St George FC no match for energized APIA
APIA Leichhardt have secured an important three points at Lambert Park with a strong 5-0 win over St George FC on Saturday evening.
St George made a strong start to the match, looking positive both with and without the ball as they fired multiple warning shots at APIA’s goal.
However, it was APIA who created the most meaningful first opportunities of the match, with a strong double save from Daniel Axford keeping the score level.
First, a patient move allowed Edward Caspers to sweep a pass into the feet of Rory Jordan, who with a good curling effort from just outside the box, forced a save from Axford.
Luigi Ditroia was presented with the follow up, and from an acute angle, drove a shot at Axford, forcing the goalkeeper into his second save.
However, Axford could do nothing about a 22nd minute strike from Jack Stewart, which found the top corner with a sensationally stunning effort to open the scoring at Lambert Park.
Receiving the ball wide right, Stewart cut inside multiple players, keeping the ball impressively.
Then, in line with the corner of the box and a couple of steps behind, Stewart unleashing a powerful, curling effort with his left-foot, passing the out-stretched Axford and finding the top left-corner.
APIA then doubled their lead in clinical style, with Luigi Ditroia providing the finish to an incisive, flowing move.
A smart pass from Jordan found Jack Armson between the lines, who subsequently let the ball roll before taking on Mark Rodic.
Armson got the better of his man before finding Ditroia, who took a clever touch to change the direction of attack.
From the edge of the box, the forward calmly placed a left-footed effort into the far corner to put his side two goals ahead.
The home side made it three in the 38th minute with another beautiful goal, which began with a blocked clearance falling to the feet of Rory Jordan.
The winger strode sideways before playing a disguised, pinpoint pass in behind to Stewart.
On the byline from inside the box, Stewart clipped a delightful ball back across goal, which was met by the calm head of Armson, who made no mistake under little pressure to find the back of the net.
Early into the second half, a mistake in build-up from Themba Muata-Marlow gave St George the perfect chance to claw a goal back.
An intercepted short back-pass to the goalkeeper allowed Harry Jones to lay off the ball to Conor Quilliganx, but with the net gaping, Josh Symons made a remarkable recovery to clear the shot on the goalline.
Soon after, APIA were presented with another double opportunity via Jordan and a Ditroia effort off the rebound, with a sharp save from Axford and a deflection against Ditroia’s effort keeping St George safe from conceding a fourth.
Jordan was then prevented once more by Axford who made a strong save from close range to deny the winger, after he beautifully beat multiple opponents inside the box to find space for a strike.
In the 68th minute, APIA did find their fourth, with substitute Jordan Segreto adding his name to the scoresheet.
A diagonal pass from Alex Denmead found Jordan Segreto on the right corner of the box, who promptly cut inside his man.
Taking another touch back to find that extra space, Segreto then struck a pinpoint, fizzing shot into the back of the net to confirm a necessary three points at Lambert Park.
APIA then added a fifth in the 80th minute, with Alex Denmead netting a tidy finish as another substitute added their name to the scoreboard.
It was the perfect end to a perfect game from APIA, as coach Franco Parisi was happy with both the clean sheet and goals scored.
“Three points, clean sheet – at the business end of the season it’s what we needed,” said Parisi.
“It’s good because we had a week off which we didn’t want and was quite disappointing, but the performance was exactly what we’ve been looking for over the whole 90 minutes.
“Credit to the boys and now we’ve got a game up in Gosford in a few days and then we’re back here next week, so we enjoyed the game tonight but we’ve got to focus on the next one.”
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt FC 5 (Stewart 22’, Ditroia 31’, Armson 37, Segreto 68’, Denmead 80’)
St George FC 0
Saturday 29 June, 2024
Lambert Park
Referee: Brodie Merchant
Assistant Referees: Blake Sanchez-Cruz and Joshua Kermond
Fourth Official: Charbel Geha
APIA Leichhardt FC: 1. Anthony Bouzanis, 4. Josh Symons, 7. Jack Stewart, 11. Rory Jordan (30. Alex Denmead 60’), 14. Jack Armson, 15. Themba Muata-Marlow, 16. Sean Symons (21. Michael Kouta 64’), 18. Adrian Ucchino (C) (23. Dakota Askew 60’), 19. Luigi Ditroia (17. Jordan Segreto 64’), 22. Edward Caspers (8. Nick Sullivan 68’), 41. Nicholas Azzone
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Alexander Parkes
Yellow Cards: Muata-Marlow 53’, J. Symons 89’
Red Cards: None
St George FC: 20. Daniel Axford, 2. Caio De Godoy, 5. Nicholas Kalogerou, 6. Patrick O’Shea (C), 8. Conor Quilliganx, 9. Peter Grozos (11. Anthony Morabito 77’), 10. Harry Jones (37. Jakov Malbasa 60’), 18. Mark Rodic, 23. Evangelo Souris (17. Thomas Brown 60’), 27. Jayden Seeto, 33. Jaden Casella
Substitutes Not Used: 7. Jesse Spang, 22. Aedan O’Shea, 99. Mackenzie Syron
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Player ratings:
3 – Jack Armson (APIA)
2 – Josh Symons (APIA)
1 – Nicholas Azone (APIA)
By Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)
