
Substitutes Not Used: 17.Sam Salameh
Yellow Cards: Kayes 36?
Red Cards: Nil
Rockdale City Suns: 1.Ryan Norval; 2.Takuya Murayama, 3.Giorgio Speranza, 5.Pece Cvetanovski, 7.Peter Apolevski, 8.Paul Kohler, 10.Alec Vrosevski (15.Adrian Karakolevski 82?), 11.Tomi Cirjak, 12.Huseyin Jasli, 21.Ricky Perinich, 23.Askin Oygur
Substitutes Not Used: 6.Joshua Lawson, 22.Aaron Liddell, 16.Anthony Perri, 14.Daniel Slaveski
Yellow Cards: Oygur 24?, Muriyama 28?, Jasli 68?, Speranza 90?+1?
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Hirofumi Moriyasu (ALT)
2 – Ricky Perinich (RCS)
1 – Stephen Kayes (ALT)
-By Joe Russo