APIA rocked by Ilinden
Rockdale Ilinden have beaten APIA Leichhardt 2-0 with an outstanding and comprehensive football performance at Lambert Park to end Round 21 of the NPL Men’s NSW competition with a bang on Sunday night.
The eventual victors began the game the better of the two sides, impressing with their intent and aggressiveness without the ball and their directness and incision with it.
In the 15th minute, the away side had a string of three strong chances, with APIA’s desperation in the box – and a strong save from Alexander Parkes – keeping the scores at bay.
They were looking particularly dangerous from a string of corners and were pinning their hosts in their own half with a strong high press.
In the 24th minute, the away side looked dangerous once more, as the ball fell to Brendan Cholakian five metres outside the box.
Rockdale’s creative hub wound up and launched an effort from range, forcing another strong save from Parkes.
Off the resulting corner, Giorgio Speranza was first to APIA’s clearance, and shot just over from inside the box, with the chances continuing to come for the visitors.
But just three minutes later, Rockdale finally had reward for their strong start, with another threatening corner now turning profitable.
An excellent ball in from Brendan Cholakian landed perfectly on the edge of the six-yard box and was met by a towering header from Lachlan Griffiths.
The central defender made perfect contact, directing the ball into the side netting of the far post, and Rockdale were in front at Lambert Park.
In the 39th minute, APIA had their first chance of the game, with a good ball from Sean Symons finding the onrushing Rory Jordan.
From the byline, the winger cleverly found the run of Max Court with a cut back, but the young attacking midfielder couldn’t generate the contact necessary to find the target.
In the 56th minute, Rockdale had a chance to double their lead, after a brilliant ball from Cholakian found Moudi Najjar in behind on transition.
The striker took a touch to set himself, and, while on the run, launched a piercing effort towards the near post, which was save sharply by Parkes.
But the away side were continuing their strong effort, restricting their opponents to virtually no shots on goal.
And in the 75th minute, they added a second, crucial goal to their tally to take a massive step towards a major three points at Lambert Park.
After some neat interplay after winning possession deep on the right flank, Lochlan Constable received possession with time to face forward.
The playmaker took a neat touch inside, engaging APIA’s defence, before sliding an inch-perfect ball into the path of Najjar, who’d made a clever run in behind.
Rockdale’s forward sprinted towards goal, and while holding off the pressure of Michael Kouta, passed the ball elegantly into the far corner to double his sides lead.
Just before the end of regulation side, APIA’s Michael Konestabo had a shot cleared off the line, but that was their only opportunity of note, as Rockdale marched on to a massive three points on the road.
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt FC 0
Rockdale Ilinden FC 2 (Griffiths 27’, Najjar 75’)
Sunday 28 June, 2026
Lambert Park
Referee: Eric Saba
Assistant Referees: Cameron Wright and Shakeel Mistry
Fourth Official: Tom Love
APIA Leichhardt FC: 20. Alexander Parkes, 7. Jack Stewart (30. Alex Denmead 76’), 11. Rory Jordan (2. Seiya Kambayashi 76’), 14. Max Court (8. Michael Konestabo 64’), 15. Themba Muata-Marlow, 16. Sean Symons (C), 17. Jordan Segreto (23. Levi Sciruiaga 58’), 21. Michael Kouta, 22. Edward Caspers, 24. Cameron Fong, 99. Franco Farinella (19. Fabian Monge 58’)
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Oliver Kalac, 25. Kyle Shaw
Yellow Cards: Farinella 24’, Segreto 51’
Red Cards: None
Rockdale Ilinden FC: 1. Levi Kaye, 2. Hunter Elliott, 3. Lachlan Griffiths, 4. Reo Kunimoto, 5. Giorgio Speranza, 8. Jerry Skotadis, 9. Moudi Najjar (16. Michael Marcevski 90+1’), 10. Brendan Cholakian (C) (7. Ollie Wiggin 81’), 11. Lochlan Constable (27. Lukas Ribarevski 87’), 26. Harry Van der Saag, 66. Mathieu Cordier (22. Harry McCarthy 45’)
Substitutes Not Used: 14. Stefan Simonoski, 19. Dean Jovcevski, 21. Ronan Mulgrew
Yellow Cards: Cholakian 38’
Red Cards: None
Player ratings:
3 – Moudi Najjar (RI)
2 – Lochlan Constable (RI)
1 – Jerry Skotadis (RI)
-By Jack George
