APIA made to work following victory over Sky Blues
APIA Leichhardt are back to winning ways with their first clean sheet of the season following a tough fought 2-0 win over Sydney FC at Lambert Park.
APIA took no time at all to put themselves in front, with a great cross from the in-form Jordan Segreto setting up a brilliant finish from Michael Kouta and a 1-0 lead just a handful of minutes after kick-off.
An opportunity to double the advantage came not soon after following a Sydney FC handball just outside the box, but the resulting free kick came to nothing.
Sydney were struggling to mount any promising attacks early on, with any forwards shut down quickly by the APIA duo of Themba Muata-Marlow and Josh Symons.
Sydney’s first real chance came from a great run from Marin France but was quickly snuffed out by Eddie Caspers. Sydney skipper Alen Harbas had a chance of his own with a great long ball in the 21st minute.
Sydney’s Joe Lacey tried to produce his own luck, with two long ball shots in quick succession testing keeper Oliver Kalac. Lacey also picked up the first card of the game, with a yellow produced following a foul on Caspers. Harbas was unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet late in the half, with a solid strike deflecting off both posts before being picked up by Kalac.
Both sides were forced to make early substitutions, with APIA’s Cameron Fong going off just after the 30 minute mark with an injury and Corey Cronin just before the break with an ankle injury suffered in defence of his goal.
APIA tried to start the second half the same way as the first but their early chance wasn’t enough. Harbas once again went for goal for Sydney but his shot was off target. Despite the early couple of chances, the start of the second half was a battle of defences with neither side truly taking the advantage.
Sydney went to level the scores in the 63rd minute as Mathias Macallister outran his defender to take a shot right in front of goal, but it was off-target and hit the woodwork.
With 10 minutes to go APIA sealed their advantage with Joel Bertolissio forcing his way into the penalty box with a shot at goal, with Alex Denmead ensuring it found the back of the net to double the home team’s lead.
The result is APIA’s first clean sheet of the season after conceding 12 goals in the first four games, and coach Franco Parisi said it was a hard-fought three points.
“Sydney FC is always going to be a good game,” Parisi said.
“They do everything right, they’ve got some great young players and two goals was enough.
“It’s a continuation of what we’ve been working on and I think the scoreboard reflects that.”
Match Stats
APIA-Leichhardt FC 2 (Michael Kouta 3’, Alex Denmead 79’)
Sydney FC 0
Sunday March 9th, 2025
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: Declan Woods
Assistant Referees: Cameron Wright and Isaac Riggs
Fourth Official: Thomas Dale
APIA-Leichhardt FC: 2. Seiya Kambayashi (41. Nicholas Azzone 80’), 4. Josh Symons, 7. Jack Stewart, 9. Presley Ortiz (30. Alex Denmead 68’), 15. Themba Muata-Marlow, 17. Jordan Segreto, 18. Adrian Ucchino (c) (29. Maksim Kasalovic 68’), 21. Michael Kouta, 22. Eddie Caspers (6. Anthony Sparacino 80’), 24. Cameron Fong (8. Joel Bertolissio 35’), 80. Oliver Kalac (GK)
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Anthony Bouzanis (GK)
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney FC: 4. Joseph Calusic, 5. Corey Cronin (26. Dylan Rose 44’), 6. Tyler Williams, 9. Mathias Macallister, 11. Marin France (33. Zac Fowler 73’), 21. Zachary De Jesus, 22. Will Kennedy (14. Jared Middleton 57’), 25. Alen Harbas (c) (25. Alen Harbas 73’), 27. Lachlan Middleton, 29. Joe Lacey, 30. Gus Hoesfloot (GK)
Substitutes Not Used: 12. Alexander Zaverdinos
Yellow Cards: Joe Lacey 41’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Oliver Kalac (AL)
2 – Jordan Segreto (AL)
1 – Alen Harbas (SFC)
-By Katrina May
