APIA plunge Sharks into more trouble with five-star win
APIA Leichhardt FC have kept its Premiership hopes alive following a scintillating 5-0 smashing against a dismal Sutherland Sharks outfit at Lambert Park on Sunday afternoon.
APIA began the match in perfect fashion, with a ninth-minute goal to open the scoring at Lambert Park.
After being found in behind thanks to a ball from Jack Stewart, Cameron Fong tested Sutherland’s backline with a good ball into the box from the right flank.
His cross found Rory Jordan at the far post, and the winger made no mistake in finding a finish, taking a perfect touch before putting the ball in the bottom-left corner.
It was a good start for the home side, who needed a win to remain in the running for the Premiership after their defeat to Marconi Stallions last weekend.
In the 16th minute, Presley Ortiz had a golden chance to double APIA’s lead, but just couldn’t find the target.
After a sustained period of possession, some beautiful interplay inside the box between Ortiz and Stewart allowed the latter to strike.
His shot was blocked, but fell perfectly into the path of Ortiz, who from just outside the six-yard box, just had to find the far corner.
However, the marksman dragged his shot wide, preventing the home side from finding their second goal.
The home side were continuing to find their groove, however, with a shot from Cameron Fong rolling just wide of the near post, after he was found by a beautiful backheel from Franco Farinella inside the box.
And in the 34th minute, the home side did double their lead, with Franco Farinella finishing off a ruthless counter-attack in style.
After winning the ball, Farinella strode forwards, before finding Jordan, high on the left wing.
Jordan entered the box, stood up his man and took a touch to the byline, before playing a lovely cutback across the face of goal.
From the edge of the six-yard box, Farinella completed an elongated one-two with a calm first-time finish into the back of the net, finding APIA’s second goal of the match.
Two minutes after conceding, Sutherland had their first chance of the match, and it was a significant one.
After a brilliant touch and pass from Yerasimakis Petratos found the run of Richard Shoueiki inside, the winger drove towards goal, before squaring the ball to Brendan Gan.
From inside the box, the midfielder aimed to place the ball in the top-right corner, but saw his shot skim just over the bar, narrowly missing what would have been a crucial goal for the away side.
Sutherland came out strong in the second half, looking to press more aggressively against APIA as they searched for a way back into the match.
But they struggled to turn that intent into any meaningful opportunities, and it was their opponents who created the first meaningful chance of the match.
Receiving the ball inside the box, a beautiful one-two between Jordan and Michael Kouta opened up space for the former to strike, and the winger produced a beautiful effort, which bounced unluckily off the crossbar to deny him from making it two goals and one assist against the Sharks.
In the 72nd minute, the Sharks almost halved the deficit courtesy of a brilliant strike from Petratos.
Receiving from range, the forward lined up a shot, and with a powerful effort, was centimetres away from finding the target, with the shot glancing the cross bar on its way out for a goalkick.
Moments later, Sutherland hit the woodwork again, with a low shot from Tye McGowan rebounding off the post, with the away side building momentum as they looked to mount a late comeback at Lambert Park.
The Sharks were continuing to build as the minutes went on, forcing Oliver Kalac into action on multiple occasions.
But, in the 80th minute, that momentum came crashing down, with a thunder strike from substitute Seiya Kambayashi making it 3-0 to the home side.
APIA began a lethal counterattack with a ball out to Alex Denmead on the right, who produced a brilliant ball to find Max Court in behind on the opposite flank.
One on one against his marker, Court cut inside onto his right foot, before poking the ball to Kambayashi, on the edge of the box.
The attacking midfielder needed no further invitation, thrashing a strike off the crossbar and into the back of the net to confirm three important points for his side.
And moments later, APIA made it four, with Presley Ortiz finding the back of the net after winning himself a penalty.
And the home side weren’t yet done, with Ortiz earning himself a brace against a dejected Sharks side.
After some nice play from the home side, a pass from Eddie Caspers found Ortiz just inside the box, and the striker produced a brilliant left-footed finish to make it five at Lambert Park.
And in stoppage time, Ortiz continued his late flurry, almost making it a hattrick after finding space at the back-post, but a fantastic save from Danijel Nizic denied the APIA striker.
“At the end of a big week, with three games in seven days, it’s important to get the three points and a clean sheet,” said APIA coach Franco Parisi.
“It was a really good effort from the players.”
“There was some great football in many moments – the sexy football we’re asking for – but also the desperation that was required, because Sutherland had a moment there where they were really asking questions.”
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt FC 5 (Jordan 9’, Farinella 34’, Kambayashi 80’, Ortiz 83’, 84’)
Sutherland Sharks FC 0
Sunday 17 August, 2025
Lambert Park
Referee: Karl Davies
Assistant Referees: Alessandro Llana and Hannah Sheridan
Fourth Official: Olivier Leanfore
APIA Leichhardt FC: 80. Oliver Kalac, 5. Dredon Kelly, 6. Patrick Flottmann, 7. Jack Stewart (30. Alex Denmead 69’), 9. Presley Ortiz, 11. Rory Jordan (14. Max Court 69’), 16. Sean Symons (C) (21. Michael Kouta 22’), 19. Fabian Monge (22. Eddie Caspers 55’), 24. Cameron Fong, 29. Maksim Kasalovic, 99. Franco Farinella (2. Seiya Kambayashi 69’)
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Anthony Bouzanis
Yellow Cards: Kouta 78’
Red Cards: None
Sutherland Sharks FC: 1. Danijel Nizic (C), 2. Lachlan Macdonald (9. Jaden Gasking 59’), 4. Lachlan Fields, 6. Mohamed Ahmed, 10. Yerasimakis Petratos, 17. Richard Shoueiki (23. Mason Fernandez 55’), 19. Tariq Maia, 27. Matthew Jackson, 33. Yianni Nicolaou, 77. Leo Mazis (44. Tye McGowan 67’), 88. Brendan Gan (49. Marcus Fernandez 67’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Jacob Tresoglavic, 30. Sebastian Arranz
Yellow Cards: Ahmed 10’
Red Cards: None
Player ratings:
3 – Rory Jordan (APIA)
2 – Presley Ortiz (APIA)
1 – Jack Stewart (APIA)
