Reds no match for hungry Tigers

APIA Leichhardt Tigers recorded a routine 2-0 win over Sydney United 58 FC at Lambert Park on Sunday afternoon with first half goals from Nathan Elasi and Adrian Ucchino. 

A red card to United young gun Chris Zuvela early in the second half meant that APIA were able to see out the match in relative comfort, ending a three-match winless streak with the victory.
Sydney United 58 Fc looked to gently probe their opponents from kickoff, but APIA settled into the ascendancy with relative ease, with Parisi combining well with Elasi at the head of the home side’s attack to work a number of half-chances on goal for their teammates within the opening ten minutes.
Corey Biczo was first to go close for the Tigers; a quick burst of pace up the right flank followed by a thumping shot from a narrow angle, which settled in the side-netting after flying just wide of the near post.
The Reds were not without chances of its own, though they failed to make APIA pay for lapses in defence. 
The visitors’ most obvious opportunities to break the deadlock came from the set piece: a deep Koen Bosma corner fell fortuitously for Chris Triantis, who could only thrash a wild shot high and wide.
Soon after, Bosma swung a low pass across goal to Panni Nikas from a free kick on the right, and though a gap opened up momentarily for a shot, a lunging APIA defender blocked the midfielder’s effort from a few meters out.
APIA responded with a quick break led up the right side by Nicholas Olsen, who crossed to Adrian Ucchino on the edge of the penalty area, but he sliced his volley wide without testing Justin Pasfield.
In the 18th minute, APIA made a deserved breakthrough. Spotting Nathan Elasi drifting alone near the far post, Franco Parisi hit a cross-field pass which dropped perfectly in front of goal for the winger, who connected with the ball first-time to volley past Pasfield and put APIA in the lead.  
The opening goal gave way to a flurry of yellow cards, with Marc Warren, Adrian Ucchino and Zuvela all going into the referee’s notebook as the first half wore on.
APIA very nearly scored a carbon copy of their first goal when Parisi crossed long to Elasi in the middle again, but this time Pasfield was quick to rush the striker, and did enough to put him off as his shot dribbled wide of the far post.
Ucchino doubled the home side’s advantage in the 37th minute after a slalom run from Parisi down the byline; the midfielder passing across the face of goal to his teammate, who slammed a shot past a defender on the line to give APIA a 2-0 lead just before halftime.
The second half began as the first had ended save for a brief period of determined Sydney United 58 FC resistance, which ended when an over-zealous Zuvela earned his second yellow card – and a red – for a foul on Stephen Kayes in an innocuous position on the halfway line.
Two goals and a man up, APIA was content to slow the tempo of the game and frustrate Sydney United without the ball.
Parisi nearly scored a goal of his own when he broke clear of two United defenders on the edge of the area, but left his shot too long, allowing Pasfield to shut him down for a corner which ultimately came to nothing.
Sydney United 58 FC might have pulled one back just after the hour mark when Nikola Taneski worked some room for a shot in the box, but Marc Warren slid across to block a certain goal and hold APIA’s two-goal advantage.
With Taneski and Nikas finding themselves increasingly isolated up front for the visitors, APIA relied on David D’Apuzzo and Stephen Kayes to provide attacking impetus up the flanks, though their final passes often missed Elasi in the centre.

Nikas stung the palms of Ryan Norval in the APIA goal with a driven shot from outside the box as the game ground towards an inevitable conclusion, and had a second opportunity – perhaps Sydney United 58’s best of the game – in injury time, hitting his shot straight at Norval after receiving the ball on the penalty spot from Brett Studman.

With the final whistle, Sydney United 58 FC could reflect on a match of missed opportunities. 
"We had to keep going, and improve in the second half,” said United midfielder Panni Nikas.
"We didn’t think the game was lost at halftime, and if we had a bit more composure it might’ve been different, because we had chances.
“It’s always difficult playing with ten men, especially when you’re 2-0 down, but we committed ourselves well and probably played better with ten than we did with eleven."
APIA’s Rod Williams was particularly pleased with the way his team had bounced back after a disappointing draw last weekend.
"It was a great result. The boys worked well – from the goalkeeper all the way through the team, it was a great performance,” Williams said.
"We knocked the ball around well and kept possession much better than we did last time out – we learned our lesson from last week when we conceded twice in the last couple of minutes, and got the result today."
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 2 (Elasi 18′, Ucchino 37′)
Sydney United 58 FC 0
Sunday July 19, 2015
Lambert Park
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC: Norval, Bartels, Biczo (D’Apuzzo 35′), Elasi, Kayes (Vlastelica 89′), Millgate, Olsen, Parisi, Studman, Ucchino, Warren (Griffiths 83′)
Subs not used: Bazi, Scott
Yellow Cards: Warren 24′, Ucchino 30′, D’Apuzzo 56′, Elasi 64′
Sydney United 58 FC: Pasfield, Bosma (Cindric 40′), Camera, Dragicevic, Nikas, Sherlock, Stamatellis, Taneski, Triantis (Koton 80′), Zuvela
Subs not used: Tomelic, K. Vlismas, Babic
Yellow Cards: Zuvela 28′, 49′, Triantis 59′
Red Cards: Zuvela 49′
– By Max Grieve, PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 reporter