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Finals Week One Review – NPL NSW Men’s U20

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Qualifying Final

Sydney FC v Sutherland Sharks, Saturday 4.30pm at Lily Homes Stadium

Sydney FC underlined their championship credentials after defeating Sutherland Sharks 5-0 in a classy performance at Lily Homes Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

First half strikes from Benjamin Koop and Hamish Lamberton put Sutherland to the sword early on, while a second-half double from Jordan Swibel and last-minute strike from Evan Tsaskos put the finishing touches on a comprehensive display.

It means Sydney have booked a preliminary final date with Blacktown City, who sealed the 2018 Premiership in round 21, next weekend.

Meanwhile, Sutherland will take on Sydney United 58 in a do or die showdown.

The Sky Blues should enter that fixture teeming with confidence after a performance that saw the side marry their free-scoring ability with a determined defensive display.

Sydney FC have often been exposed by a soft underbelly throughout the regular season, but despite a few early wobbles, Italiano’s men were more resolute than ever.

They broke the deadlock with a lovely passing move down the right flank involving Guiseppe Tilio and Hamish Lamberton, with the latter sliding a ball across for Koop to dispatch from close range.

And the Sky Blues doubled their advantage before the half hour mark through a classic counter attack to assert their authority. So often Sydney’s weapon on the transition, Marco Tilio streamed forward with the Sutherland defence caught upfield and released Lamberton through on goal, who confidently stroked home his 19th goal of the season.

That two-goal deficit proved unassailable for Sutherland. The 2017 Premiers have endured a rocky finish to the season and outside a few flashes of quality in the opening half, the Sharks attack was cramped and lacked the fluidity that saw them stroll to the double last year.

The same could not be attributed to Sydney. The Sky Blues have outgunned all their competitors this season, and Italiano’s substitution of Jordan Swibel from the bench midway through the second half highlighted the depths of their attacking arsenal.

Swibel scored 13 goals throughout the regular campaign and claimed a double in no time as Sydney turned on the style. The striker first powered home a low effort after a collecting a scramble in the box and clinched his second eight minutes later, tapping home unmarked after the Sky Blues pounced on a Sutherland error.

It got even better for Sydney in the last minute of normal time. With Sutherland pressing for a consolation, the Sky Blues broke through Evan Tsaskos who bolted half the length of the pitch and finished with aplomb.

Match Stats

Sydney FC 4 (Koop 17’, Lamberton 30’, Swibel 71’, 79’)

Sutherland Sharks 0

Saturday 18th August 2018

Lily’s Football Centre, Seven Hills

Sydney FC: 24. Daniel Blachura, 1. Mitchell Evans, 29. Thomas Fay, 18. Benjamin Koop, 27. Hamish Lamberton, 5. Patrick Scibilio, 23. Callum Talbot, 19. Guiseppe Tilio, 17. Marco Tilio, 22. Harry Van Der Saag, 26. Ben Van Meurs

Substitutes: 28. Paolo Bonanni, 40. David Malishev, 9. Daniel Maskin, 13. Jordan Swibel, 32. Evan Tsaskos

Yellow cards: N/A

Red cards: N/A

Sutherland Sharks: 42. Mario Aleksic, 12. Blair Brown, 31. Gabriel Contigiani, 10. Joshua Da Silva, 6. Lachlan Everett, 17. Leroy Jennings, 23. Deren O’Brien, 33. Thomas Papa, 27. Harrison Quirk, 26. Harry Sutherland, 16. Ryoga Suyama

Substitutes: 53. Kuot Maliet, 24. Adam Massoud, 3. Richard Stewart, 38. Thomas Sutton, 47. J Gjorevski

Yellow cards: Maliet

Red cards: N/A

Elimination Final

Sydney United 58 3-0 Wollongong Wolves, Saturday 3.30pm at Lambert Park

Sydney United 58 were victorious in the weekend’s elimination final at Lambert Park, defeating Wollongong Wolves 3-0.

It was a resounding display from the Reds, who have now won four in a row without conceding on their way to next weekend’s do or die clash with Sutherland Sharks.

Goals from Ivan Ozanic, Nathan Manno and Anthony Pedavoli saw United 58 on their way, with Wollongong unable to find a reply.

Final Series Week One – NPL NSW Men Review

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Week one of the National Premier Leagues NSW finals are in the books and only four teams remain after a weekend of shock results.
 
Blacktown City’s season is over after Rockdale City Suns claimed a surprise victory at Lily Homes Stadium on Saturday night.
 
Once again Blacktown struggled to play their best football and were outdone by a determined Rockdale outfit.
 
The twists and turns continued at Lambert Park as a ten-man Sydney United 58 triumphed against APIA Leichhardt Tigers 5-3 on penalties after the matched finished 1-1 after extra-time.
 
It was a match which mired in controversy after Sydney United 58 had the wrong player sent off on the cusp of halftime.
 
A last ditch APIA equaliser deep into added time kept the match alive before a clutch save from Thomas Manos during the shootout completed the upset.
 
The results mean United 58 will meet Premiers Sydney Olympic next week, while APIA stay alive in the finals and take on Rockdale City Suns.
 
 

APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 1 – Sydney United 58 1 at Lambert Park.

(Sydney United win 5-4 on penalties)
An inspired display from Thomas Manos has helped a 10-man Sydney United 58 take out a controversial win against APIA Leichhardt after a 5-3 penalty shoot-out victory at Lambert Park on Saturday.
 
With the game locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes, Manos wrapped up his man of the match performance by making a save in the shoot-out to give United 58 a shock win and move them to only one game away from a grand final beth.
 
It was a game full of twists and turns as well as a moment of madness which is sure to be talked about for weeks to come.
 
