A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers snatch a point from Bonnyrigg

Brad Boardman scored the game?s opening goal before Robert Younis equalised from the penalty spot to end the game level.
After both sides started the season with draws in the first round, it was evident a win was the only thing on their minds from the first whistle.
A.P.I.A.?s night started on the best note as a long ball from their defence was loosely headed back to the goalkeeper by White Eagles defender Michael Robinson. The mix up led to Ben Spruce bringing down Robert Younis with the referee calling a penalty.
To the Tiger?s dismay however Phil Zabaks dived to his right to save Younis? penalty as his defence cleared the ball for a corner.
The Tigers continued their great start as David D?Apuzzo attacked with venom in the 8? minute before laying the ball off to Nicola Rizzo to shoot just over the target.
Rizzo was not going to go away as a minute later a scrappy Bonnyrigg clearance from a corner fell to the midfielder, though his effort finished inches wide of the left upright.
Within seconds the White Eagles took the ball up field and had their first chance on goal. Great play on the left led to Brad Boardman passing the ball to Nathan Elasi who shot on the volley  – denied be a diving Jose Bello-Amigo save.
Bonnyrigg finally settled into the match and started taking advantage of the Tigers? narrow formation as they played the ball out wide and passing with conviction.
In the 20? minute Bonnyrigg opened the scoring as a great through ball led to the ever ready Brad Boardman finding the back of the net. The striker?s half volley into the bottom right corner of the goal left Bello-Amigo helpless as the Bonnyrigg supporters applauded.
6? minutes later and the Eagles almost had their second. After Nathan Elasi was brought down outside the penalty-area, Daniel Severino stepped up to take the free-kick. The ball left Severino?s foot with great curl but not enough to sneak into the A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt goal.
The Tigers? frustration at not seeing much of the ball started to show as two rash challenges ended in David D?Apuzzo receiving a yellow card.
From the ensuing free-kick Severino bent the ball from the left to a free Nikola Zonjic who headed the ball over the crossbar from point-blank range.
On the stroke of half-time, the visiting Tigers? night could have gotten worse with Bello-Amigo stepping out of his box while throwing the ball out. Severino again stepped up and tested the keeper curving the ball over the wall and hitting the crossbar to end the half at 1-0.
Bonnyrigg started the second-half much like they ended the first with great attacking flair keeping their opposition on the back foot.
2? minutes into the half a great ball out to the left to Chris Tadrosse allowed him to get around Mark Byrnes and cut towards goal but his cross to Boardman was hit wide of the mark.
A.P.I.A. continued to try and calm the play down but several turnovers led to more Bonnyrigg attacks.
After another A.P.I.A. mistake Bonnyrigg swiftly moved the ball up field leading to Elasi shooting from range and just missing the top left-hand corner in the 52? minute.
Bonnyrigg?s lack of finishing off their chances unsettled the home crowd as the Tigers slowly got back into the match.
It wasn?t long before the Eagles would have another chance as great lead-up play to Zonjic saw the midfielder feed Elasi, who flicked the ball through to Wade Oostendorp, before the latter had his shot smothered Bello-Amigo.
A.P.I.A.?s thirst for a goal would not be quenched as several long balls were easily taken by Zabaks in goal.
The Tigers put the ball on the ground and played a neat ball through to Robert Younis in the 74? minute but the striker could not get the better of Robinson in defence as the ball was quickly cleared.
Bonnyrigg had another chance minutes later as Oostendorp floated a free-kick into the box for Boardman to head across goal but Elasi could not convert, instead hitting a soft shot to the chest of Bello Amigo.
The game was turned on its head in the 68? minute as against the run of play A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt were given their second penalty of the night.
After missing the first penalty, Younis redeemed himself this time slamming the ball to the right of Zabaks.
The goal seemed to lift the intensity of both teams, and the fans, as each team looked to get the upper hand.
In the 80? minute Boardman had Bello-Amigo struggling on his line as he shot just wide of the goal.
2? minutes later Elasi received the ball from out wide and turned his defender easily. However, after taking too much time on the ball, his shot was blocked and cleared by the Leichhardt defence. 
A.P.I.A tried to snatch their second goal against the run of play as a long ball by Chris James found D?Apuzzo out wide. D?Appuzzo?s effort across the face of goal failed to pick out a team-mate.
In the dying stages of the match Severino had another free-kick excellently saved by a diving Bello-Amigo to end the match at 1-1.
Following the match A.P.I.A Leichhardt Tigers’s Under 20s coach Rod Williams said he was happy with the draw.
?I thought we played well in the first 15? or 20? minutes and should have been in front with the penalty,?? he said.
?But we kept our structure for the whole game and made it very hard for Bonnyrigg.
?Bonnyrigg finished strong but congratulations to the boys for the performance because I believe we troubled them for most of the game.??
Bonnyrigg White Eagles coach Brian Brown was sitting on the other side of the fence believing his side should have taken the three-points:
?It disappointing we didn?t take just one more chance and win the game,?? Brown said.
?I think we deserved to win it with our overall performance but there were a lot of things we did tonight that wasn?t what we expect.
?Jose Bello-Amigo is also a quality keeper and I think in the end he is the difference between the two sides.??
In the Grade-20 fixture A.P.I.A Leichhardt Tigers proved to be a class above Bonnyrigg ending the match 6-1 victors.
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 (Brad Boardman 20?)
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers 1 (Robert Younis 69?)
Saturday 3rd April, 2011
Bonnyrigg Sports Centre, Bonnyrigg
Referee: Kris Griffith-Jones
Crowd: 500 Approx.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 99.Phil Zabaks (gk); 4.Wade Oostendorp (12.Takuya Murayama 74?), 9.Brad Boardman, 5.Chris Tadrosse (C), 7.Nathan Elasi, 6.Ben Spruce, 17.Michael Robinson, 10.Daniel Severino, 19.Jamie McMaster (15.Wely Al-Rikaby 74?), 11.Shane Webb, 3.Nicola Zonjic
Substitutions Not Used: 16. David Vrankovic
Yellow Cards: Ben Spruce 2?, Daniel Severino 59?, Jamie McMaster 61?
Red Cards: Nil
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers: 1.Jose Bello-Amigo (gk); 10.Franco Parisi, 23.Chris James, 2.Mark Byrnes (17.Matthew Fsadni 75?), 3.John Kelso, 11.Nicola Rizzo, 4.Cole Tinkler, 5.Michael West, 7.Stephen Kayes, 13.David D?Apuzzo, 9.Robert Younis
Substitutions Not Used: 22. Terry Dal Broi
Yellow Cards: 13. D?Apuzzo 29?, Matthew Fsadni 78?
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Daniel Severino (BWE)
2 – Nathan Elasi (BWE)
1 – Chris James (ALT)
-By Chris Georges