Bowden-Haase breaks APIA hearts
A last-gasp winner from Nathan Bowden-Haase has given Mark Robertson’s side a thrilling 3-2 PlayStation®4 NPL NSW Men’s competition triumph over APIA Leichhardt Tigers at Lambert Park.
The Hakoah skipper fired a loose ball past APIA gloveman Ryan Norval in the final seconds of the match to edge the Tigers in a match played in significantly trying conditions with unrelenting rain leaving its mark on the Lambert Park surface and encounter.
It gave way to a chaotic opening ten minutes that saw Adrian Vranic open the scoring in the first sixty seconds, before APIA replied through Nathan Elasi.
Vranic struck his second midway through the second half to nudge Hakoah in the lead against the run of play only for Jordan Murray to restore parity from the penalty spot with five minutes remaining.
But there would be one final twist in the matches’ dying moments when Bowden-Haase capped a robust performance at the back with a crucial, rare goal that places the league newcomers within striking distance of the top six.
Hakoah made light work of testing conditions by opening the scoring in the matches first genuine opportunity when Vranic turned home the scraps following a free kick for his second goal in as many weeks.
But the early advantage was relinquished no sooner than seven minutes later Sekiya unleashed a crisp curling strike on the edge of the area that sailed through a crowded penalty area and past Hakoah shot stopper Anthony Costa.
Elasi’s equalizer arrived only moments after Costa had denied Tigers frontman Sekiya from point blank range – Sekiya went close to adding his team’s second soon after but only managed to steer Nicholas Olsen’s cutback wide of the far post after sneaking inside the Hakoah centre-halves Nathan and Dylan Blumberg.
It was a match that yielded few presentable opportunities for either side but APIA continued to create the better sights on goal and it took a first-class stop from Costa to keep out a towering header from Elasi minutes into the second half, and a commendable piece of last ditch defending from Bowden-Haase after Olsen had struck the post at the end of a scintillating APIA break.
The host’s inability to capitalize on their dominance was punished when Vranic nudged Hakoah ahead against the run of play in a timely reminder of the former Olympic man’s quality, holding off the challenge of APIA’s Themba Muata-Marlow before finding the bottom corner with a crafty stabbed finish.
The match looked to be slipping away from Danial Cummin’s side but they were granted a reprieve when substitute Corey Biczo was felled inside the area, leaving Jordan Murray to make no mistake from the spot despite Lopes getting a significant piece of the spot kick.
Murray’s late goal was pivotal in his side’s late show against Bonnyrigg the weekend previous but Bowden-Haase ensured there would be no repeat of the dramatic late salvo against the White Eagles when he turned home the winner to break APIA hearts.
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 2 (Elasi 8’, Murray 84’)
Hakoah Sydney City East 3 (Vranic 2’, 67, Bowden-Haase 90+3’)
Sunday 19 June 2016
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: G. Fisher
Assistant Referees: L. Pigram and M. Clark
Fourth Official: J. McFarlane
APIA Leichhardt Tigers: 6. Luke Austin, 9. Nathan Elasi (11. Jordan Murrray 65’), 5. Brendan Hooper, 2. Nathan Millgate, 15. Themba Muata-Marlow, 92. Ryan Norval (GK), 23. Nicholas Olsen, 20. Tasuku Sekiya, 22. Zane Sole, 16. Sean Symons (8. Corey Biczo 73’), 18. Adrian Ucchino
Substitutes Not Used: 4. Bradley Bartels, 50. Blake Tuxford, 17. Adrian Vlastelica
Yellow Cards: N/A
Red Cards: N/A
Hakoah Sydney City East: 3. Dylan Blumberg, 40. Ryan Blumberg, 5. Nathan Bowden-Haase, 1. Anthony Costa, 10. Deklan GIlmartin, 14. Lee Jones, 31. Kevin Lopes (9. Neil Jablonski), 17. Jordan Mundell, 8. Paul Orgad, 11. Gavin Rae, 42. Adrian Vranic
Substitutes Not Used: 7. Hussein Akil, 15. Jacob Bandur, 23. Andre De Jong, 20. Matthew Mckenzie
Yellow Cards: 14. Lee Jones 46’
Red Cards: N/A
Player Ratings:
–By PlayStation®4 NPL NSW Men’s competition reporter Jacob Windon
