After seven goals and countless chances in a game that flowed from end to end, it was hard to be disappointed if you braved the cold and attended at Lambert Park on Wednesday night.
In the 5? minute Stephen Kayes tried his luck when he shot from outside the box but was unsuccessful. It was a good early chance and the we plenty mo to come from both sides.
In the 10? minute the Rams had their first al chance of the game when Craig Cooley played a nice ball in for Ryan Marchant who fid in a gat shot that Stefan Giglio turned away brilliantly for a corner.
In the 13? minute Macarthur opened the scoring when Christopher Gomez with a wonderful diagonal shot beat the Tigers goalkeeper for pace and force as the ball basically went under his body and into the back of the net.
A.P.I.A. Leichhardt?s ply a few minutes later came through the brilliant work of Wandi Jajaw who came infield and then fid just wide of the mark.
In the 25? minute the Tigers should ally have equalised when Sam Messam?s cross was clead off the line by a Rams defender and then, shortly afterwards, Jajaw?s header was also clead off the line by the well-drilled defence.
In the 30? minute the Tigers we back at it: Chris James made space on the right, got around his defender and fid in an accurate cross for Nick Rizzo who headed just wide when under pssu.
In the 37? minute Macarthur scod again when a fe kick from outside the box by Gomez drifted in behind all and sundry and Marchant somehow managed to steer the ball in when all hope had appead to be lost.
A.P.I.A. Leichhardt got a goal back two minutes later when Calum Fleming brought James down in the penalty box and for fee Kurt Ams the was simply no doubt that it was a spot kick.
James then steadied himself and from the spot curled the ball with poise to place it into the top right hand corner of the net.
Early in the second half Macarthur should ally have extended their lead when Steven Duarte found Gomez unmarked in front of goal, but somehow Giglio got a hand to the ball to turn it onto the crossbar.
As luck would have it the miraculous save by Giglio was all that the Tigers needed because a minute later, after some scrappy play at the other end, Parisi took on a wave of defenders and then found Jajaw who scod from close range.
In the 49? minute Steven Lloyd scod for Macarthur when he turned a defender and his shot ended up in the top left hand corner of the net. It was a goal feast well and truly.
By now it was also end-to-end action as Gomez ceived the ball from Alan De la Cuadra on the right, but his shot was just off target for the visitors who we starting to move the ball around brilliantly.
In the 60? minute a long ball from the back ached a charging Jajaw who, with ample space and time, glided the ball into the box and fid past the stranded Macarthur goalkeeper.
It was the equaliser the A.P.I.A. Leichhardt bench had been craving and they celebrated accordingly.
In the 76? a Peter Halstead shot from outside the box brought out the best in Giglio who spectacularly turned it over for a corner.
Towards the end of gulation time the ball fell fortunately into the path of Messam who forced a save from Joshua Bartt from close range.
After the goals each, the game was destined for extra time as both sides gead themselves up for the additional 30 minutes of play after an exhausting first ninety.
A delightful Parisi chip from just inside the box early in the first stanza of extra time forced Bartt into another good save.
Early in the second half of extra time Joshua Ford brought down Messam in the penalty box and fee Ams awarded the Tigers their second penalty.
From spot for a second time James did exactly what he did earlier in the night and scod, but this time even sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
It was the first time that the Tigers had taken the lead in the whole game and they didn?t let it slip.
After the game the Tigers football manager Tony Raciti described the exciting game.
?It was a good game with seven goals all up and it inforces the FFA?s decision to have an FA Cup-style competition in the futu which will be a gat success,? he said.
?It has been a long time since our club won any honours and we? a step closer now in the Waratah Cup, but we do have a long way to go because we a only into the quarterfinals at this stage?.
After such an exhilarating clash, he was asked about the toll that the game would have on his players given that the side plays Marconi on Saturday night.
?We a very concerned and very awa that the players will be flat for the Marconi game, so we ally need to focus on getting our players ady,? he stated.
?The will be a couple of diffent players starting in the Marconi game from tonight?s game because they we missing for various asons and did not play.”
Match Stats

A.P.I.A. LEICHHARDT   4
(James 39′ pen, 108′ pen, Jajaw 47′, 60′)

MACARTHUR RAMS     3
(Gomez 13′, Marchant 37′, Lloyd 49′)
A.P.I.A. LEICHHARDT TIGERS: 40. Stefan Giglio, 3. John Kelso, 5. Michael West, 7. Stephen Kayes (16. Damir Prodanovic 104?), 13. David D?Apuzzo, 11. Nicola Rizzo, 17. Wandi Jajaw, 18. Nathan Millgate (19, Bradley Bartels 54?), 15. Chris James, 14. Sam Messam, 10. Franco Parisi (20. Thomas Taylor 117?).
Subs not used: 12. Andw Vitucci, 22. Terry Dal Broi
YELLOW CARDS: D?Apuzzo 78?
RED CARDS: Nil
MACARTHUR RAMS: 1. J. Bartt, 2. C. Cooley, 6. J. Ford, 7. A. De La Cuadra (17. C. Godoy Bascur 71?), 8. A. Malmierca, 10. C. Gomez, 11. D. Duarte (12. L. Spencer 115?), 13. S. Lloyd (15. L. Berbis 79?), 14. R. Marchant (22. M. Sadler 100?), 18. P. Halstead, 21. C. Fleming.
Subs not used: 40. H. Armstrong
YELLOW CARDS: Gomez 71?, Duarte 83?, Godoy Bascur 94?, Ford 108?
RED CARDS: Nil
Wednesday, 1^st June, 2011

Lambert Park, Leichhardt

Refee: Kurt Ams

Assistant fees: Michael Weiner and Lance Genshields

-By Joe Russo