Parramatta take the points in a lacklustre affair
In the end, it was Parramatta FC that were the hungrier and ran out winners thanks to two first-half goals.
After the game Parramatta FC Eagles coach Manny Spanoudakis was pleased with his side?s efforts.
?A lot of hard work has gone on here and I have to take my hat off to the boys since I came in as coach,? he said.
?They have opened their minds to what I have asked them to do and they have trained hard. Nothing comes by accident and the results are coming because of the hard work that the players are putting in, so I am very happy.
?I was pleased with their commitment and attitude from the first minute today and they continued playing and playing. Nothing fazes our players.?
Spanoudakis took over the team a few weeks ago and, as a coach, it is always difficult to inherit a team mid season.
Nevertheless, the affable former Sydney Olympic and St George mentor is relishing his time back in the NSW Premier League and was only too pleased to elaborate when asked.
?It has been a couple of years since we had our good 2008 at Sydney Olympic and it?s certainly good to be back in the game.
?It has its challenges with family, kids, work and travel but the people at the club have been fantastic to work with, the support staff has been fantastic, the players have been great and there are no definitely no complaints from me.?
The game itself came alive as early as the 2? minute when a delightful cross from Almir Dizdaric on the right found Shayne Ardle lurking with intent at the far post, but his accurate header was tipped away by Jose Bello-Amigo.
Nothing much happened until the 19? minute when Ben Jurman had a seemingly innocuous free-kick that appeared to pierce the A.P.I.A. Leichhardt defence and, when combined with a rough bounce, it went straight into the back of the net past an incredulous Bello-Amigo.
A.P.I.A. Leichhardt really had trouble penetrating the Parramatta FC defence and never really looked dangerous in the first stanza of play.
It wasn?t until a long ball in the 40? minute found Robbie Younis in the box and, despite Evangelos Petratos making a nuisance of himself for Younis, the Tigers striker did manage to create space and shoot only to be thwarted by Anthony Costa who turned the ball away for a corner.
The home side did double the margin a few minutes later when a great ball found Daniel Fogarty on the right. The determined Parramatta player then charged into the box and fired in a shot that went straight through the hands of the unlucky Bello-Amigo in goal.
In the second-half, A.P.I.A. Leichhardt had the better of the earlier chances. In the 58? minute an accurate Franco Parisi cross from the left reached Younis in the middle of the box, but his header was only marginally off target.
A few minutes later Younis was at it again with a free-kick that was well saved by Costa diving to his right.
Parramatta?s reply arrived in the 69? minute when a stray corner ended up in the path of Anthony Grima who let fly with a rocket of a volley that just missed the intended target.
A.P.I.A. Leichhardt then made a double substitution by taking off both Younis and Parisi and replacing them with Michael West and Anthony Hartshorn respectively.
It may have been unusual for two strikers to be replaced when two goals down, but Hartshorn almost proved it was a masterstroke when, from close range, he certainly tested Costa who was forced to turn the ball away for a corner.
Late in the game Chris James sent a free-kick just over the crossbar before John Kelso shot inches over with a powerful attempt in the last minute of play.
Despite a better second-half from the Tigers, it still wasn?t enough from the visitors as Parramatta FC Eagles showed resilience and determination well beyond their placement on the league ladder.
Afterwards, Manny Ziino, A.P.I.A. Leichhardt?s long-serving and loyal team manager, was honest in his appraisal of the game and of his team.
?It was a poor game from us,? he said. ?The team is committed but the luck is not running our way currently.
?It was a better second half performance from us because in the first half a couple of lapses in concentration cost us two easy goals.
?A few changes were made during the second-half just to freshen things up a little and there were definitely a few glimpses of hope, but unfortunately Parramatta dug their heels in and kept the scoreline to 2-0 and got the result.?
When asked about where A.P.I.A. Leichhardt can go to from here given their dreadful run of results of late, Ziino was philosophical and cautiously optimistic.
?Look, we can turn it around if we have commitment from all: from team officials, to coaches to players. If we have total commitment from everyone, we can get out of it.?
Meanwhile, in the Grade-20 division, Parramatta FC defeated A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers 3-2 in a thrilling game.
Match Stats
Parramatta FC 2 (Jurman 19?, Fogarty 43?)
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers 0
Sunday 31st July, 2011
Melita Stadium, Granville
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant referees: Sarah Ho and Christian Mehl
Fourth Official: Jamie Garvin
Parramatta FC: 21.Anthony Costa; 2.Nicholas McInerney, 4.Daniel Fogarty (8.Bryan Soane 64?), 5.George Strogylos, 6.Tom Wilson, 7.Shayne Ardle, 17.Matthew Osman, 18.Almir Dizdaric (16.Jonathan Castano-Acero 74?), 20.Evangelos Petratos, 28.Ben Jurman, 33.Luke Grima (13.Fabien Iacovelli 83?)
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Lachlan Tibbles, 10.Chris Camilleri
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers: 1.Jose Bello-Amigo; 2.Mark Byrnes, 3.John Kelso, 4.Cole Tinkler, 7.Stephen Kayes, 13.David D?Apuzzo, 15.Adam D?Apuzzo, 23.Chris James (16.Damir Prodanovic 82?), 11.Nicola Rizzo, 10.Franco Parisi (8.Anthony Hartshorn 72?), 9.Robbie Younis (5.Michael West 72?).
Substitutes Not Used: 40.Stefan Giglio, 20.Andrew Vitucci
Yellow Cards: Byrnes 13?, Rizzo 27?, Tinkler 81?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joe Russo
