Stallions snatch derby bragging rights from Tigers
Marconi Stallions kept its finals hopes alive with a fine team effort to see off newly crowned Waratah Cup winners APIA-Leichhardt Tigers on Sunday afternoon.
Played at a fast pace throughout, the Stallions netted once in each half via Milorad Simonovic and Elsid Barkhousir, on either side of Jason Oswell’s strike for the Tigers.
This fixture, dubbed the ‘Italian Derby’ for the origins and history of both clubs, never fails to produce passion and entertainment, and the 90’ minutes today did really showcase this.
Both sides tried their luck early with some surging runs down the far side of the pitch – opposite the main grand stand. David D’Apuzzo and Keith Shevlin maneuvered the ball well for the visitors meanwhile the Stallions gained some good territory with Sean O’Connell and Milorad Simonovic combining ever so well.
It was the Stallions that created the first goal scoring opportunity on 4’ minutes, and it arrived via a set-piece. Shane Webb, with his sensational left-peg, stung the chest of Tigers’ goalkeeper Andrew Bazi who made a claim of the rocket-like free-kick.
APIA-Leichhardt responded down the other end with Miroslav Radulovic showing his blistering pace. The right-sided winger got in behind the Stallions defence before delivering a cross that was a touch too high for Oswell, and only just cut out by the Marconi defence as Shevlin lined-up at the back post.
Marconi captain Nahuel Arrarte was his usual busy self, covering a lot of ground for his side and winning the ball in his own half to start an attack that led to the opening goal. Tadhg Purcell was released down the right and he cut back an exquisite cross from the byline that fell into the path of an unmarked Simonovic. The Marconi number 10 was definitely assisted by a slight deflection by a Tigers’ player that held the ball up for him, though there was no questioning the marvellous finish by the Marconi marksman.
It was Arrarte again who carved out the Stallions next goal scoring chance on 14’ minutes, once more winning the ball in midfield. The Marconi veteran played an exceptional through ball into the path of Elsid Barkhousir who saw his first-time shot on goal captured at the second attempt by Bazi.
Some Franco Parisi magic in the middle of the park got the Tigers moving forward as he opened up some space for Shevlin with a fine twist and turn before releasing the number 8. Shevlin too looked to beat his marker with a sharp turn though the Marconi defenders thwarted the attempt with numbers behind the ball.
APIA-Leichhardt found its equaliser in the 23’ minute, and it was some fine build up in the process that brought about the goal.
A long searching ball from deep by Brad Bartels picked out a well-timed Parisi run onto the edge of the box. Parisi, as elegant as ever, played a fine touch inside to his left, playing in Oswell who lined up his shot before blasting past James Chronopoulos.
The goal really spurred the Tigers into action as Parisi again was the orchestrator of another fine attack.
The number 10 won the ball down the right to release Radulovic who picked out Shevlin at the back post. The midfielder’s first touch into the path of Oswell opened the space for the striker to blast on goal, though from a slightly acute angle Chronopoulos made himself big to make a fabulous save.
Marconi responded via Mitchell Thompson down the left. The wing back got forward and whipped in a dangerous cross that had the Tigers on the back foot, though Bazi was quick to bring calm, leaving his line swiftly to thwart any danger.
The home side finished the first-half strongly with some great ball possession out on the right flank. All the distribution started at the feet of Arrarte who, with the assistance of midfield partner Webb, continued to feed the likes of Purcell, O’Connell and Simonovic with some well-timed passes. Even with the possession, however, the Tigers’ defensive line was very well marshalled by Paul Galimi and Adel El Jamal who made life difficult for the Marconi strikers.
Despite the lack of clear opportunities for the home side, Barkhousir was handed a golden chance in injury-time. Played through on goal, and under immense pressure from El Jamal who made a strong run to track back, the Stallions’ striker could only blast his effort over the crossbar from a very promising position – much to the disappointment of the home supporters.
Purcell go the second period off on the right foot for Marconi with his 50’ minute run from deep that had the supporters on their feet. Purcell showed speed, and great skill, to round three markers before a slight slip inside the penalty-area saw the Tigers’ defenders swiftly clear any danger.
Purcell was in the thick of the action again only 2’ minutes later as he this time release O’Connell further down the right-flank. Despite getting to the byline, the attacking midfielder failed to keep the ball away from Bazi who made a perfectly timed intervention.
APIA-Leichhardt’s first sight of goal for the second period arrived via a Parisi corner delivery from the left. The perfectly floated effort picked out the head of El Jamal who only just failed to hit the target.
