Stallions grab Derby d’Italia spoils over rivals APIA
Marconi Stallions have made it a sensational 12 games unbeaten to start their campaign as they emerged with a 2-0 win over rivals APIA Leichhardt in the ‘Derby d’Italia’.
It was a strong start for Marconi, who had a big chance inside a minute, almost capitalising on a sluggish start from the home side as Tyren Burnie forced a crucial reaction save from Oliver Kalac with a shot on the six-yard box.
But in the third minute, APIA had a strong opportunity of their own, with a good run from Jordan Segreto and exchange with Rory Jordan opening up space for Seiya Kambyashi on the left.
With a flick, Kambayashi set up Eddie Caspers from outside the box, and the midfielder rattled the crossbar with a thunderous strike.
Two minutes later, APIA had another good chance, with a beautiful trivela pass from Rory Jordan finding Presley Ortiz in behind, who dragged a left-footed shot wide of the target.
But in the 17th minute, Marconi found the opener, with the reigning Champions opening the scoring with a clinical goal.
From the right flank, a well-weighted, clipped ball from Brandon Vella found the run of Marko Jesic in behind, and with time, he played a perfect low cross towards the near post.
Making a run across goal, Jake Trew met the square ball, and converted expertly to open the scoring for the away side at Lambert Park.
APIA looked dejected as Marconi began to make their mark on the match, and in the 26th minute, they were looking at pure derby delight as they doubled their lead.
It was another wide combination that paid dividends for the reigning Champions, with George Daniel finding Trew with a clipped ball down the line, with the striker peeling wide to receive.
In an identical situation to their opener, with time on the ball, Trew fizzed in a low cross at the near post, which deflected unfortunately off the backtracking Anthony Sparacino to go down as an own goal.
It was Marconi that continued to own the game, with APIA needing a goal back to make the second stanza more of a contest.
The home side were struggling to find a spark however, with Marconi continuing to compete and threaten with their quality and intensity.
In the second half, it was Marconi who once again came out the stronger of the two sides, with a Trew chance forcing a good block from Josh Symons after a clever ball in behind from Tyren Burnie.
Off the resulting corner, Marconi threatened once more, with Cameron Windust’s header off the cross finding Jesic at the now far post, who somehow didn’t find the back of the net from close range.
In the 52nd minute, Matej Busek went close for Marconi with a crisp, left-footed volley that went just over the bar, as the reigning Champions continued to dominate the early stages of the second stanza.
But in the 56th minute, the home side looked to kickstart their comeback, with a swirling strike from Joel Bertolissio from outside the box being saved spectacularly by James Hilton to keep APIA from halving the deficit.
Nine minutes later, after a stronger period for APIA, Marconi created yet another golden opportunity, with poor defending of a bouncing ball from a set piece allowing the visitors to steal in behind.
At one point, they had three players beyond a desperate APIA defence, but somehow couldn’t find their third goal, with Jesic squaring the ball to Busek, whose shot was saved well by Kalac.
But as the minutes ticked on, Marconi began to saunter to victory, with APIA struggling to find a way around both the individual and structural quality of Marconi’s defence.
In the 83rd minute, the home side had a strong chance, with Caspers almost sneaking in a header into the top-left corner from Kambayashi’s cross, but the effort went just wide of the target.
That proved to be APIA’s last chance, with Marconi picking up yet another victory to go six points clear at the top of the NPL Men’s NSW ladder.
“It’s always a tough game,” said Marconi head coach Peter Tsekenis on the fixture.
“I thought we thoroughly deserved it.
“We played some really good football and finished some good chances.
“We also missed a few, but we were really solid today and restricted a good team that scores a lot of goals to very minimal opportunities.
“We’re pretty happy with that performance and the three points, and we’re looking forward to next week.”
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt FC 0
Marconi Stallions FC 2 (Trew 17’, Sparacino (o.g.) 26’)
Sunday 27 April, 2025
Lambert Park
Referee: Ivica Covic
Assistant Referees: Alessandro Llana and Patrick Teleki
Fourth Official: Matthew Harris
APIA Leichhardt FC: 80. Oliver Kalac, 2. Seiya Kambayashi, 4. Josh Symons (5. Dredon Kelly 60’), 6. Anthony Sparacino (21. Michael Kouta, 81’), 8. Joel Bertolissio, 9. Presley Ortiz, 11. Rory Jordan (30. Alex Denmead 69’), 16. Sean Symons (41. Nicholas Azzone 81’), 17. Jordan Segreto, 18. Adrian Ucchino (C) (29. Maksim Kasalovic 60’), 22. Eddie Caspers
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Anthony Bouzanis
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Marconi Stallions FC: 1. James Hilton, 2. Tyren Burnie, 3. Cameron Windust, 5. Lachlan Griffiths, 6. Dom Costanzo (7. Franco Maya Valiente 86’), 8. James Bayliss, 10. Marko Jesic (C), 14. Jake Trew (16. Liam Youlley 86’), 18. George Daniel, 23. Brandon Vella, 24. Matej Busek
Substitutes Not Used: 12. Julian Monge, 15. Jawad Rezai, 20. Patrick Williams, 22. Aleksandar Gvozdenovic
Yellow Cards: Trew 77’, Burnie 79’
Red Cards: None
Player ratings:
3 - Jake Trew (MS)
2 - George Daniel (MS)
1 - Lachlan Griffiths (MS)
By Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)
