Inconsistent Olympic beaten by old foes APIA
APIA Leichhardt have picked up their eighth win of the season after defeating Sydney Olympic 2-0 at Lambert Park.
It was APIA who made the stronger start at Lambert Park, capitalising on a Sydney Olympic mistake to open the scoring in this important clash.
After a period of possession, a long ball from Joel Bertolissio couldn’t find a teammate, instead being mopped up by Olympic defender Teng Kuol.
Under pressure, Kuol made what looked to be a comfortable pass back to goalkeeper Jack Gibson, but Jordan Segreto had read the play, and intercepted the ball.
In a one-on-one against a stranded Gibson, Segreto made no mistake, sliding a shot past the goalkeeper to open the scoring in front of a delighted APIA faithful.
The home side kicked on following their opener, creating two good chances in quick succession, but just couldn’t double their lead.
The first came via some slick interplay between Segreto and Seiya Kambayashi, allowing the latter to steal in behind.
Kambayashi calmly slipped past Kuol, before drilling a left-footed shot at goal, forcing a good save from Gibson.
The second, however, was a gilt edged opportunity, coming from some brilliant pass and move football, which resulted in Jack Stewart playing a disguised ball to Joel Bertolissio in behind.
The right-back placed a low pass across goal, perfectly finding Kambayashi at the far post, but from close range, he couldn’t find the target in what would have been an almost certain goal.
The game evened out following the chances, with Olympic beginning to control possession, but not creating any major chances.
In the 35th minute, Olympic had an opportunity which came from a sensational drive from Kuol.
From centre-back, he picked up the ball and strode past multiple opponents, arriving at the edge of the box.
After travelling 30 metres, he unleashed a thunderbolt towards goal, forcing an acrobatic save from Anthony Bouzanis to keep scores level.
Following half-time, it was a quiet start to the second stanza, with both sides trading periods of possession without creating any meaningful opportunities.
The chance of the second half so far came in the 72nd minute, where a deflection allowed Segreto to steal in behind, but he skied his effort in an advantageous one on one.
But moments later, APIA were gifted a second goal, capitalising on another Olympic mistake to double their lead.
From a goal kick, the home side pressed Olympic, and forced a mistake from Seth Clark, who looked to play the ball back to Gibson.
But like in the first half, an APIA player had read the back pass, as Franco Farinella raced onto the ball, and beat Gibson to find the back of the net.
In the 88th minute, APIA looked to add a third, but were denied by Gibson, who made a good save off a low shot from Alex Denmead.
A minute later, Olympic’s goalkeeper made another good stop from a dangerous Denmead strike, with the substitute making an impact in his cameo at Lambert Park.
Full-time sounded shortly after, as APIA reached the halfway point of the NPL Men’s NSW competition with a strong three points.
APIA coach Franco Parisi was pleased with his sides performance, stating “it’s a beautiful day at Lambert Park, we’ve got the women’s playing now and the 20’s playing before us.
“We wanted to play sexy football, we wanted people to come out to see the Men’s and Women’s program and enjoy it and 2-0 is a result that’s always pleasing.
“I do believe Olympic made it very interesting today.
“I was very happy with our first 20 minutes and overall very happy with the effort from our players and the football they’re playing, but there were moments in there were we were adapting to what Olympic were throwing at us.
“It was a good NPL football match, I think we’re doing a lot of good things and I was really proud of the boys with their response after last week.”
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt FC 2 (Segreto 8’, Farinella 72’)
Sydney Olympic FC 0
Sunday 18 May, 2025
Lambert Park
Referee: Logan Jones
Assistant Referees: Aaron Bloch and Nicholas Farmer
Fourth Official: Blake Sanchez-Cruz
APIA Leichhardt FC: 1. Anthony Bouzanis, 2. Seiya Kambayashi, 7. Jack Stewart (11. Rory Jordan 75’), 8. Joel Bertolissio, 16. Sean Symons (C), 17. Jordan Segreto (30. Alex Denmead 75’), 21. Michael Kouta (4. Josh Symons 85’), 22. Eddie Caspers, 23. Dredon Kelly, 29. Maksim Kasalovic (18. Adrian Ucchino 19’), 99. Franco Farinella (6. Anthony Sparacino 85’)
Substitutes Not Used: 80. Oliver Kalac
Yellow Cards: Kasalovic 4’, Caspers 40’, Farinella 84’
Red Cards: None
Sydney Olympic FC: 1. Jack Gibson, 5. Ziggy Gordon, 6. Thomas Whiffen, 9. Cyrus Dehmie, 10. Jack Armson, 11. Adam Parkhouse, 14. Seth Clark, 16. Bailey Callaghan (7. Michael Vakis 73’), 17. Joshua Hong, 18. Teng Kuol, 19. Gianni Di Pizio (39. Dylan Ruiz-Diaz 67’)
Substitutes Not Used: 13. Monty Partington, 28. Doni Grdic
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Player ratings:
3 – Franco Farinella (APIA)
2 – Dredon Kelly (APIA)
1 – Joel Bertolissio (APIA)
By Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)
