Trio secure Premiership for Sydney Olympic
Goals to Alex Smith, Chris Triantis and Ibrahim Haydar ensured there would be no final day upsets after the Blues? difficult final month of the season.
Peter Tsekenis welcomed back Alex Smith to the squad following the striker?s departure from A-League side Gold Coast United, and the striker looked at home from the opening whistle, despite missing the majority of the second-half of the season with the club.
The Tigers were without striker Chris James and defender Michael West, leaving Anthony Hartshorn to play the sole-striker role up-front, with Franco Parisi playing just off him.
The home side started strongly with the first opening in the 1? minute as Brett Studman got down low to head Chris Triantis? free-kick from the right. The defender?s crunching header had Stefan Giglio beaten though finished on the wrong side of the post.
The Tigers response arrived in the 6? minute as Franco Parisi played a tantalising through ball into the path of Anthony Hartshorn to send him one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Paul Henderson quickly cleared his line to thwart any danger as Hartshorn picked up a yellow card for his late challenge on the shot-stopper.
The Tigers continued to pepper the Blues defence with consecutive corners, though on both occasions Henderson used his strength and experience to claim Nick Rizzo?s deliveries.
At the other end, Sydney Olympic found the lead. Alex Smith capitalised on some poor communicating amongst the Tigers defenders as he stole the ball from Giglio?s grasp to calmly slot the ball home into an empty net.
Mark Byrnes found an opening on 23? minutes for the Tigers to respond, albeit from distance. The defender blasted his effort on goal, denied only by a last-ditch deflection from a Blues defender inside the penalty-area.
2? minutes later, Parisi had Henderson scrambling down to his right as the Tigers captain drove a fierce effort inches wide of the post.
Somewhat against the run of play, Sydney Olympic doubled their lead in the 26? minute. A poorly dealt with clearance by the Tigers defence saw the ball fall into the path of Chris Triantis on the edge of the penalty-area. The attacking midfielder took an initial touch before blasting a low-driven effort into the back of the net.
The goal proved to break the spirits of the Tigers players as the Blues took control. As the half drew to a close, Emmanuel Giannaros went close with adding a third for the home side in the 40? minute. The right-sided defender got forward for a Blues set-piece as he latched onto David Gullo?s delivery from the right. From an acute angle, and under the watchful eye of his marker, Giannaros blasted his effort over the crossbar.
On 44? minutes, Robbie Mileski showed his athletic side as he threw his body to line up a bicycle kick. With little room to move, Mileski failed to get a clean boot on the ball as the chance went begging.
Following the interval, A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt held some good possession in the middle of the park as Parisi released Hartshorn down the right. The Blues defenders however retreated quickly to clear any danger.
The Tigers had the Blues stretched moments later following an exceptional exchange of passes between Stephen Kayes, Hartshorn and Adam D?Apuzzo. The latter hit a long-range effort, hard and low, directly into the waiting arms of Henderson.
At the other end, Smith nearly caught the Tigers defence unawares with a well-timed run in behind the defenders. Smith used his pace well, though was denied by Giglio who only just anticipated the Blues striker with a desperate clearance.
The Blues added their third goal 1? minute later. Phil Makrys? perfectly floated free-kick from the right met the head of Ibrahim Haydar. The burly defender finished with aplomb, much to the delight of the home supporters.
The visitors responded in the 58? minute via Parisi. The Tigers captain received a neat square ball on the edge of the penalty-area courtesy of Hartshorn before creating some space to unleash a shot on goal. Blues? goalkeeper Henderson was up to the task as he made a routine save.
Sydney Olympic went close to making it four on 63? minutes as Chris Triantis picked out Smith with a perfectly floated cross. Smith, with the goal at his mercy, poked his first-time effort over the crossbar.
Stephen Kayes should have pulled a goal back for the Tigers in the 70? minute as he found himself one-on-one with Henderson. Kayes attempted an audacious chip over the already committed Henderson, though the attempt lacked any conviction as the Blues defenders cleared on the goal line.
Rizzo then tried his luck in the 73? minute to potentially re-open the contest with a free-kick from distance, though his direct attempt at goal was expertly saved by the Blues shot-stopper.
On 75? minutes, Gullo squandered the perfect chance to add further shine to a Premiership winning victory. The left-sided midfielder received a loose ball at the back post, and with a promising look-in on goal, drove his left-foot drive across the face of goal and wide of the mark.
With the referee?s final whistle, scenes of jubilation were seen at Belmore Sports Ground with the Sydney Olympic supporters rejoicing their side?s fine 2011 campaign to-date.
Coach Peter Tsekenis was ecstatic with the final outcome:
?This is a fantastic feeling, it is really huge,? commented Tsekenis.
?I?m happy for the boys and the club, it has been hard work though well deserved.
?As a player or as a coach, I have always aspired to win things. My first year at a big club like Sydney Olympic, a club that I have played for, the club I supported as a kid. Is just a fabulous feeling, so I am really happy.
?A lot of these supporters and club members have been waiting a long time for such a win, and it is a credit to them and the club for the result we have managed to achieve today.
?Today I was really happy with the players. All teams at some point over the season go through a slump, it is normal.
?The boys today started well, they really wanted it, they could smell the victory and each player put in a great performance to ensure that we got the result that we needed, as it was entirely in our hands today.
?Our attentions now turn to the finals, we will await and see who we come up against, though a home match in the finals series will be great, and we will be ready for it.
?Next weekend we have the match against Sydney FC which will be great for the club at this venue. I want to give all the players a run, rotating as many as possible, as it is a weekend off and I don?t want the boys to have an entire week off ahead of some tough matches in the League,? Tsekenis ended.
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers? captain Franco Parisi was disappointed following the final whistle, though is certain his beloved Tigers will be back for a much better one next year:
?Very disappointed with the result, I thought we started well and were even more in control of the match in the first part of the match.
?We conceded a very soft goal which hurt us, and then following their second goal we lost our way.
?It has been a difficult season, though we will take a lot from it and look to hit the ground on the right foot next season,? concluded Parisi.
In the Grade-20 division, A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers scored an emphatic 6-1 win over Sydney Olympic.
Match Stats
Sydney Olympic 3 (Alex Smith 19?, Chris Triantis 26?, Ibrahim Haydar 56?)
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers 0
Sunday 4th September, 2011
Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: Nick Backo and Craig Fisher
Fourth Official: Nathan Roberts
Sydney Olympic: 1.Paul Henderson; 2.Emmanuel Giannaros, 3.Brett Studman, 4.Ibrahim Haydar, 5.Richard Luksic (C), 7.Phil Makrys, 8.Chris Triantis, 19.David Gullo, 16.Peter Triantis (17.Mitchell Stamatelis 71?), 11.Robbie Mileski (15.Tod Bamber 78?), 6.Alex Smith (14.Will Angel 86?)
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Sam Emmanouil, 22.Zac Elrich
Yellow Cards: Brett Studman 79?
Red Cards: Nil
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers: 40.Stefan Giglio; 2.Mark Byrnes, 3.John Kelso, 4.Cole Tinkler, 7.Stephen Kayes, 13.David D?Apuzzo, 15.Adam D?Apuzzo, 11.Nick Rizzo, 10.Franco Parisi (C), 8.Anthony Hartshorn, 18.Nathan Millgate
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Michael Frost, 9.Robbie Younis, 12.Andrew Vitucci, 16.Damir Prodanovic, 19.Brad Bartels
Yellow Cards: Anthony Hartshorn 6?, Adam D?Apuzzo 27?, David D?Apuzzo 72?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joseph Carlucci
