APIA Leichhardt secured a huge three points with a stunning 4-1 defeat of Mt Druitt Town Rangers at Lambert Park on Saturday evening.
A double to red-hot Peter Kekeris and goals to maestro Franco Parisi and Blake Powell well and truly buried a converted penalty from Mt Druitt’s Jack Stewart to win the match for the home side.
The win will help build crucial momentum for APIA as they prepare to face traditional rivals Sydney Olympic in the highly anticipated Festival of Football at Lambert Park on Sunday 30th May with a bumper record NPL NSW Men’s crowd expected.
It was a dominant first-half performance for the hosts, with three goals coming within a fifteen-minute window in the first stanza.
Kekeris was the first to get on the score sheet in the 15th minute, intercepting Tarek Elrich’s pass before sliding it coolly past the outstretched hands of Rangers skipper and custodian Carlos Saliadarre.
APIA stalwart Franco Parisi took it to two in the 22nd minute, calmly converting a penalty after Sam McIllhatton was brought down inside the box by Rangers defender Blake Thompson.
Kekeris scored his second of the night in the 28th minute, proving his worth as one of the best mid-season signings of the NPL NSW Men’s competition.
APIA’s inspirational captain Sean Symons played a ball to Mathieu Cordier, who took on Elrich and drew out Saliadarre with a forward run before crossing to Kekeris.
The young attacker expertly controlled the ball before sending it over the line to take a three-goal lead for the home side – celebrating his second goal since coming to the club.
Sean Symons created an opportunity for McIlhatton in the 33rd minute but the young gun’s effort rebounded off the woodwork and out of play.
The visitors made their way onto the scoreboard in the 70th minute through a converted spot-kick.
APIA Leichhardt shot-stopper Ivan Necevski attempted to secure the ball from a corner kick, but took down Elrich in the process, giving away the penalty.
Stewart stepped up to take the penalty and, despite Necevski reading the strike well and diving to defend, sent the ball over the custodian to get Mt Druitt Town Rangers on the scoreboard as well as notching up his sixth of the year.
Substitute Blake Powell and Matthieu Cordier combined in the 88th minute to create a chance for the hosts, however, Saliadarre was well prepared to collect.
Powell took the lead to four, scoring the match’s final goal in the second minute of added time.
Mcillhatton secured the ball inside the 18-yard box and played it to Powell, who cleanly knocked it home from close range to seal the deal for the home side, and his third of the 2021 campaign.
APIA coach Paul Dee was very proud of his team’s effort in translating his game plan to a successful result.
“In the first half especially, I was very proud of the effort that the guys put in,” he said.
“They stuck to the game plan, there was a really high tempo in the pressure that we put on Mt Druitt and we created a lot of scoring opportunities and converted them.
“The Festival of Football, there will be a packed house here, hopefully, a record for this wonderful competition, and it will be a really tight tousle because the teams have a long, long history so I expect that it will be an unbelievable atmosphere and an unbelievable game.”
Mt Druitt assistant coach Stamati Glaros was disappointed his side had a slow start to the match.
“We can’t afford to have such a slow start like we did tonight,” he explained.
“Credit to APIA…they came out of the box firing for 90 minutes.
“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board, we’ll start again, and we’ll fight to the very end of the season.”
Match Stats
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers 4 (Kekeris 15’, 28’, Parisi 22’, Powell 90+2)
Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC 1 (Stewart 70’)
Sunday 22nd May 2021
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: C. Verdicchio
Assistant Referees: JA. McConachie and A. Morris
Fourth Official: L. Webb
APIA-Leichhardt: 1. Ivan Necevski, 2. William Mutch, 4. Joshua Symons, 10. Franco Parisi (9. Blake Powell 77’), 11. Mathieu Cordier, 13. David D’Apuzzo (18. Adrian Ucchino 66’), 15. Themba Muata-Marlow, 16. Sean Symons (6. Harry Callahan 77’), 19. Peter Kekeris (8. Corey Biczo 73’), 20. Sam Mcilhatton, 21. Michael Kouta
Substitutes Not Used: 7. Tynan Diaz, 22. Luke Turnbull
Yellow Cards: Themba Muata-Marlow 50’, Joshua Symons 67’, Ivan Necevski 70’
Red Cards: Nil
Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC: 1. Carlos Saliadarre, 2. Solomon-Johnn Monahan-Vaiika, 3. Travis Oughtred, 4. Mitchell Smith, 6. Blake Thompson, 7. Jack Stewart, 10. Takumu Tsujimura, 14. Fumoto Kamada, 17. Cooper Coskerie (9. Toufic Alameddine 57’), 21. Tarek Elrich, 33. Marc Warren
Substitutes Not Used: 5. George Tuson-Firth, 8. Jason Perez, 13. Ahmed Algarawi, 18. Jared Macerola, 22. Jake Mamone
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Franco Parisi (APIA)
2 – Peter Kekeris (APIA)
1 – Sean Symons (APIA)
-By National Premier Leagues NSW reporter Madeline Riley (@madelineriley23)