Sydney Olympic win at ?home? against APIA-Leichhardt
Sadly, one of Australia?s greatest football clubs is therefore forced to travel week in and week out at least temporarily as a result.
After the game Sydney Olympic?s coach Peter Tsekenis said that he was happy to win again ?at home?.
?I am very happy to win again at home,? he said with a smile on his face. However, on a more serious note, Tsekenis was also very pleased to collect all three points on a difficult ground.
?Yes, definitely happy because this was a dangerous game,? he said. ?We were up against a team that is probably fighting against relegation.
?For us this was a home game [at APIA?s ground], so everything was against us.
?We knew that it was going to be tough. We went out there and played a certain way and then made a few changes at half-time and got a result.?
The first-half wasn?t exactly a spectacle to enthral the crowd. Both sides were playing it tight within the confines of arguably one of the NSW Premier League?s smallest grounds.
The match offered little in the way of goal mouth action and, in fact, it could be argued that the main reason for such caution was the value attached to the three points for both teams.
Most chances in the first stanza of play can be best described as half chances. A free-kick by Sydney Olympic in the 34? minute could really have been a lot more dangerous but Ethan Galbraith headed back to his own goalkeeper to prevent any further danger.
A few minutes later Chris Triantis won the ball on the edge of the box and then sent the ball into the middle for his captain Phil Makrys, but in the end his weak shot proved to be no danger for Anthony Costa.
Late in the opening half APIA-Leichhardt tried their luck with a Franco Parisi free-kick from just outside the box but, after a deflection, the ball ended up in the hands of Paul Henderson without much hassle.
The second-half started off with a bang. Matthew Mayora, who had only just come on as a replacement at the interval, was brought down in the penalty box by Brendan Reilly as both were attempting to head the ball. Referee Khodr Yaghi immediately indicated that it was a penalty. Phil Makrys stepped up to the mark and slotted the ball home despite Anthony Costa diving correctly and almost getting a hand to the ball.
?Matthew Mayora has made a difference for us in the last couple of weeks when he has come on,? Peter Tsekenis said. ?He has come into the squad late in the piece and he has had to bide his time. He is now doing himself justice and is giving himself every opportunity to play week in and week out.?
In the 62? minute APIA-Leichhardt should really have equalised when a delightfully accurate free-kick from Parisi made its way over to Bradley Bartels who, despite being unmarked, just missed the ball with his head.
Football is certainly a game of inches as Sydney Olympic found out a few minutes later when Will Angel had a clear shot on goal after receiving a nice through ball, but somehow he missed the intended target with only the goalkeeper to beat.
In the 81? minute Sydney Olympic all but sealed victory when the Tigers made a meal of clearing the ball and Chris Triantis, with a shot that he will long remember, beat the goalkeeper with what can only be described as a screamer of a goal.
?When you win a championship ? and I have won a couple now ? you probably need players like Chris,? Tsekenis said. ?To be a champion team you need players to score goals like that. ?Last year we had Alex Smith but now we have Chris Triantis who is stepping up to the plate and scoring really important goals for us.?
Right at the death Brett Studman was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area and this time it was a penalty for APIA-Leichhardt. Up stepped Adam Casey to dispatch it away into the back of the net; however, it was all too late for the Tigers.
John Turner, coach of APIA Leichhardt, had mixed emotions after the game.
?It was a scrappy game but I thought our shape was good,? he said. ?When you are missing players like Adam D?Apuzzo and Adel El Jamal, and have other players on one leg who are struggling a little bit, then it?s difficult.
?Our bench was all used up too and we had one boy on the bench who is only 16 years old.
?It?s very hard when you are missing so many players but, having said that, I thought the other players battled superbly.
?Their second goal was a wonderful goal but at least they had a shot at goal. That?s what you have to do on this ground.
?It doesn?t get any better with Andy Bevin going to university in the USA on Tuesday and therefore life goes on without him too.
?We had a game plan for the second-half but when they score an early goal it puts you on the back foot a little bit. In the overall scope of the game, I thought that a draw would have been a fair result,? he said.
Match Stats
Sydney Olympic 2 (Phil Makrys 47? (pen), Chris Triantis 81?)
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers 1 (Adam Casey 89? (pen) )
Sunday 29th July, 2012
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: Khodr Yaghi
Assistant Referees: Grant South and Robert Nieuwnthius
Fourth Official: Michael Weiner
Sydney Olympic: 1.Paul Henderson; 3.Brett Studman, 21.Marton Vass (24.Matthew Mayora 46?), 12.Troy Danaskos, 2.Emmanuel Giannaros, 10.Chris Triantis, 11.Will Angel (19.David Gullo 68?), 4.Ibrahim Haydar, 17.Kutaiba Elrich (15.Zak Elrich 61?), 8.Peter Triantis, 7.Phil Makrys.
Substitutes Not Used: 41.Anthony Bouzanis, 14.Sam Awad
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers: 21.Anthony Costa; 2.Mark Byrnes, 4.Mun Soo Gil, 5.Michael West, 7.Stephen Kayes, 9.Ethan Galbraith (12.Andrew Bevin 72?), 10.Franco Parisi, 14.Adam Casey, 15.Bradley Bartels (20.Gyu Re Lee 83?), 16.Michael Hawrysiuk, 18.Brendan Reilly.
Substitutes Not Used: 22.David Bradasevic, 19.Blade Richards
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joe Russo
