Manly United FC too strong for ten man APIA-Leichhardt
Michael Daly was the hero for the home side, grabbing a brace before Adam Foti rubber stamped the result with a second-half penalty.
Coach Craig Midgley tinkered his starting XI, with Leigh Egger replacing the injured Marc Richards in the heart of defence and Foti also on the turf from the outset.
Seventeen minutes in they took the lead.
Tigers goalkeeper Anthony Costa didn?t deal with a Scott Balderson corner, and after Foti beat him to the ball, it bounced into the path of Daly who couldn?t miss from six-yards.
Seconds later, United almost doubled their lead.
Skipper Roberto Hamad whipped in a great cross from the left which Balderson volleyed, but this time Costa was up to the task, smothering the ball away for a corner.
APIA midfield general Adam D?Apuzzo was in a menacing mood, and on 29? minutes was given a straight red card.
The former A-League utility with the Newcastle Jets was involved in a running battle with Daly from the kick-off and eventually had enough.
His send-off after he lashed out at Daly was unnecessary and a little surprising given his experience and mild mannered nature.
From that moment Manly were always going to be comfortable, with APIA chasing shadows at times.
5? minutes before the break Foti was played in by Balderson, but lacked the pace to beat Costa to the loose ball.
50? minutes in, APIA?s Adel El Jamal met a Franco Parisi corner at the near post, only to see his header cleared off the line by an alert Matt Sim.
It was the jolt Manly needed, and on 56? minutes they doubled their lead.
Daly was given far too much time by the Tigers defence and he made them pay, unleashing a rocket from 20-yards.
It ended up where the spiders live and the home crowd were in a buoyant mood.
Foti, who worked hard all afternoon and showed plenty of finesse on the ball, completed the scoring from 12-yards on 76? minutes after he was clipped inside the area.
Ignoring Daly?s pleas to try his luck from the spot to nab a hat-trick, Foti composed himself and placed his penalty in the bottom left corner.
APIA almost pulled back a goal late, but Dylan Mitchell ensured a clean sheet with a smart save from an Ethan Galbraith header on 88? minutes.
Manly United coach Craig Midgley was happy with the 90? minute shift.
?APIA were a little sluggish after their midweek game, so it was a good time to get them,?? he said.
?Our boys were solid all afternoon, I keep saying to them if we have seven or eight players playing well we are a chance.
?Michael Daly was superb, and Graeme Forbes and Leigh Egger were safe at the back.
?We thoroughly deserved the three points.?
Tigers skipper Michael West conceded it wasn?t APIA ?s best showing of 2012.
?All the lads are disappointed, it was a game I felt we could have won, even with ten men we certainly had enough chances,?? he said.
?Every time you come to Manly you know it will be physical and today was no different.
?The sending off (of D?Apuzzo) hurt us, I didn?t think much was in it, the bloke (Daly) carried on a bit.
?We will move on and prepare for our next game.?
Match Stats
Manly United FC 3 (Michael Daly 17?, 56?, Adam Foti 76?)
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers 0
Sunday 22nd July, 2012
Cromer Park
Referee: Kevin Peddie
Assistant Referees: Lee Corey and Wayne Crabb
Fourth Official: Nathan Roberts
Manly United FC: 1.Dylan Mitchell; 3.Roberto Hamad, 4.Graeme Forbes, 6.Michael Daly, 7.Scott Balderson, (9.Justin Hayward 75?) 8.Danny Grant, 11.Matt Sim, (14.Mitch Macedo 80?) 12.Colin Iley, (19.Tanishe Mugabe 51?) 18.James Cullingworth, 21.Leigh Egger, 23.Adam Foti
Substitutes Not Used: 2.Sean Bowden, 17.Todd Bamber
Yellow Cards: Daly 30?, Foti 53?
Red Cards: Nil
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers: 21.Anthony Costa; 3.Adel El Jamal, 5.Michael West, 7.Stephen Kayes, 8.Adam D?Apuzzo, 9.Ethan Galbraith, 10.Franco Parisi, 12.Andy Bevin, (20.Gyu Re Lee 45?) 14.Adam Casey, 16.Michael Hawrysuik, 17.Sam Salameh
Substitutes Not Used: 6.Daniel Cummins, 15.Brad Bartels, 18.Brendan Reilly
Yellow Cards: Galbraith 54?, El Jamal 60?
Red Cards: D?Apuzzo 29?