Striker Oswell had a look-in from the re-start, though he was called back for offside as his shot on goal came back off the post.
The Tigers goalkeeper, Bazi showed all his worth on 58’ minutes when he made an exceptional save to deny Thompson’s long-range, diagonal, effort from the edge of the penalty-area. Hit with some venom indeed, Bazi parried the first attempt before throwing his body onto the ball to deny any Marconi striker sniffing around for scraps.
The action was certainly heating up with both sides looking to find the go-ahead goal. Marconi perhaps should have found that goal in the 53’ minute when Barkhousir was again played in behind the Tigers defence. Despite the good run, however, immense pressure from the retreating defenders saw the striker drive his effort directly at Bazi who made a strong save for APIA-Leichhardt.
The momentum seemed to swing each way for the minutes that followed as Webb tried his luck for Marconi from distance, only just failing to keep his left-foot drive down enough.
The Tigers on the other hand continued to look lively on the break with Stephen Kayes lifting alongside Keith Shevlin as the midfield looked to get the ball to Parisi and Oswell as efficiently as possible.
The Stallions, for their good possession in the second-half, found their match winner 10’ minutes from the end. A fine counterattack, started by Purcell with a fabulous through ball to Simonovic, had the Tigers stretched. Simonovic cleverly drove to the byline before playing a low-driven cross into the path of Barkhousir who diverted the ball into the back of the net with one of the most exquisite flicks. The goal certainly a contender for goal of the week for its pure genius, and execution.
Despite holding the lead, Marconi continued to press for more goals and Simonovic went very close to bagging a third for the home side. The number 10’s blasted long-range effort smashed against the crossbar with Bazi well and truly beaten.
Perhaps the Tigers best chance of the half arrived 2’ minutes from time via the right boot of Oswell. The striker used his upper body strength to his advantage to bring the ball down to foot, though his shot lacked the power it needed to beat Chronopoulos.
Following the match, Stallions coach Jean-Paul De Marigny was very pleased with the performance of his troops:
“Very, very happy with the performance today, and obviously the result,” commented De Marigny.
“Our passing game was good, the boys were full of energy and that is just what I want to be seeing at the moment.
“Our objective is to defend the title, and I feel that we are edging towards the form I want the team to be at, so I am very confident that we can finish the season off nicely and be ready for finals football after that.
“Today, all the boys were great, I can’t single out only one, though the interpretation of their roles, especially that of Arrarte, was brilliant. All the boys though were great,” De Marigny ended.
Out of the Tigers sheds, the mood was a little less pleasant:
“Congratulations to Marconi for the performance, and win, today,” said Tigers’ coach Billy McColl.
“We had a good week preparing the match, so I feel that everything was in line for us to do well.
“We did have a good period in the first-half, after the initial 20’ minutes, and I thought we did dominate in spells.
“In the second-half, the match did open up somewhat, though credit to Marconi.
“The task at hand remains the same for us, I have told the boys that we need to keep moving and we need to get the results to ensure we avoid relegation,” McColl concluded.
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 2 (Milorad Simonovic 9’, Elsid Barkhousir 80’)
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers 1 (Jason Oswell 23’)
Sunday 14th of July, 2013
Marconi Stadium
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referees: Thomas Lee and Lance Greenshields
Fourth Official: Katie-Louise Patterson
Marconi Stallions: 22.James Chronopoulos; 2.Mitchell Thompson, 3.Ali Haydar, 4.Umut Tokdogan, 6.Shane Webb, 7.Sean O’Connell, 8.Jared Lum, 10.Milorad Simonovic, 17.Tadhg Purcell, 26.Nahuel Arrarte (C), 45.Elsid Barkhousir (16.Mark Cindric 45’+2’)
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Stefan Giglio; 25.Kojiro Hori, 18.Jake Mcging, 23.Christopher Nunes
Yellow Cards: Tadhg Purcell 17’, Nahuel Arrarte 69’
Red Cards: Nil
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers: 21.Andrew Bazi; 3.Adel El Jamal, 7.Stephen Kayes (C), 8.Keith Shevlin, 9.Jason Oswell, 10.Franco Parisi (16.Sean Symons 78’), 11.Paul Galimi, 12.Miroslav Radulovic (2.Mark Byrnes 52’), 13.David D’Apuzzo, 14.Aaron Clapham, 15.Bradley Bartels
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Nicholas Dimos; 17.Brendan Reilly, 20.Joshua Symons
Yellow Cards: Jason Oswell 26’
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joseph Carlucci
