IGA NPL NSW Grade 20s Finals Series Round 3 Preview

Rockdale City Suns and APIA-Leichhardt Tigers go head-to-head on Sunday afternoon, as they look to join Marconi Stallions in the Grand Final.
Rockdale City have already overcome APIA-Leichhardt in this finals series, beating them 3-1 in the first week, coincidentally also at Sydney United Sports Centre.
APIA-Leichhardt will rue that match as the one that got away, as they dominated the first half before being caught on the break in the shadows of half time.
They eventually went down 3-1, pitching them into a Minor Semi-Final against Blacktown City FC at Seymour Shaw Park last weekend.
Again, they created a multitude of chances that they were unable to put away and again they fell behind to a nice goal by Bruno Antelmi.
Sean Symons equalised and the match went to penalties after extra-time couldn’t decide the match.
Simon Jaeger made an important save to deny Luke Clifford from the spot and APIA-Leichhardt survived another day.
Rockdale City meanwhile, had a Major Semi-Final against Marconi Stallions last weekend.
Although they were 2-0 down with 10’ minutes to go, they managed to force extra time, but Marconi got away from them in the extra period, eventually qualifying for the Grand Final with a 4-2 win.
It means they meet APIA-Leichhard once again. These two sides know each other devilishly well after their Week 1 Finals clash, as well as a late-season meeting at the Ilinden Sports Centre, a match won by a fantastic free kick by Josh Basara.
Can APIA-Leichhardt take advantage of the chance they create, or will Rockdale City’s clinical nature send them to the Grand Final?
The respective right-winers, Toufic Alameddine at Rockdale City and Matthew Castelnuovo at APIA-Leichhardt are in fine form.
With the looming prospect of extra-time and penalties, the goalkeepers, Aaron Liddell and Simon Jaeger, will also be the centre of attention in what should be a classic Semi-Final.
– By Matthew Connellan