“Team effort reason for Cup success”: Parisi
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers brought smiles to the faces of its supporters on Sunday afternoon when the side capped off a tremendous Waratah Cup run with a triumphant 3-0 defeat of Sutherland Sharks in the Final.
The Tigers campaign has been sensational, with the side claiming the scalps of Marconi Stallions, Bonnyrigg White Eagles, and now, Sutherland Sharks in the process.
APIA-Leichhardt enforced its tactics to face the Sharks to near perfection as Panni Nikas and Nick Olsen, along with the width created by Nik Tsattalios and Nathan Elasi, were annulled throughout the 90’ minutes.
In the front-third, it was the brilliance of playmaker Franco Parisi who pulled all the strings, putting on a spectacle of fine football for the spectators present.
The Man of the Match, Parisi, was delighted with his side’s showing.
“Sport is 90% about confidence, and we have lacked confidence this season,” started Parisi.
“This win is so important for the group as we have had a difficult season, we have lacked confidence for large spells, though we have put it all right in the Cup, and this will be a massive boost for us heading towards the end of the season.”
The Tigers’ number 10 was immense against the Sharks, though despite him claiming all the accolades following Chris Young’s final whistle, Parisi makes it clear that it was the collective performance of each of his teammates that made the win possible.
“The football today was really good, and that made the result possible.
“I felt really good out there, I was lacking a bit of fitness after not starting a lot of matches recently, though we got things right today.
“I need to mention the help of my teammates who moved into spaces, played off me nicely, and everything else just fell into place.”
The Tigers’ League form has been worrying with the Tigers sitting in a position that a club like APIA-Leichhardt is not accustomed to.
“The club has put a lot of effort into organising new facilities and a lot happens behind the scenes to make this club one of the best in the Premier League.
“This win tonight is massive to give something back to the club, though we now need to respond further by giving more. As of Tuesday it will be concentration back onto the league.”
APIA’s irregular season can be looked at as one with some massive distractions, including the bumpy home playing surface, and the side’s entire first part of the season played at home, though Parisi has his own ideas on how the side’s season is unfolding.
“We want to have a winning mentality here, something that we have started to improve on recently. We need to have a winning mentality and not a ‘participating’ mentality,” explained the Tigers’ number 10.
“Earlier on in the season everyone was taking the field though it was with individuals working hard and not the team collectively.
“Our performances of late are telling a different story to what we saw earlier on in the season, we are really now starting to gel well together.”
With the Cup win in the bag, the Tigers have all in order to make the run home to the end of the season a successful one.
-By Joseph Carlucci