Tigers roar to claim Sydney Olympic scalp
Trailing 1-0 following a sensational Saw Awad strike early in the second-half, the Tigers responded immediately with an equally impressive goal by inspirational playmaker Franco Parisi, before Andrew Bevin scored shortly after the winning goal via the penalty-spot.
In a match where both sides had their chances, it was the Tigers who showed that extra grunt with a fine performance across the park, led by Mark Byrnes in defence.
The Tigers unveiled new signing Ethan Gailbraith ? a New Zealand Under-23 international striker ? and the tall man showed all the good that he can add to this squad with a fine first performance.
Sydney Olympic should have opened the scoring in the 3? minute when David Gullo played a tantalising ball into the path of Chris Triantis. With only the goalkeeper to beat, Triantis volleyed his effort wide of the target, much to the disbelief of the Sydney Olympic bench.
APIA-Leichhardt responded in the 6? minute with a quick throw-in taken by Michael Hawrysiuk to release Gailbraith. The Kiwi import showed pace and good anticipation to get in behind the defence, though his centre from the right by-line failed to find a Tigers teammate.
A fierce midfield battle ensued with some tough tackling happening in the middle of the park as both sides showed their intent to look for goals.
Tigers? playmaker Parisi showed his worth on 9? minutes as he perfectly switched play from left to right to release Stephen Kayes, however the Blues defenders were quick to thwart any danger.
For the visitors, Phil Makrys was his ever energetic self creating some space for his front men with his composure on the ball and pin-point accuracy off his right boot.
On 13? minutes, Kayes tried his luck for the Tigers with a long-range effort, though the shot lacked accuracy with the ball finishing well wide of the target.
1? minute later at the other end, Emmanuel Giannaros saw his header from point-blank range expertly parried by Tigers? goalkeeper Anthony Costa. Makrys? perfectly floated free-kick from the right picked out the tall defender, who got good purchase on the header, though failed to beat the shot-stopper.
The home side squandered a golden chance for the opening goal on 16? minutes. Another Hawrysiuk long throw-in from the right was this time flicked on by Gailbraith at the near post into the path of Bevin who, from point-blank range, was denied by Henderson.
APIA-Leichhardt maintained the pressure in the attacking third and were awarded free-kicks in quick succession. The second, on 20? minutes from the right, saw the ball played square into the path of Bevin who somewhat uncharacteristically blasted his effort over the crossbar.
Hirofumi Moriyasu nearly caught Henderson unawares in the 23? minute with an ambitious chip from distance. The Blues? shotstopper was scrambling to get back, though managed a strong fist to divert the ball over the crossbar.
Sydney Olympic made some noise of their own in the attacking third via the feet of Chris Triantis on 25? minutes. The attacking midfielder beat two markers with some fine trickery to create space for a shot before unleashing his effort into the side netting.
The Tigers immediately returned their attentions to attack in the 28? minute, as Hawrysiuk sent a long-range free-kick wide of the target.
Sydney Olympic?s best goal scoring chances arrived via set-pieces, though as the half wore on, David Gullo?s speed and skill, down the left started to cause the Tigers some headaches.
In the closing stages of the half, Sydney Olympic created a marvellous goal scoring opportunity for Will Angel who was sent through on goal. Even though the midfielder blasted his effort wide, the referee?s assistant had his flag up for offside.
Peter Tsekenis was forced to turn to his bench in the 44? minute as Blaz Dejanovic was replaced after picking up a knock. The defender was replaced by striker Sam Awad, as Angel slotted in at right back with Giannaros and Brett Studman holding the central defence in line.
The opening goal arrived early in the second period and it fell to the visitors. First-half substitute Sam Awad, with his back to goal, took a touch on the edge of the penalty-area before volleying a left-foot drive into the top right-hand corner ? another contender for goal of the season.
The Blues delight was short lived however as APIA-Leichhardt immediately went down the other end and found their equaliser. D?Apuzzo played a neat short ball from the left into the path of Parisi who blasted his shot past Henderson.
Sydney Olympic showed their intentions via David Gullo, the left-sided winger?s hunger to shine in this match with a great performance, and his commitment could not be questioned in the 61? minute as he put his body on the line in a fierce contrast with Mark Byrnes ? one of the Tigers? best performers.
APIA-Leichhardt should have taken the lead in the 62? minute following some great play by Parisi down the right-flank. The Tigers? number 10 crossed into the penalty-area though neither Byrnes first, nor Bevin, could divert the ball into the back of the net. The latter somehow driving his effort off target from close-range.
The Tigers persistence did reap reward as Bevin won his side a penalty for a foul by Studman on Bevin in the 63? minute. The young striker dusted himself off to take the spot-kick and made no mistake, driving his effort into the back of the net.
