In an incredibly intense and fiery game of football, APIA Leichhardt progressed to the Minor Semi-Final after securing a 1-0 victory over a 10-man Marconi at Marconi Stadium on Saturday evening.
Marconi goalkeeper Nenad Vekic was shown red in the 31st minute after an impressive opening period, leaving the hosts down a player for the majority of the match.
APIA Leichhardt found the back of the net just before half time through Jack Armson in what ended up being the lone goal of the match despite plenty of action throughout the full 90 minutes in a bustling Marconi Stadium.
The 10-man Stallions applied plenty of attacking pressure throughout the match and came close several times, but weren’t able to convert, ending their season in a hard-fought battle in front of their home fans.
In the always fierce Italian Derby, two historic teams came to head in the Elimination Semi-Final and put everything on the line for a chance to progress to the next stage of National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s finals football.
APIA started the pressure early, earning a chance in the fourth minute with a big strike from Diego Celis off a free kick, but custodian Nenad Vekic was in place to collect.
A corner in the 17th minute saw Marconi with an opportunity as Domenic Costanzo delivered the ball to Taylor McDonald, who headed the ball towards the target but APIA ‘keeper Ivan Necevski collected
APIA had another chance in the 19th minute, again from a free kick, as Jason Romero fired a shot goal bound but Vekic managed to parry it away.
Marconi had a golden opportunity to score in the 25th minute as Brandon Vella intercepted the ball and found himself with free reign of the goal with just Necevski in his way.
Vella held the ball up and attempted to play the ball through to Christopher Hatfield in front of the goal, but there were too many APIA defenders catching up and they managed to get in the way of the hosts’ chances.
Paul Galimi created an opportunity for APIA in the 27th minute as he sent a ball in to Romero in the area, but Vekic managed to scramble to get a hand to the ball to desperately deny.
Referee Hassan Jomaa reached into his pocket to give a red card to Vekic in the 31st minute after he brought down Romero on the edge of the box.
Marconi coach Peter Tsekenis brought on substitute goalkeeper Dion Shaw for the first time this season in place of Hatfield and reshuffled his team to try to best manage the one-man deficit for the remaining 60 minutes of the match.
Despite being in the perfect position for a shot, Celis fired the resulting free kick over the bar.
The Marconi faithful were vehemently calling for a penalty in the 2nd minute of injury time as Michael Kouta handled their captain Marko Jesic inside the area, but it was the visitors who got the advantage, scoring just moments later through Armson.
Yianni Nicolau crossed the ball in from the right flank to Romero, who controlled the ball with his chest and guided the ball to Armson.
Armson manoeuvred his way into position and let off a strike that came off the crossbar and bounced down and over the line.
Marconi came close to a goal after the game restarted as Connor Evans sent a beautiful free kick to the head of Nathan Millgate, who headed it towards the target but it skewed just wide of the goal.
The Stallions created another opportunity in the 57th minute as they continued to press through the early stages of the second half, despite being a man down.
A ball from Millgate on the left came to Vella on the edge of the 18-yard box.
Vella played the ball to Costanzo, who played Jesic, who gave himself some time to find Girogio Speranza, but his header couldn’t find the target.
Substitute ‘keeper Shaw was called into action in the 58th minute as a header from Celis ricocheted off the crossbar to Armson, who sent a header towards the target but Shaw collected and frantically held it in front of the line.
The Marconi bench and stands roared in the 83rd minute as Jomaa waved away what they felt was yet another penalty as Jesic and Themba Muata-Marlow collided in the air.
Diego Celis missed the chance to put the match to bed in the 84th minute as he received the ball from substitute Matt Cahill in front of the goal, but fired wide.
The home side came agonisingly close to securing an equaliser in the fourth minute of extra time as a Jesic throw in from the sideline found Thomas James, but Necevski kept the ball from crossing the line, holding out what would be the last chance for the hosts to take anything from the match.
APIA Leichhardt coach Danial Cummins, was pleased his team was able to hold out a strong Marconi side to progress through the finals.
“It was crazy, it was a typical semi-final with two desperate sides,” he said.
“You’ve got to give it to Marconi, they threw the kitchen sink, they threw caution to the wind and they should have had a couple.
“We missed, we hit the crossbar but full credit to Marconi.
“It’s going to be tough next week as well, but we knew what we were going to get today.
“We knew we had to compete, they’re a good side, they’re a really good side.
“We go an extra week so we’ll see how we go.”
Looking forward to next week, APIA Leichhardt will take on the loser of tomorrow’s Manly United v Blacktown City match and Cummins is hoping his side will be fresh and enjoy the finals football experience.
“I think when you get into this time of the year you just want to enjoy it,” he explained.
“You go from October right through to now so it’s about just keeping them fresh and getting them to enjoy it.
“We had a bad run, there was that five weeks where we were just a bit off, we had some problems with injuries and with COVID and stuff like that, so we’ll see how we go with that.”
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions FC 0
APIA Leichhardt FC 1 (Jack Armson 45+2’)
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Saturday, 6th August, 2022
Referee: Hassan Jomaa
Assistant Referees: Emma Kocbek and Cameron Wright
Fourth Official: Craig Fisher
Marconi Stallions FC: 1. Nenad Vekic, 2. Nathan Millgate, 3. Giorgio Speranza (9. Thomas James 75’), 6. Domenic Costanzo, 7. Christopher Hatfield (20. Dion Shaw 31’), 8. Connor Evans, 13. Samuel Gulisano (17. Martin Fernandez 79’), 16. Liam Youlley, 10. Marko Jesic, 22. Taylor McDonald, 23. Brandon Vella
Substitutes Not Used:, 18. Adrian Valenti, 35. Justin Vidic
Yellow Cards: Vella 54’, Jesic 60’
Red Cards: Nenad Vekic 31’
APIA Leichhardt FC: 1. Ivan Necevski, 3. Paul Galimi (7. Matthew Cahill 75’), 5. Nicholas Azzone (19. Fabian Monge 60’), 6. Simon Nicholas, 8. Diego Celis, 9. Jason Romero, 14. Jack Armson (10. Franco Parisi 90+2’), 15. Themba Muata-Marlow, 18. Adrian Ucchino, 21. Michael Kouta, 38. Yianni Nicolaou
Substitutes Not Used: 4. Joshua Symons, 22. Luke Turnbull, 40. James Khoury
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil