Tigers revival all but ends Manly?s finals hopes
Coming into the clash the out of sort Tigers had lost seven matches on the trot, but from the opening whistle their desire was obvious.
Chris James, who caused United problems all afternoon, carved out the first chance of the game on 13′ minutes. The Kiwi international fired in a ball from the by-line which Stephen Kayes blazed over.
8′ minutes later, Manly were forced into a premature change, after Jordan Edwards fell heavily.
Midgley threw Justin Hayward into the fold, and after half an hour the striker almost opened the scoring. He met a Robbie Cattanach cross in the six yard box at full stretch, but his diving header flashed inches past the post.
Leading into the break, the battle for supremacy in midfield lifted a notch.
The tussle between Manly’s David Dodd and A.P.I.A.’s Nick Rizzo was worth the admission price alone.
Both gave away nothing, each desperate to unlock their opponent’s back four.
Veteran Tigers defender John Kelso went close with a header from a corner on 34′ minutes, before Cole Tinkler denied Hayward with a well-timed block moments later.
Seconds later Dodd had a rasping effort saved by Stefan Giglio, with Adam Foti’s follow-up header tame to say the least.
Foti did find the back of the net a minute later, but referee James Lewis had already blown his whistle for a foul.
The decision saw the United faithful voice their disapproval, feeling advantage should have been played.
10′ minutes after half-time APIA took the lead.
Manly’s Roberto Hamad was given an early shower after fouling Anthony Hartshorn in the area as the last man, with James beating Dylan Mitchell from the penalty spot.
On the hour mark Hayward had a penalty shout dismissed, and you sensed it wasn’t going to be United’s afternoon.
73′ minutes in Hartshorn tested Mitchell at his near post, but the gloveman was alert enough to deflect it out for a corner.
The man who looked most likely for Manly was Hayward. On 81′ minutes he had a chance to level proceedings, but inexplicably squared the ball to Scott Balderson with the goal at his mercy.
A.P.I.A. had numbers in the area, and in a flash the ball was hacked to safety.
Manly’s Colin Iley hit a rocket on 85′ minutes, which Giglio brilliantly tipped over the bar.
It proved decisive, with substitute Robbie Younis securing a priceless win on the road with a clinical strike on 89′ minutes.
Hartshorn almost added a third deep into injury time, but his measured effort crashed into the far post and out for a goal-kick.
Jubilant Tigers playmaker Nick Rizzo expressed his relief at full-time.
“I thought we were good for the result,” he said.
“We worked hard and had some outstanding individual performances.
“With Bankstown winning (against Parramatta FC) it is a massive result for us.
“We hadn’t won since round 12, hopefully we can string some wins together to see out the season on a proper note.”
Midgley felt a handful of his players went missing.
“We were a bit flat, not enough players turned up,” he said.
“Sometimes you have those days, I also think A.P.I.A. wanted it a little bit more than us.
“The lads had an off-day, we just have to move on.”
In the Grade-20 division, Manly United FC hammered A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers 5-0.
Match Stats
Manly United FC 0
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers 2 (Chris James 55′, Robbie Younis 89′)
Sunday 7th August, 2011
Cromer Park
Referee: James Lewis
Assistant Referees: Adam Coombes and Thomas Lee
Fourth Official: Thomas Klein
Manly United FC: 1.Dylan Mitchell; 3.Roberto Hamad, 4.Graeme Forbes, 5.Marc Richards, 7.Scott Balderson, 8.David Dodd, 9.Robbie Cattanach, (17.Matt Sim 55′) 10.Adam Foti, (12.Mitch Macedo 67′) 14.Sean Bowden, 18.Colin Iley, 25.Jordan Edwards (11.Justin Hayward 21′)
Substitutes Not Used: 22.Kang Ho Lee, 30.Will Pritchard
Yellow Cards: Dodd 5′
Red Cards: Hamad 55′
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers: 40.Stefan Giglio; 2.Mark Byrnes,3.John Kelso, 4.Cole Tinker, 5.Michael West, 7.Stephen Kayes, 8.Anthony Hartshorn, 11.Nick Rizzo,(9.Robbie Younis 57′) 13.David D’Apuzzo, 15.Adam D’Apuzzo, 23.Chris James
Substitutes Not Used: 10.Franco Parisi, 12. Andrew Vitucci, 16.Damir Prodanovic, 22.Hayden Salameh
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
