APIA Leichhardt FC Crowned 2024 Waratah Cup Champions
APIA Leichhardt have secured their sixth Waratah Cup title with a dominant 3-0 win over Rockdale Ilinden at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
The match began in an expectedly intense manner, with Rockdale having the first significant chance of the match inside five minutes.
A clever flick from Brendan Chloakian after receiving the ball from Bai Antoniou released Alec Urosevski in behind, who took a menacing first touch towards goal.
Now in space to strike, Urosevski unleashed a driven effort to Anthony Bouzanis’ near post, and the goalkeeper parried the ball clear in an early let-off for APIA.
But in the seventh minute, it was APIA who struck first, with Michael Kouta giving his side a significant early lead with a far-post header.
After Ben Gibson won a freekick on the right wing, a tantalising ball to the back post from Jack Armson found Kouta.
The defender met the ball with time to measure his header, and from close range, made no mistake in sliding the ball past the outstretched gloves of Nicholas Sorras to open the scoring at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
Just a minute after they went down, Rockdale went agonisingly close to finding a reply, after a good touch from Urosevski released Antoniou in behind.
The winger played a perfectly weighted cross, finding the feet of Lochlan Constable, who, in front of his marker, was mere metres from goal.
But miraculously, APIA’s goalkeeper prevented the shot, with Bouzanis rushing out well to cover space and prevent an instant equaliser from the league leaders.
In the 12th minute, the exhilarating start to the match continued, with a perfect ball from Seiya Kambayashi finding Gibson in behind.
After taking a touch to the edge of the box, the forward looked to slice a left-footed strike past Sorras, but couldn’t find an angle around the goalkeeper, who stood strong to keep APIA’s lead at one goal.
It was a truly electrifying beginning to the 2024 Waratah Cup Final, with both sides prioritising exciting, attacking football, played at the utmost physical and mental intensity.
As the first half went on, Rockdale began to build a strong bid for an equalising goal, and missed a significant chance in the 27th minute, with Bai Antoniou unable to find the target with a free shot in the box off a rebound.
Two minutes later, a swift turn from Cholakian bypassed the pressure of Adrian Ucchino, his direct opponent, but he could only follow up with a wayward strike from the edge of the box.
APIA then threatened once more through striker Gibson, who accelerated well to reach a quick pass in behind from Jack Armson, with the move halted as Sorras covered the space well, allowing him to claim Gibson’s subsequent effort.
The match leaders continued to threaten in the first half with runs in behind Rockdale’s backline, allowing them to consistently create chances no matter the state of the match.
Rockdale, meanwhile, were passing the ball with pace and purpose, but were struggling to frequently break down a resilient APIA side, and also had work to do in their pressure on the ball and defensive structure to respond to their opponents’ fluid build-up.
And in the 40th minute, APIA Leichhardt found a crucial second goal with a beautiful, swift move.
After some intense counterpressure from APIA, a misplaced pass from Rockdale found the feet of Rory Jordan, who quickly pocked the ball to Gibson before receiving again on the edge of the box.
With two Rockdale players in close proximity, Jordan curled an alluring right-footed shot into the back of the net, as APIA doubled their lead in style at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
APIA then began the second half strongly, and in the 51st minute, should have found a third goal.
After easily beating Rockdale’s press, a good pass from Sean Symons found the feet of Gibson, who with his first touch, took the ball around Sorras, leaving him with an empty net.
It wasn’t the easiest of angles on Gibson’s left-foot, but it was a major chance for the home side to take true ascendancy on the scoreboard, as the striker dragged his effort just wide of the far post.
Rockdale controlled possession in the opening of the second half, and had two good chances in quick succession in the 63rd minute, with a blocked Dean Pelekanos shot from outside the box rebounding favourably to Lachlan Griffiths, who saw his effort blocked by a desperate APIA defence.
Off the resulting corner, Pelekanos was connected with a good ball from Cholakian, but couldn’t find the target with his headered chance.
And just a minute later, APIA found their third goal.
After threatening in behind once more and then winning the second ball, Stewart received possession on the right and instantly cut inside.
A short, incisive pass from the winger found the feet of Armson in the box, who had ghosted between three Rockdale players.
Armson was allowed to take a touch forwards and then found himself in a one on one with Sorras, where he calmly wrongfooted the goalkeeper and placed the ball home.
The goal proved to be an important buffer, because just minutes later, Adrian Ucchino received a second yellow-card for stopping a promising attack, reducing APIA to 10 men for the remainder of the match.
APIA very much had the upper-hand with a three-goal advantage, but any Rockdale goal could completely change momentum, setting up an exhilarating ending to the final.
In the 73rd minute, Rockdale created a chance with a punched through-ball in behind from Cholakian finding the feet of Urosevski, who took a touch before quickly shooting, but the forward couldn’t find a way around Bouzanis from a tight angle.
Four minutes later, good combination play between Olayinka Sunmola and Giorgio Speranza down the left, with Sunmola then squaring the ball across goal.
Both Urosevski and Cholakain converged on the pass, but neither could find a meaningful touch with time quickly running out for Rockdale.
The current leaders were defending valiantly, often pinned into their defensive third, with their compactness, effort and application making them difficult to break down.
In the 88th minute, a good cross in from Hunter Elliott found the head of Jason Cakovski at the back post, but by this point, the trophy was all but in the hands of APIA, with any goal merely a consolation.
But APIA were gunning for a clean sheet, and proved so in additional time when a strong save from Anthony Bouzanis was followed by a sensational tackle from Sean Symons to prevent Cholakian from tapping the ball home.