Sydney Olympic looked to up the tempo in search of an equaliser though the Tigers defence, led exceptionally well by Byrnes and Adel El Jamal, gave very little away.
The Tigers were made to sweat it out in the 70? minute as Zac Elrich first, then a goalmouth scramble immediately after, saw the Tigers players throw their bodies around to thwart two clear attempts on goal.
At the other end, Parisi continued to show all his experience ? the APIA-Leichhardt playmaker continued to hold the ball nicely in the middle of the park before picking out the decisive ball to release his front men.
The Tigers number 10 was involved again on 79? minutes as his corner from the right was delivered to the edge of the penalty-area. Hawrysiuk was the target and the midfielder drove a powerful first-time effort only inches over the crossbar.
Sydney Olympic pressed late on through Zac Elrich first, then Joel Woods, though the final ball was constantly off the mark, meanwhile the Tigers were reduced to ten-men deep into injury-time as David D?Apuzzo picked up his second yellow card of the afternoon for time wasting.
Following the match, APIA-Leichhardt Assistant Coach Nicola Rizzo was pleased with his side?s showing:
?Very happy with the result today, the boys played a really good match,? Rizzo commented.
?We went a goal behind, though testament to the players for their effort to keep fighting, and we scored two great goals (Franco?s strike and Bevin?s penalty).
?In all, I think we played well and deserved the three-points so it really is a morale boosting win for us after some good performances so far, where we haven?t been able to score goals and get wins.?
The Tigers? unveiling of Kiwi striker Ethan Gailbraith was also telling today ? the striker?s performance was brilliant:
?Ethan is a great addition to our squad, today he added an extra dimension to our game, perhaps something that has been missing this season.
?We started to defend from the front, and he run very hard for us, and also held the ball up nicely when we got forward ? we are vey happy with his input today,? expressed the Tigers? Assistant Coach.
Asked whether this win against the reigning champions could signal the turning point for Sydney Olympic, Rizzo wasn?t ready to get too far ahead of himself:
?We played a great match, and we have been playing well so far this season.
?Today?s win is certainly important for us after some not so positive results, though we aren?t going to start thinking too far ahead of ourselves at this point. We?ll take this win and look to improve, though only taking one match at a time starting next weekend ? next week is Round 7, we have a long way to go until the end of the season,? Rizzo concluded.
A disappointed Olympic skipper, Phil Makrys was visibly upset after the Blues dropped three points at the hands of the Tigers.
?We didn?t play our best football today, it was a very scrappy affair, a lot of stop and start football but obviously very upset with the result.
?Full credit to APIA, they showed more determination and put in more effort in certain areas, they pressured us and got something out of the match.
?We unfortunately failed to take our chances and there were certain decisions that did not go our way and had they gone, I felt that it would have changed the complexion of the match but that?s football.
?This coming week will test our character as we have two tough matches, one against the Marconi Stallions in round 3 of the Waratah Cup and then our competition match against Blacktown City FC so we are looking forward to getting back on track.?
Match Stats
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers 2 (Franco Parisi 51?, Andrew Bevin 63? (pen) )
Sydney Olympic 1 (Sam Awad 50? )
Sunday 6th May, 2012
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: Kevin Peddie
Assistant Referees: Nicholas Backo and Christian Mehl
Fourth Official: James Tesoriero
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers: 21.Anthony Costa; 2.Mark Byrnes, 3.Adel El Jamal, 5.Michael West (C), 12.Andrew Bevin, 7.Stephen Kayes, 9.Ethan Gailbraith, 10.Franco Parisi (6.Danial Cummins 86?), 13.David D?Apuzzo, 16.Michael Hawrysiuk, 14.Hirofumi Moriyasu,
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Stefan Giglio, 17.Sam Salameh, 15.Bradley Bartels, 20.Wandi Jajaw
Yellow Cards: Andrew Bevin 32?, David D?Apuzzo 37?, Stephen Kayes 69?, Michael Hawrysiuk 71?
Red Cards: David D?Apuzzo 90?+2?
Sydney Olympic: 1.Paul Henderson; 2.Emmanuel Giannaros, 3.Brett Studman, 5.Blaz Dejanovic (14.Sam Awad 44?), 18.David Dascal (15.Zac Elrich 70?), 19.David Gullo, 11.Will Angel, 8.Peter Triantis, 10.Chris Triantis, 7.Phil Makrys (C), 17.Kutaiba Elrich (16.Joel Woods 80?)
Substitutes Not Used: 32.Luke Kairies, 9.Aman Hadid
Yellow Cards: Peter Triantis 18?, Kutaiba Elrich 69?, Chris Triantis 71?
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 ? Andrew Bevin (ALT)
2 ? Franco Parisi (ALT)
1 ? Mark Byrnes (ALT)
-By Joseph Carlucci
