IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 Grade 20s Round 1 Review

Round 1 or the IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 Grade 20s kicked off this weekend in what was a pulsating start to the season for some of NSW’s rising stars.

MATCH OF THE ROUND

St George FC 1-1 APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC, at WIN Jubilee Oval

St George FC and APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC played out a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon at Win Jubilee Oval.

For the newly promoted team it was a baptism of fire. APIA dominated play, controlling the ball, making skilful passes and made sure to keep the home side’s goalkeeper on his toes.

Within minutes APIA had already produced their first corner. The set piece gave an opportunity for Adam Funari to give APIA the lead, but he swiped at the ball, missing his chance.

St George weren’t without their chances though.

Their best opportunity came in the 23′ minute but a soft finish was easily saved by the APIA goalkeeper, Christopher Moore.

It was scoreless at half time, APIA unable to take advantage of their dominance and St George lucky to keep the visitors at bay.

The second half was a complete reversal of the first half with APIA lacking their earlier dominance. St George had clearly heededtheir half time team talk, coming onto the ground with much needed aggression and a willingness to attack.

It was this change in pace by both teams that saw St George produce their first goal for the season and take the lead in the 57′.

A clever run by St George up the centre of the field was followed up by a skilful run from Prince Gyamfi who drew the defence and goalkeeper just outside the 18 yard box, leaving James Spanoudakis unmarked to tap in the cross.

It was the dynamic interchange between Mohamed Kardoli, Prince Gyamfi and James Spanoudakis that opened up space and created many opportunities for St George.

Within five minutes of their opening goal, the home side had almost recreated the same play, however this time nothing eventuated.

The 74′ minute brought the equaliser for APIA.

A free kick from Blade Richards rebounded off the post, allowing substitute Lucas Wilkinson to finish it off with a header straight into the net.

It was a bit of a scramble, but a goal nonetheless and so it stayed, the sides sharing the Round 1 points.

Perhaps it was because it was the first game of the season, perhaps even the weather, but both teams will need to ensure they are more consistent for the full 90 minutes as they move into the second round.

APIA coach Rod Williams was disappointed, to say the least, of his side’s performance.

"I thought we created a lot of opportunities in the first half, but the second half was utter rubbish from us," he said.

"If we play like that next week, I’ll be very worried.

It seems both teams and coaches alike shared a sense of disappointment.

St George coach Tom Haythornthwaite was similarly upset in coming away with a draw.

"Our first half was slow, our second we played much better . . . we had a bit more pace upfront and a bit more width," he said,

"It’s disappointing because we had the opportunities to win."

Match Stats

St George FC 1 (James Spanoudakis 57′)

APIA Leichhardt Tigers 1 (Lucas Wilkinson 74′)

Sunday 16th March, 2014

WIN Jubilee Oval

Referee: J. Tesoriero

Assistant Referees: A.Coombes, M.Clarke

St George FC: 21.Lucas North; 25.Christopher Carboni, 35.Keifer Dotti, 29.Jordon Guerreiro, 32.Mohamed Kardoli, 14.Johnathan Kontalis, 30.Rodney Lewin, 33.Thomas Menton, 22.Paul Ragonese, 18.James Spanoudakis, 31.Rino Zenari

Substitutes Not Used: Nil

Yellow Cards: Mohamed Kardoli 78′, Rodney Lewin 18′

Red Cards: Nil

APIA-Leichhardt Tigers: 1.Christopher Moore; 24.George Blackwood (Liam Unicomb), 39.Matthew Casali, 37.Michael Cimino (David Chung), 31.Adam Funari, 22.Ali Nasreddine (Thomas Keenan), 23.Adamo Raciti (Lucas Wilkinson), 4.Zac Ribeiro, 30.Blade Richards, 26.Adrian Vlastelica (Stephen Morris), 36.Anto Vujica

Substitutes Not Used: Nil

Yellow Cards: Michael Cimino 48′, Adam Funari 71′, Adrian Vlastelica 65′

Red Cards: Nil

ROUND 1 REVIEW

SATURDAY

Sutherland Sharks 2-1 Blacktown Spartans FC, at Blacktown Football Park

Sutherland defeated the Spartans on Saturday evening at Blacktown Football Park.

Mitch Farmer and Jacob Tratt scored for the visitors and Dario Vujokic scored for the home side.

Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC 1-1 Rockdale City Suns FC, at Bonnyrigg Sports Club

Bonnyrigg White Eagles and Rockdale City Suns played out a 1-1 draw at Bonnyrigg Sports Club.

Mitchell Long put the home side ahead, but a goal in the second half from Seung Woo equalised for the visitors.

Marconi Stallions vs Manly United FC was washed out.

SUNDAY

Sydney Olympic FC 2-1 Sydney United 58 FC, at Sydney United Sports Centre

Sydney Olympic defeated Sydney United 58 at Sydney United Sports Centre.

James Andrew scored the first goal for the visiting team, followed by Jawid Quasimi who scored the winner from a penalty.

Sydney Olympic managed to maintain their lead despite being one man down.

Blacktown City FC 1-0 South Coast Wolves FC, at WIN Stadium

Blacktown FC beat South Coast Wolves, winning 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.

Eion Mortford scored the only goal of the game to give the visitors the win.

– By Anneliese Scenna