Stallions seal ‘Italian Derby part one’ in Leichhardt

Marconi Stallions scored an impressive 1-0 win over APIA-Leichhardt Tigers in the ‘Italian Derby’ matchup at Lambert Park on Saturday evening.

A late first-half goal to Damien Travis was the difference between the two sides in a match played in some very trying conditions following the heavy downpour that hit Sydney throughout the entire morning.

Travis’ winning goal was well-taken and keeps the Stallions charge towards the top-five moving in the right direction, meanwhile for APIA-Leichhardt Tigers it is back to the drawing board for newly appointed coach Nicola Rizzo who took over the top coaching job after Gary Ward’s departure in mid-week.

A very fresh evening and damp playing surface made ball movement very difficult for both sides in the opening exchanges as Franco Parisi warmed the home supporters up with a phenomenal slalom effort inside the opening 2’ minutes. The playmaker – despite showing the signs of the hamstring injury that has hindered his involvement recently – weaved his way between two markers on the halfway line before releasing Stephen Kayes down the right-flank, however the chance came to nothing for the Tigers.

Marconi carved out the first opening of note on 4’ minutes when Milorad Simonovic forced Ryan Norval down to his right after picking up a loose ball on the edge of the penalty-area.

Simonovic followed that up with another effort moments later, this time his shot on the turn failed to force the Tigers’ shot-stopper into a save.

On 11’ minutes, the Tigers had the Stallions stretched with some further skill and great vision from Parisi. The Tigers’ creative genius played Nikola Taneski into space with a tantalising chipped effort; the young striker made a fine run before pushing the ball further wide to Jin Sung Lee who stung the palms of James Chronopoulos with a venomous diagonal effort.

A midfield battle ensued as both sides aimed to grab a hold on proceedings in the middle of the park. Keith Shevlin kept busy in the Tigers midfield, making for an intriguing matchup with Nahuel Arrarte – the two former teammates not afraid of getting dirty on the soggy surface.

Parisi and Taneski combined again on 35’ minutes with the former releasing the latter with another pinpoint through ball. Taneski, struggling to bring the ball down, decided to hit it first time, though failed to make any clean contact as the chance went begging.

The Stallions took the lead on 43’ minutes with a well-taken effort. Damien Travis picked up a loose ball inside the penalty-area, and with the goalkeeper closing the angle, coolly drove the ball into an open net.

Marconi very nearly doubled its lead on two occasions in the 2’ final minutes of the opening half, both times via Tadhg Purcell. On the first occasion, the attacking midfielder met a perfectly floated cross from the left, connecting nicely though sending his shot over the crossbar.

30’’ second later, Purcell saw his headed attempt thwarted by a very alert Norval who kept the deficit at one going into the break.

The Tigers resurfaced from the dressing sheds with Gerard Ouffoue taking Taneski’s spot up front – APIA-Leichhardt looking to utilise the tall striker’s aerial abilities.

Marconi opened the second-half with the first attempt on goal, falling to the feet of Anthony Proia. The youngster had two bites at the cherry from the edge of the penalty-area, sending his second attempt wide of Chronopoulos’ right-hand post.

Ouffoue nearly made an immediate impact, rising highest on 48’ minutes to get his head to a Kayes free-kick from deep. The tall striker outmuscled his marker though failed to get enough direction on his header, sending the ball wide of goal.

Purcell should have double his side’s lead when played free on the right in the 50’ minute. Webb stretched the Tigers defensive line with a fine ball for Purcell, though after cutting in onto his left foot, the Stallions’ number 17 blasted his effort over the crossbar.

Marconi kept the foot on the accelerator as Simonovic was next to beat the offside trap and create a goal scoring chance. With only the goalkeeper to beat, Simonovic hit his effort over the crossbar.

For the Stallions, goal scorer Travis looked the goods down the right with some confident touches constantly starting the Marconi forward forays.

Despite APIA-Leichhardt’s best attempts to move the ball forward into the path of Ouffoue, it was the visiting Stallions who continued to threaten with the cleaner ball movement in the front-third. Shane Webb and Purcell combined in the 70’ minute with a nice interchange of passes before the latter was dispossessed by Bradley Bartels.

