APIA-Leichhardt show desperation and take all three points
After the game caretaker coach Billy McColl, who has covered that same role for the Tigers in the past, spoke with pride about a team he has been involved with for many years.
?It was an important win and a win which we deserved,? he said.
?The field is very bad but the boys battled hard and we tried to play football.
?We had the most possession, created the most chances and I think we deserved the victory.?
McColl is an enigmatic character. His association with APIA-Leichhardt stretches back for decades and many players swear that he is their preferred coach. However, he is officially retired and not able to commit to the job on a fulltime basis.
?There is no pressure on me because pressure is self-inflicted,? he said.
?The talent is here, so I just come in and direct because the boys are certainly good enough.
?We should be in the top five but sadly we?re not. However, we are not going to be relegated and the game plan is to finish the season undefeated. [So far McColl has won both his games in charge].
?I only come in because of Tony Raciti [APIA-Leichhardt President] because he?s the one that keeps dragging me back.
?I have been coaching for 25 years and if I could get a divorce, then I would coach. But I can?t, so I don?t coach.
?My wife calls Raciti ?my mistress? because he is the only one that can take me away from my family. Seriously though, I would rather the club be higher up the table so that I didn?t have to come back.?
On the playing side of things, the first opportunity arrived in the 10? minute when a nice cross from the right found its way to Michael Hawrysiuk who blasted a shot towards goal, but Brody Crane got down very well saving the day for the visitors.
Blacktown City FC replied almost immediately when an accurate cross from the right by Yuchi Yamauchi went across to James Monie on the far post, but unfortunately he misdirected his header from close range.
In the 16? minute Brendan Reilly put in a nice short ball for Adam Casey who finished the move with a shot that brought Crane once again into the action.
In the 27? minute APIA-Leichhardt had a golden chance to take the lead when a delightful free-kick from Hawrysiuk from just outside the box forced Crane into a spectacular diving header.
However, it wasn?t be for the home side and the rest of the first period ended up being played out as a hard fought midfield battle.
The second-half wasn?t too old before APIA-Leichhardt finally struck gold. Brad Bartels played a nice ball through to Casey who then set sail from the halfway line and he didn?t stop until he sent the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net. It was all it took to separate these two teams in a tight contest.
Mark Crittenden, coach of Blacktown City FC, expressed his disappointment about conceding a goal so shortly after half-time.
?It?s disappointing to lose like that,? he said.
?We made a poor mistake straight after half-time, but we spoke about it at the break and how important it was to us not to cop one straight away.?
A few minutes later Hawrysiuk had another brilliant chance when a corner reached him dangerously in the box, but his spectacular shot just missed the intended target.
In the 84? minute a nasty foul by Travis Major on Adam Casey unfortunately brought out the worst in Casey.
Major was rightly booked by the astute referee Kurt Ams, but Casey reacted with an alleged head-butt and was immediately shown a red card. There was nothing else that could have been done by the referee in the circumstances and Casey unfortunately will have to pay a price for his rush of blood.
Late in the game another great free-kick by Hawrysiuk received a slight deflection and just ended up wide of the target. In the end, it didn?t matter for the Tigers who had secured all three points.
?We said before the game that there would be a lot of desperation from APIA,? stated Mark Crittenden.
?You could see that today and how they put their bodies on the line.
?You can?t come here and play; you just have to get the ball forward and pressure them in the top half. They [APIA] outmuscled us and won all the second balls, so it?s very disappointing.
?We have a tough run home with South Coast Wolves, Sutherland Sharks and Bonnyrigg White Eagles ? South Coast play well, Sutherland is still a good team and Bonnyrigg is the benchmark.?
Match Stats
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers 1 (Casey 50?)
Blacktown City FC 0
Sunday 12th August, 2012
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: Christian Mehl and Alex Long
Fourth Official: Jerry Bitas
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers: 21.Anthony Costa; 2.Mark Byrnes, 3.Adel El Jamal, 4.Mun Soo Gil, 5.Michael West, 7.Stephen Kayes, 8.Adam D?Apuzzo, 14.Adam Casey, 15.Bradley Bartels, 16.Michael Hawrysiuk, 18.Brendan Reilly.
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Stefan Giglio, 6.Danial Cummins, 11.Nick Taneski, 19.Paul Galimi, 20.Gyu Re Lee
Yellow Cards: D?Apuzzo 76?
Red Cards: Casey 84?
Blacktown City FC: 1.Brody Crane; 3.Ryo Watanabe, 4.Travis Major, 6.Matt Lewis, 7.Luke Roodenburg, 8.Daniel Bragg (15.Luke Jenner 82?), 9.Ryuji Miyazawa, 10.James Monie (17.Delor Edosomwan 71?), 11.Yuchi Yamauchi, 16.Dillon Vorster (12.David Cain 62?), 18.Keiren Paull
Substitutes Not Used: 14.Nathan Sansom, 20.Luke Turnbull
Yellow Cards: Roodenburg 26?, Watababe 58?, Cain 68?, Bragg 78?, Major 84?, Yamauchi 88?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joe Russo
