Late strikes earn Tigers maximum points
APIA Leichhardt Tigers commenced its slow ascendancy to playing finals football after two late strikes earned Bill McColl’s men maximum points in their 3-1 victory over historical rivals St George FC at Lambert Park on Saturday evening.
The Tigers took the lead at Lambert Park in the first stanza of play and generally had the better of play in the first half, but St George FC came out in the second half like a team that was clearly on a mission.
However, APIA Leichhardt steadied themselves and finally the monkey is off their back as they secured their first home win of the season.
The first chance of the game resulted in a goal for Bradley McDonald in the 5’ minute who rounded Saints keeper Dion Shaw and neatly put the ball in the back of the net for Tigers after latching onto a through ball from Franco Parisi.
It was just the start that coach McColl had been hoping for after witnessing his side squander a myriad of chances in front of goal in recent weeks.
In the 8’ minute it was then Parisi who tried his luck from distance with a shot but the ball sailed marginally over the crossbar.
In the 28’ minute, new recruit Joey Gibbs slipped just outside the box and his shot in the end flew over the crossbar as APIA tried to double their lead.
However, after an initial flurry by the Tigers, St George FC settled into their game and were much more confident on the ball.
In the 32’ minute APIA should really have taken the lead when Parisi chipped the ball from inside the box only to see Shaw brilliantly dive and parry the ball away.
It was to be the last real chance of the first half and both sides went into the break with APIA Leichhardt leading by a goal.
After the break in the 54th minute David Talevski scored for St George FC from close range after receiving a magnificent ball by Aleksander Jovocic from the left. Jovocic had made the brilliant run shortly after a pep talk on the sidelines from his coach Manny Spanoudakis. The visiting fans certainly made their voices heard after this equalising goal which seemed to give their side a new lease of life.
In the 61’ minute a cross from the right was met with a glancing header by former Tigers player Aman Hadid which ended up just wide of the post, but Jovocic standing close by was unlucky not to have got a foot on the ball and steer it in.
In the 73’ minute a dangerously floated in free kick from Talevski for the visitors was met by the head of Hadid but the ball went just wide of the net as the Tigers breathed another sigh of relief.
APIA Leichhardt’s first real chance of the second half came in the 77’ minute when a Parisi corner was by a powerful Michael West header that went just over.
APIA Leichhardt regained the lead in the 83’ minute when Gibbs received the ball from Blake Powell and with a powerful shot blasted the ball through the hands of Shaw in goal.
Right at the death in stoppage time APIA Leichhardt made it three when a long ball forward found Powell who, unmarked as St George pushed up looking for an equaliser, simply walked the ball home past goalkeeper Shaw who was left stranded.
After the game APIA’s coach Billy McColl was delighted to have secured all three points.
“We dominated the first half and missed a few chances but St George came out after the break and dominated the second half and they were very aggressive,” he said.
“We then brought on Jordan Simpson as Fogarty was injured and he was instructed to slow the game down and then we exploited them.”
When asked about former Hyundai A-League player Joey Gibbs who made his debut for the Tigers, McColl played his cards close to his chest.
“He was good, there’s a long way to go but it’s always good to score on debut,” he said.
For St George FC, one of their most reliable players in George Codrea spoke on behalf of the team and summarised the last ten minutes of the game.
“Towards the end there were some errors. We were pressing well the whole game and we created our chances, but there were just some errors towards the end,” he said.
“We knew that we could dominate the game but our passing was a bit off [in the first half] and we are not used to playing on artificial pitches.
“Our running off the ball was good and it helped a lot but in the end it was just a high pressure game that we lost.”
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 3 (Bradley McDonald 5’, Joey Gibbs 83’, Blake Powell 90’ + 1)
St George FC 1 (David Talevski 54’)
Saturday 31st May, 2014
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: Christopher Young
Assistant Referees: Andrej Giev, Thomas Lee
Fourth Official: Samuel Grasso
APIA Leichhardt Tigers: 1.Andrew Bazi, 4.Bradley Bartels, 5.Michael West (C), 7.Stephen Kayes, 8.Bradley McDonald, 9.Blake Powell, 10.Franco Parisi (3.Jamie Lobb 87’), 11.Daniel Fogarty (16.Jordan Simpson 68’), 13.David D’Apuzzo, 14.Paul Galimi, 19.Joey Gibbs
Substitutes not used: 40.Stefan Giglio, 2.Travis Oughtred, 20.Ali Nasreddine
Yellow Cards: Daniel Fogarty 25’, Paul Galimi 45’+1, David D’Apuzzo 59’
Red Cards: Nil
St George FC: 1.Dion Shaw, 2.Costa Andricopoulos, 3.David Dascal, 5.Bill Tsanidis, 9.Aman Hadid (34.Andreas Vais 81’), 10.Bruno Pivato (4.Marton Vass 78’), 12.Aleksander Jovocic, 13.Lenox Tweneboa, 16.Jonathan Castano-Acero, 19.David Talevski, 23.George Codrea
Substitutes not used: 6.Mirko Jurilj, 7.Christopher Gomez
Yellow Cards: Aman Hadid 23’
Red Cards: Nil
*Player Ratings have now been hidden with the official ‘Team of the Year’ to be announced after round 22 of the IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 competition
– By Joe Russo, National Premier Leagues NSW Mens 1 Reporter, at Lambert Park