On 75’ minutes, Simonovic squandered a glorious chance to put the result beyond reach. Proia played a sensational through ball behind Mark Byrnes, though Simonovic’s attempt was well thwarted by Norval who quickly left his line to keep the deficit at one.

The Tigers created a clear chance for an equaliser when Ouffoue opened up the right flank with a neat turn to his left. The resulting cross picked out Shevlin who slipped on the wet surface and consequently failed to get a shot on goal.

In the 7’ minute, a whipped in cross from Parisi on the left found Ouffoue’s head though once more the striker’s attempt failed to test Chronopoulos.

APIA-Leichhardt coach Nick Rizzo added some further experience to the side when he took to the field to replace Korean signing Jin Sung Lee. Rizzo’s coaching on the park brought a new lease of life for the Tigers who upped the ante somewhat in the closing stages in search of an equaliser.

The task at hand was made ‘slightly’ easier when goal scorer Travis was shown his second yellow card of the evening 7’ minutes from the end for a blatant foul on the right-flank.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Arrarte & Co. still carved out a chance for a second. The Stallions captain played a neat ball into the path of Simonovic, however Adel El Jamal was quick to cut out the supply.

In the end, the ten men of Marconi held out to secure the three-points and take a massive step towards the top-five.

Following the referee’s final whistle, Marconi Stallions coach Jean-Paul De Marigny was very pleased with the result:

“Very happy with the boys efforts tonight, we have had a slow start to the season for a variety of reasons, though we are starting to come good,” explained De Marigny.

“I have played in this fixture for both clubs, and obviously it is a special fixture for both these clubs, so to get a win is very pleasing for us.

“I am happy with the progress we are making, I think that tonight we could have even scored a few more goals for the chances we created. I am very happy with the way we move the ball, even though tonight’s conditions made good ball movement difficult.

“We have some great talent at this club, and the players we were missing early on in the season have started to come back and we are now getting some good momentum,” De Marigny concluded.

The newly appointed APIA-Leichhardt Tigers coach, Nick Rizzo was disappointed in the result, though he could not fault his players for their efforts:

“Of course it is a tough result to take, losing any match, though we are going through a bit of a difficult moment at present in-terms of results,” commented Rizzo.

“We have looked good in phases, I think we finished very strongly tonight, and perhaps we could have even been good enough to snatch a goal for a draw.

“The boys are all putting in a big effort and I cannot question any of that.

“Gary Ward’s departure during the week was unexpected, though we need to all keep working hard to ensure we can give ourselves the best opportunity to do well this season.

“I still enjoy getting out on the field, though I now also have the coaching job which is something I hope will bring a turnaround for this club,” Rizzo ended.
Match Stats

APIA-Leichhardt Tigers 0

Marconi Stallions 1 (Damien Travis 43’ )

Saturday 20^th April, 2013

Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referees: Nathan Wotton and Craig Fisher
Fourth Official: Nathan Roberts
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers: 1.Ryan Norval; 2.Mark Byrnes (C), 8.David D’Apuzzo, 3.Adel El Jamal, 7.Stephen Kayes, 6.Jin Sung Lee (11.Nicola Rizzo 67’), 10.Franco Parisi, 4.Brendan Reilly (14.George Khoury 88’), 12.Keith Shevlin, 18.Nikola Taneski (9.Gerard Ouffoue 46’)
Substitutes Not Used: 40.Lucas North, 20.Joshua Symons
Yellow Cards:  Jin Sung Lee 26’, Keith Shevlin 90’+1’
Red Cards: Nil
Marconi Stallions: 22.James Chronopoulos; 26.Nahuel Arrarte (C), 3.Ali Haydar, 7.Sean O’Connell (31.Joshua Sotirio 89’), 12.Anthony Proia (8.Jared Lum 81’), 17.Tadhg Purcell, 10.Milorad Simonovic, 2.Mitchell Thompson, 4.Umut Tokdogan, 19.Damien Travis, 6.Shane Webb