Own goal sinks Wanderers as APIA sets sights on finals series football
APIA Leichhardt FC were made to work for their three points as an own goal via Leon Alizart was all that separated the two side’s with the Inner West side pushing the Western Sydney Wanderers further into relegation trouble following a 1-0 win at the Wanderers Football Park on Saturday.
Despite having scarce chances throughout the first half it was the Wanderers who nearly cracked open APIA off a kick-off as Nicholas Badolato’s perfectly weighted through ball was handled by Oliver Kalac just in time.
Following that early scare, APIA fired back just moments later when Sean Symons shot come pass was cleared out of play by Julian Cop for a corner kick.
That started an onslaught of chances from the visitors. First it was Cop who was unable to muster up a headed connection on Jack Stewart’s pass.
Then in the 18th minute Seiya Kambayashi went inches away from scoring the opener as he placed his free kick just wide of the far post.
Six-minutes later it was Stewart who came close to breaking the deadlock as his low-driving shot had rival keeper Lucas Sinnott beat and agonisingly landed just past the inside post.
APIA were relentless and continued to push the ‘Red & Black’ defence to their limits and in the 42nd minute Sinnott was thrust into action as he punched away a quickly curling freekick from Symons.
Just before the halftime whistle blew the Wanderers finally collapsed after an unfortunate own goal to Alizart following a deflected header off a corner.
It was surprisingly the hosts who almost struck first in the second half when Kalac uncharacteristically spilled Western Sydney’s free kick attempt as the ball was headed away to safety by Dredon Kelly.
The next great chance fell to APIA on the hour-mark as Kambayashi’s inside ball was nullified by a goal line clearance from Ricky Fransen.
Just three-minutes later Kambayashi was again at the centre of the visitors attack as he shockingly missed his header from point-blank range.
Western Sydney deservedly continued to work their way into the affair. This was evident as Edmun Haddad found himself not far off in the 68th minute when his long range attempt sailed over the bar.
The Western Sydney Wanderers fell just short in the 77th minute as Ewan Gasowski failed to capitalise on Alizart’s almost inch-perfect pass across the face of goals.
With the game ending, the ‘Red & Black’ nearly stole a goal and a point in the 86th minute when Haddad with plenty of space to shoot into, miss-hit the ball instead.
Post-match APIA head coach Franco Parisi was very satisfied with his teams’ efforts.
“Credit to the Wanderers they did well today.
“The pitch was beautiful, and it played host to an enjoyable game.
“Hopefully those who came to watch loved it but we were very happy with the three points, although we are not used to the earlier kick-off.
“Whilst our focus was purely on today and not the teams around us, on Tuesday night we will regroup and focus on the next match. We are focused on continuous improvement and that’s what we got.”
Match Stats
Western Sydney Wanderers 0
APIA Leichhardt 1 (Leon Alizart own goal 42’)
Saturday 05 July 2025
Wanderers Football Park
Referee: Adrian Arndt
Assistant Referees: Alexis Turner and Hayden Kaye
Fourth Official: Jasper White
Western Sydney Wanderers: 2.Nathan Barrie, (3.Oscar Morrrison 79’), 4.Ricky Fransen, 5.Lachlan Tilt, (6.Marko Radovancevic 79’), (7.Dallo Sandy 57’), 8.Nicholas Badolato, 10.Edmun Haddad, 11.Kaan Nizam, (14.Ewan Gasowski 73’), 20.Lucas Sinnott, 24.Tristan Arrarte, (25.Lachlan Henderson 73’), 26.Antony Barbic, 27.Julian Cop, 33.Leon Alizart
Unused subs: 40.Lachlan Allen
Yellow cards: Lucas Sinnott 17’, Lachlan Tilt 75’
Red cards: None
APIA Leichhardt: 2.Seiya Kambayashi, (6.Franco Farinella 63’), 7.Jack Stewart, 8.Joel Bertolissio, 11.Rory Jordan, 14.Cameron Fong, 16.Sean Symons, 19.Fabian Monge, 21.Michael Kouta, (22.Eddie Caspers 63’), 23.Dredon Kelly, (29.Maskim Kasalovic 83’), 30. Julian Cop, 80. Nicholas Badolato
Unused subs: 17.Oscar Gonzalez, 18.Adrian Ucchino, 50.Alexander Parkes
Yellow cards: Alex Denmead 30’, Joel Bertolissio 55’, Seiya Kambayashi 76’
Red cards: None
Player Ratings:
3: Sean Symons (APIA)
2: Lucas Sinnott (WSW)
1: Jack Stewart (APIA)
-By Tobias Canning
