10-man Sharks defeat Tigers at Seymour Shaw in season opener
As expected this fixture began at frenetic pace with plenty of early aggression and commitment shown by both sides and three minutes in, Panni Nikas had a fierce shot blocked by APIA defender Mark Byrnes in Sutherland?s first aggressive foray forward.
The returning Blake Powell had the ball in the net on 15? minutes when being put through by Matt Bailey but the Sharks player was ruled offside and parity remained.
The Sharks were the first to show they were finding their feet and had settled on the ball quicker.
APIA however, never dominated, were proving a tough nut to crack but didn?t create any openings of note within the first-half as George Souris led the Sharks defence comfortably with everything thrown at them as well as Nick Stavroulakis marshalling the midfield.
The play was enterprising yet defenders were uncompromising, so boring the game was not as neither side wanted to drop points in the opening fixture.
The Sharks went close when the ball popped up for Bailey in the APIA penalty-area from a free-kick, though he couldn?t gain enough purchase to bury his header as it slipped past the post.
APIA were forced to make a change when Brad Bartels replaced Stephen Kayes in the 36? minute and almost went behind immediately but goals were proving elusive to come by as Sutherland slowly began to gain the upper hand in midfield.
However, APIA almost took the lead in the 40? minute when a David D?Appuzzo shot was cleared off the line by Sharks captain Souris, a warning the Tigers were always dangerous before Wandi Jajaw sent a rasping shot just wide from the edge of the box the point had been made.
The visitors were finishing the half the stronger with Kiwi import Andrew Bevin showing his worth as coach John Turner would have been the unhappier at the at the sound of the half-time whistle
A succession of early corners to APIA after the break still couldn?t produce the goal that would break the deadlock as they began the half as they finished the first, on the front foot with the visitors taking the game to the home side.
Sharks stand-in goalkeeper Simon Jaeger had to be down sharply to thwart Wandi Jajaw when put clean through in the 52? minute as APIA turned the screws.
Hussein Salameh broke down the left for Sutherland but couldn?t pick out Panni Nikas in the box as the home team countered and the game burst into life with end-to-end thrills and spills.
A moment of madness soon followed however, as Blake Powell was shown a straight red card following an altercation with APIA?s David D?Appuzzo. The Sharks player appeared to lead with the head in the heat of the moment, an error that could have hurt the ten-men of Sutherland.
The Sharks however grabbed the match by the scruff of its neck in the 69? minute as Matt Bailey was felled in the APIA box. The referee awarded the home side a penalty, taken and despatched by Panni Nikas in yet another twist to the match as the 10-men of Sutherland took the lead against the run of play.
It was backs to the wall stuff for Sutherland in the closing stages as APIA heaped on the pressure with a plethora of last ditch tackles in the box as the Sharks put their bodies on the line.
Jaegar came out to punch the ball clear but straight onto the head of an onrushing APIA forward that looped over the Sharks shot-stopper, onto the crossbar and finally over as the Leichhardt boys were left to rue their bad luck once more.
Sutherland played the more controlled football after going a man down, particularly when playing out from the back, whilst the Tigers continued trying to hit the big target men in the box without really stretching the home side down the flanks.
When Brad Bartels went on a dashing run from defence for the visitors, just after picking up a caution, he saw his header hit the crossbar and slip over in almost identical fashion signalling this was not to be their night in the Shire.
It was tense, nervy for the home team but they stuck to their guns with tenacity, determination and a little luck to hold out for the three-points in a thrilling encounter that, should the standard hold for all games, see another fantastic NSW Premier League season unfold with style.
A disconsolate assistant APIA coach Nicola Rizzo said afterwards:
?The boys are absolutely gutted after this one, we were against 10-men, hit the bar twice but couldn?t find the net.
?Overall it was a very pleasing display and one we can take a lot from as there were plenty of positive signs tonight and we feel we should have got a draw at least but that?s football and we?ll go into our next match with plenty of confidence.?
Sutherland Sharks coach Robbie Stanton commented:
?We had four players under the age of twenty out there and I decided to change our style of play away from our normal one and thought we controlled the match for much of it.
?I thought we were excellent after the sending off of Blake (Powell), and apart from a couple of times when we overplayed it from the back I don?t think we were ever under that much pressure really.
?Our pre-match plan worked and at the end of the day it?s about the three points and we got them and the younger lads in the squad will get better with the more games they play so I am pleased with the result in what was a typical opening season fixture.?
Match Stats
Sutherland Sharks 1 (Panni Nikas 68? (pen))
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers 0
Saturday 31st March, 2012
Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda
Referee: Alex Glasgow
Assistant Referees: Craig Fisher and Michael Robertson
Fourth Official: Nathan Roberts
Sutherland Sharks: 22.Simon Jaegar; 2.George Souris (C), 6.Matthew Gordon, 9.Hussein Salameh (8.Chris Price 62?), 10.Matt Bailey, 12.Hayden Morton, 14.Nick Stavroulakis, 17.Pat Savor (16.Klim Gjorseski 73?), 18.Michael Stuart, 19.Blake Powell, 23.Panni Nikas,
Substitutes Not Used: 5.Paul Cotte, 40.Todd Halloran, 42.Marko Bozic
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Powell 58?
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers: 21.Anthony Costa; 2.Mark Byrnes, 3.Adel El Jamal, 5.Michael West (C), 12.Andrew Bevin, 7.Stephen Kayes (15.Drad Bartels 36?), 8.Adam D?Appuzzo, 10.Franco Parisi (6.Danial Cummins 89?), 20.Wandi Jajaw (4.Stephen Lloyd 56?), 13.David D?Appuzzo, 16.Michael Hawrysiuk
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Stefan Giglio, 11.Nicola Rizzo
Yellow Cards: D.D?Appuzzo 65?, Byrnes 76?, Bartels 88?
Red Cards: Nil
3 ? George Souris (SS)
2 ? Andrew Bevin (ALT)
1 ? Nick Stavroulakis (SS)
-By Micky Brock
