APIA secure tight win over St George City
APIA Leichhardt in the penultimate round of the regular season in the NPL Men’s NSW got away with a narrow 1-0 win over St George City thanks to a Rory Jordan goal straight after halftime.
It was a close and tight game all the way but for the Lambert Park based side, the three points in the bag was the key takeaway from the contest going into next week’s final round.
After a comprehensive victory last weekend for APIA Leichhardt, it was a much more blue collar performance against St George City as the team currently fights to finish in a top two position going into the semi-finals.
The opening salvo of the contest arrived in the 6th minute when Levi Sciuriaga played a nice ball to Jesse Photi, but his diagonal shot was across the face of goal and just wide for St George City.
In the 18th minute APIA Leichhardt responded by dispossessing the visitors and the ball fell nicely for Jordan, but his low shot was beautifully saved by reliable goalkeeper Jack Kenny.
In the 27th minute Seiya Kambayashi, The Emperor of Leichhardt, fired across the face of goal in what was definitely a close call. St George City replied through Dakota Askew who fired from distance in the 36th minute but ‘keeper Oliver Kalac was able to control the danger.
A few minutes later a cross from the right by Askew reached Sciuriaga on the far side but his diagonal shot ended up against the side netting in what was the to be first half’s last real goal-scoring opportunity.
The second stanza of play opened with APIA Leichhardt finding the back of the net in the first minute. St George City coughed up possession and Rory Jordan danced his way nicely into the area before drilling his shot into the back of the goal. It was the opening to the half that APIA coach Franco Parisi definitely wanted after revving his troops up during the interval.
In the 58th minute Louis Khoury fired over the crossbar from outside the box in what was really only a half-chance for St George City. Chances were really few and far between for both sides in what was proving to be a tight contest and a battle of attrition.
The next real opportunity arrived late in the match in the 86th minute when a dangerous St George City corner reached Noah Ovens who, from close range, managed to shoot over when perhaps a slightly more nuanced attempt would have found the back of the net and provided an equaliser.
Well into stoppage time APIA’s substitutes combined to miss a golden opportunity. It was Eddie Caspers who provided a nice assist to Max Court but his chip over the goalkeeper was ever so slightly wide of the mark.
After the game APIA Leichhardt coach Franco Parisi was satisfied with gaining the three points and keeping a clean sheet
“The goal was great, it was a little jink that allowed Rory to get past his man and score at a time when the game needed something,” he stated.
“St George were very organised in the first half but I am glad that we were able to open up the game. I think the second half was a better spectacle because they started committing men forward and the football was a lot better.
“However, all we were thinking about coming into this game was getting the three points, keeping a clean sheet and maintaining our momentum. Where we finish is based on other results but we will keep ourselves as high as we can by winning our matches.
“We are wanting to be ready for Sydney Olympic next week and, when they are on, Olympic are a top-four side no problem and then we will look to the semi-finals only after Olympic.”
St George City coach Manny Spanoudakis on the other hand was satisfied but also realistic that the season had just got away in the last couple of rounds.
“We continue to keep playing our best and while the season may be over from a semi-finals perspective, it is definitely not over as players are playing for contracts, pride and the jersey,” he said.
“I think we showed that attitude tonight against a very good APIA team. We copped a soft goal straight after halftime and we made it difficult for ourselves, however, I am very proud of the players considering the challenges that we faced.
“A few results didn’t go our way in the last couple of matches but we still want to beat every team and Sydney United 58 will be no different next week.
“We pushed today as hard as we could because we want to win every game and the mindset doesn’t change for us because we play to win and there are no dead rubbers in football.”
Match Stats
APIA LEICHHARDT FC: 1 (Jordan 47’)
St GEORGE CITY FA: 0
Saturday 23rd August
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: Mikayla Ryan
Assistant referees: Isaac Riggs, Brady Fisher
Fourth Official: Rory McFarlane
APIA LEICHHARDT: 80. Oliver Kalac, 2. Seiya Kambayashi, 5. Dredon Kelly, 6. Patrick Flottman, 7. Jack Stewart (19. Fabian Monge 70’), 9. Presley Ortiz (22. Eddie Caspers 80’), 11. Rory Jordan (14. Max Court 80’), 21. Michael Kouta, 24. Cameron Fong, 29. Maksim Kasalovic (30. Alex Denmead 70’), 99. Franco Farinella.
Substitutes not used: 1. Anthony Bouzanis, 16. Sean Symonds.
Yellow Card: Kelly 64’
Red Cards: Nil
St GEORGE CITY: 1. Jack Kenny, 4. Solomon Monohan-Vaiika, 5. Lewis Miccio (17. Noah Ovens 67’), 7. Levi Sciuriaga (16. William Kounnas 67’), 8. Dominic Cox, 15. Nathan Grimaldi, 18. Goncalo Agrelos (99. Peter Kekeris 80’), 19. Jesse Photi (2. Matthew Wahby 80’), 23. Dakota Askew, 25. Brodie Clarkson (10. Paolo Mitry 48’), 33. Louis Khoury
Substitutes not used: 13. Cameron Kemp.
Yellow Card: Sciuriaga 34’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Rory Jordan (AL)
2 – Seiya Kambayashi (AL)
1 – Nathan Grimaldi (StG)
By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Joe Russo