And as the fulltime whistle sounded, they got their that and more, as they became Waratah Cup Final Champions for the 6th time with a quality, dominant performance at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
“Waratah Cup Final, three goals, clean sheet, I’m just lost for words really,” said APIA coach Franco Parisi.
“I’m so happy for all the players and everyone involved in the clubs.
“It’s been a long season until now, so to lift a trophy with still plenty to play for is very exciting.
“The performance, the effort, the football, the goals – it’s everything we’ve been working on and it came together tonight.”
It was a triple joy for Michael Kouta who not only celebrating scoring the game’s first goal as well as lifting the trophy, he was also awarded the Player of the Match.
Match Stats
Rockdale Ilinden FC 0
APIA Leichhardt FC 3 (Kouta 7’, Jordan 40’, Armson 64’)
Wednesday 14 August, 2024
Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Referee: Jake Rose
Assistant Referees: Alessandro Llana and Aaron Bloch
Fourth Official: Kelly Jones
Rockdale Ilinden FC: 1. Nicholas Sorras, 2. Daniel Collins (77. So Kataoka 68’), 5. Giorgio Speranza (19. Jason Cakovski 80’), 6. Isaac Danzo, 7. Alec Urosevski (C), 8. Dean Pelekanos, 9. Bai Antoniou (15. Olayinka Sunmola 45’), 10. Brendan Cholakian, 11. Lochlan Constable (3. Lachlan Griffiths 63’), 14. Brayden Sorge (23. Hunter Elliott 45’), 22. Blake Ricciuto
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Ricardo Rizzo
Yellow Cards: Collins 6’, Speranza 79’
Red Cards: None
APIA Leichhardt FC: 1. Anthony Bouzanis, 2. Seiya Kambayashi, 7. Jack Stewart (41. Nicholas Azzone 84’), 9. Ben Gibson (30. Alex Denmead 87’), 11. Rory Jordan (8. Maksim Kasalovic 71’), 14. Jack Armson, 18. Adrian Ucchino (C), 21. Michael Kouta, 22. Edward Caspers, 23. Dakota Askew, 25. Sean Symons
Substitutes Not Used: 6. Anthony Sparacino, 15. Themba Muata-Marlow, 20. Alexander Parkes
Yellow Cards: Ucchino 26’, 68’, Symons 47’, Bouzanis 79’
Red Cards: Ucchino 68’
Player ratings
Rockdale Ilinden FC
- Nicholas Sorras – 7
Wasn’t helped by APIA’s ability to create consistent chances, but made a couple of important saves to prevent a larger scoreline.
- Daniel Collins – 6
Part of a leaky backline and struggled to affect the game, before being substituted in the 68th minute.
- Giorgio Speranza – 6.5
Also struggled to find his usual attacking creativity from left-back, and came off in the 80th minute.
- Isaac Danzo – 7
His usual tidy self in and out of possession.
- Alec Urosevski – 7
A constant threat whenever receiving the ball but couldn’t produce another goal against APIA.
- Dean Pelekanos – 6
Had a pretty quiet game working hard in midfield and later on as an auxiliary centre-back.
- Bai Antoniou – 5.5
Set up a great chance in the first half before being subbed at halftime.
- Brendan Cholakian – 7
Some nice flicks and movements and did well in dribbling clear of his marker – one of Rockdale’s brighter sparks, but couldn’t create any match-defining moments.
- Lochlan Constable – 6
Pretty absent with some his usual quality on the ball before coming off early in the second half.
- Brayden Sorge – 5.5
Made a few threatening runs forwards from right-back before coming off at halftime.
- Blake Ricciuto – 6
Showed his versatility playing as a centre-back and then as a midfielder, but couldn’t impact the game positively from either position.
Substitutes
- Lachlan Griffiths – 5.5
Came on in the 63rd minute where the game was already out of Rockdale’s hands.
- Olayinka Sunmola – 5.5
Was a bright spark down Rockdale’s left flank after coming on at halftime.
- Jason Cakovski – 5
Came on in the 80th minute and threatened a few times with his movement.
- Hunter Elliott – 5.5
A halftime sub. Put in a dangerous cross but mis-hit a few playing as a right-back.
- So Kataoka – 5.5
Came on in the 68th minute without much time to impact the match against a solid, deep APIA defence.
APIA Leichhardt FC
- Anthony Bouzanis – 8
Made some outstanding saves and was crucial to APIA’s clean sheet.
- Seiya Kambayashi – 8
He made a couple of good passes forwards from right-back and was strong in his defending and duels out of possession.
- Jack Stewart – 8
Got a good assist for the third goal, and was as usual threatening every time he was on the ball.
- Ben Gibson – 8.5
Missed a couple of opportunities but was a constant outlet and threat, winning the freekick for the first goal and assisting the second.
- Rory Jordan – 8.5
A strong performance capped off by a beautiful finish for APIA’s second goal.
- Jack Armson – 8.5
A goal and an assist in another strong performance for the incisive attacking midfielder.
- Adrian Ucchino – 7
A good leader for APIA in midfield up until his red-card in the 68th minute.
- Michael Kouta – 9
Man of the match. Opened the scoring with a strong header before defending valiantly as a centre-back.
- Edward Caspers – 8.5
An energetic showing from the midfielder who was always comfortable on the ball.
- Dakota Askew – 7.5
A strong performance at centre-back and played an important role in APIA’s defensive solidity throughout the match.
- Sean Symons – 8
Made a last-gasp tackle late on to keep his side’s clean sheet intact and threatened with his quality deep passing from left-back.
Substitutes
- Maksim Kasalovic – 6
Came on in the 71st minute and was a calm presence in midfield.
- Alex Denmead – 5
Energetic after coming on with just three minutes of regular time to go.
- Nicholas Azzone – 5
Came on in the 84th minute and played his role well.
