APIA defeat Rockdale in ‘Match of the Season’ so far
APIA Leichhardt have emerged with a stunning 4-3 victory over Rockdale Ilinden in an early match of the season contender at Lambert Park on Sunday afternoon.
It was a tense first fifteen minutes, with players focusing on winning the physical and technical battle against their opponents, with the combination of aggression and individual quality making it an exhilarating start.
The only chance in this period went to APIA, with Presley Ortiz missing the target after being found in a good position in the box after an assertive dribble and pass from Jordan Segreto on the left flank.
But in the 17th minute, the game changed, as the home side netted the opening goal, via the head of Jack Stewart.
From a freekick deep on the left, Seiya Kambayashi swung in a fantastic ball, a few metres wide of the penalty spot.
His cross was met by the perfectly timed run of Stewart, who glanced the ball onwards, bouncing past Sorras and finding the back of the net.
The match continued to be an even, prickly contest following the goal, with Rockdale’s first two chances of the match coming from an Ali Auglah freekick and an Isaac Danzo strike, with Oliver Kalac sving both efforts with relative ease.
Two minutes later, Auglah had another chance, striking over the bar from inside the box, as Rockdale were making a play to take control of the match.
However, in the 29th minute, APIA found the back of the net for a second time in the match, with another stunning Kambayashi dead-ball delivery assiting a Josh Symons goal.
But the jubilant home crowd were found to be quickly disappointed, with the referee disallowing the goal after his assistant flagged for handball.
10 minutes later, Rockdale created a good chance, with Moudi Najjar and Alec Urosevski combining on transition.
Najjar strode forwards with face, before finding Urosevski out wide, who took a couple of touches before finding Najjar in the box.
From an acute angle, the Rockdale forward looked to touch the ball goalwards, but couldn’t find the target.
This began a strong few minutes for the visiting side, who started to find their groove camped in APIA’s half.
However, this domination didn’t last long, with APIA doubling their lead, delivering a killer blow right before the end of the half.
From deep on the left, Sean Symons played a beautiful, curling pass in behind, perfectly finding the central run of Ortiz while attracting the attention of Sorras.
Ortiz calmly touched the ball around the onurhsing goalkeeper, and made no mistake in then passing the ball into an empty net to give the home side a two goal lead heading into halftime.
Rockdale did have one final chance before the break, with Najjar picking up the ball in the box and looking to manufacture space for a shot, but he couldn’t find a way around a wall of APIA players, with Joshua Symons making a crunching block to end the first stanza.
But three minutes into the second half, Rockdale began their comeback bid, with Urosevski netting early with a strong goal on transition.
After a mix-up from APIA, Isaac Danzo picked up the ball, and quickly split the centre-backs with a brilliant through-ball in behind to Urosevski.
Urosevski rewarded the run with a sensational piece of play, simultaneously holding off Josh Symons and drawing out Oliver Kalac, before converting clinically to halve their deficit with plenty of time to play.
The match remained in the balance, and in the 56th minute, Auglah picked up another good position in the box, but again couldn’t find the right contact, dragging his effort wide.
But in the 58th minute, Rockdale found their equaliser, with Urosevski once again supplying the goods for his beloved side.
Off a corner, a strong delivery from Auglah found the incisive left boot of Urosevski, who had peeled off past the far post.
Rockdale’s talisman made no mistake from there, powering an unstoppable effort into the back of the net to level the scores at Lambert Park.
And in the 71st minute, Urosevski sensationally netted his hattrick, providing the goods once more for Rockdale on transition.
It was set up by a brilliant tackle and pass from Cholakian, with the midfielder sliding in to win the ball from Caspers, before finding Urosevski in behind instantly with a lobbed pass.
The forward sprinted down towards the box, before cutting inside from the right, beating Muata-Marlow.
From here, Urosevski made no mistake, unleashing a powerful strike to beat Kalac and complete a remarkable turnaround for his side.
It was now up to APIA to launch a comeback of their own, but the minutes were ticking on, with Rockdale energised and willing to do everything to find a result.
But in the 86th minute, the home side found a stunning reply, with the Symons brothers combining to put the game all square once more.
A brilliant corner from Sean Symons was met by brother Josh, who produced a brilliant volley, beating Sorras as the home crowd erupted.
And in stoppage time, APIA prevailed, finding the winner in what can only be described as the match of the season so far.
A good ball from Joel Bertolissio in behind found the run of Ortiz, who turned and looked to take on Blake Ricciuto.
He did just that, driving into the box before finding Seiya Kambayashi, who lined up to shoot.
The Japanese midfielder struck an electric effort towards goal, skidding under the gloves of Sorras and finding the back of the net in some style, to give APIA a sensational stoppage time winner at Lambert Park.
APIA coach Franco Parsisi was expectantly delighted with the result, saying “four sexy goals, three points, and some amazing work from our boys.”
“The players coming off the bench had an impact and the players from the start gave everything they possibly could, so you can’t ask for much more.
“We’ll assess a couple of things, but the effort, commitment and ability to fight until the end was really impressive.”
Meanwhile, Rockdale assistant coach Paul Dee credited his side’s fight in an upsetting afternoon at Lambert Park.
“When you fight that hard to get back into the game, it’s disappointing.
“We conceded silly mistakes at the back, that leads to goals and you come away with a disappointing result.
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt FC 4 (Stewart 17’, Ortiz 43’, J. Symons 86’, Kambayashi 90+2’)
Rockdale Ilinden FC 3 (Urosevski 48’, 57’, 71’)
Sunday 30 March, 2025
Lambert Park
Referee: Jake Rose
Assistant Referees: Matt Staples and Isaac Riggs
Fourth Official: Thomas Dale
APIA Leichhardt FC: 80. Oliver Kalac, 2. Seiya Kambayashi, 4. Josh Symons, 7. Jack Stewart (30. Alex Denmead 80’), 8. Joel Bertolissio, 9. Presley Ortiz, 15. Themba Muata-Marlow, 16. Sean Symons (6. Anthony Sparacino 86’), 17. Jordan Segreto (11. Rory Jordan 80’), 18. Adrian Ucchino (C) (29. Maksim Kasalovic 83’), 22. Eddie Caspers (99. Franco Farinella 83’)
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Anthony Bouzanis
Yellow Cards: Bertolissio 20’
Red Cards:
Rockdale Ilinden FC: 1. Nicholas Sorras, 2. Hunter Elliott (14. Brayden Sorge 83’), 4. James Nikolovski (99. Matthew Keremelevski 82’), 5. Giorgio Speranza, 6. Isaac Danzo, 7. Alec Urosevski (C) (23. Oliver Puflett 82’), 9. Moudi Najjar (18. Jordan Graoroski 68’), 10. Brendan Cholakian, 11. Lochlan Constable, 22. Blake Ricciuto, 24. Ali Auglah (17. Brae Ovens 68’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Ronan Mulgrew
Yellow Cards: Nikolovski 32’, Constable 77’
Red Cards:
Player ratings:
3 – Alec Urosevski (RI)
2 – Presley Ortiz (APIA)
1 – Seiya Kambayashi (APIA)
By Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)