Patrick Antelmi gave the visitors the lead on the cusp of halftime but he shouldn’t have even been on the field after escaping punishment for lashing out off the ball with Chris Payne was sent off instead in a case of mistaken identity. 
 
Manos was playing like a man possessed making save after save as the Tigers looked to take advantage of their man advantage with relentless waves of attack. 
 
It took APIA until the final moments of the match to find an equaliser when Nathan MIllgate sent the home support into pure jubilation with a clutch goal at the death.
 
But Manos, and United 58, would have the final laugh as to hand APIA their second defeat in as many weeks.
 
Blacktown City FC v Rockdale City Suns

Harris Gaitatzis fired a brace in two first half minutes to lead Rockdale City Suns to a 2-0 victory over Blacktown City at Lily’s Football Centre on Saturday evening.

Rockdale’s mercurial attacker fired home from the edge of the box midway through the first half and coolly dispatched a penalty kick 64 seconds later as Paul Reid’s side established an unassailable two-goal advantage in the first half.

That damage proved terminal for Blacktown City, who were rocked by the visitors’ quick-fire double and were unable to match Rockdale’s intensity throughout the contest. 

Mark Crittenden’s men have been among the benchmark outfits of the NPL NSW in recent years, but there will be plenty for the hosts to rue after concluding their campaign convincingly beaten on home soil.

It was the second straight season City had hosted Rockdale at Seven Hills in the first week of the finals, and it yielded a similarly emphatic away victory for the team from Ilinden.

Round 22 – NPL NSW U20 Men’s Review

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The NSW NPL Men’s 20s competition has come to an end ahead of the finals series,with just one change to the top five at the conclusion of Round 22.

Hakoah Sydney City East slipped out of the finals places after a loss to APIA Leichhardt in this week’s Match of the Round, while Sydney United 58’s 4-0 win over Sydney Olympic ensured they jumped up to fourth ahead of fifth-placed Wollongong.

Elsewhere, Blacktown City and Sutherland Sharks played out a 1-1 draw at Lily Homes Stadium, while Sydney FC rebounded from defeat in Round 21 to smash Rockdale 5-1 at Ilinden Sports Centre.

 

Match of the Round: APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 2-0 Hakoah Sydney City FC, Sunday 1pm at Lambert Park

Hakoah Sydney City East fell agonisingly short of the top five on the final day of the regular season after a 2-0 defeat to APIA Leichhardt Tigers at Lambert Park.

Sydney United 58 were into a 3-0 lead over Sydney Olympic by kickoff in Leichhardt, leaving Hakoah needing a win to keep their place in the top five. They were pushed back by the hosts from the first whistle and were ultimately undone by two late goals, the first an own goal from Jordan Lewis and the second a wonder strike by Luca Kmet.

Jordan Koton took the initiative to launch the first attack of real danger for the visitors, bursting through on the right flank before drawing a sharp save from Blake Tuxford in the APIA goal.

A ball in from the left was touched on towards goal by Luca Kmet but was cleared to safety before Hakoah broke down the other end to put Tuxford under pressure with a clearance; the keeper skewing the ball straight to Harry Jones who hit a snapshot wide of the post from distance.

Kmet had another half-chance when he tried to loop a volley back across the goalkeeper at the back post, but he could only whack an inelegant shot over the bar.

Gino Cerasoli came desperately close to opening the scoring with a header across goal before Jack Armson had a solid shot blocked away by the Hakoah keeper – the visitors might’ve need a win, but APIA were the only side the looked like scoring as the halftime whistle sounded.

Still, the score remained 0-0 and Hakoah came out of the sheds charged up with their season on the line, with Joshua Orchard heading against the crossbar from a corner shortly after the restart.

Nicholas Azzone almost broke the deadlock after getting up to stab a shot at goal only for the goalkeeper to bat the ball away, before Kmet had another chance after clever hold-up play from Matthew Taverniti, but his effort was dealt with easily.

Hakoah looked to barely be hanging on as the match approached the final ten minutes and surely enough APIA opened the scoring to almost certainly end their opponents’ challenge for a place in the finals. Luca Kmet crossed from the left and a deflection off Jordan Lewis sent the ball spinning into the net to give the Tigers a late lead.

Hakoah pushed forward in numbers, now needing two goals in ten minutes, but were undone when Luca Kmet broke upfield before sending the ball flying past a stranded goalkeeper to put APIA up by two. There was to be no late heroics from the visitors, meaning both sides end their seasons here – APIA in eighth, and Hakoah missing out on the finals on goal difference to Wollongong.

APIA’s Matthew Michael was smiling after a solid win on the final day of the season, one capped off by a spectacular goal by Luca Kmet. “He’s a fantastic player,” said Michael. “His creativity, he gives us an edge. But they all work well together, there’s a lot of good players in that team and it’s great to see them playing at their full potential.

“We’re here to win, and it doesn’t matter if it’s the last game or the first game. That’s the mentality we’ve got and we did the job – there’s always something to play for.”

“We knew the other result,” said Hakoah’s David Shaddock. “We knew we had to win the game, which is why we went for it and ended up conceding that second goal.

“The season was up and down. We had a bad start, we came good in the middle and then we faded out near the end. Still, we’ve blooded a lot of young kids – we had a 16-year old come on today – so we can look back on stuff like that and be proud.”

Match Stats

APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 2 (Lewis OG 77’, Kmet 84’)

Hakoah Sydney City East FC 0

Sunday August 12, 2018

Lambert Park, Leichhardt

 

APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC: 5. ADATTINI Stephan, 32. ARMSON Jack, 26. AZZONE Nicholas, 28. CERASOLI Gino, 13. D’APUZZO David, 30. KMET Luca, 12. MCCARRON Benjamin, 35. REGAN Zander, 39. TAVERNITI Matthew, 22. TUXFORD Blake, 25. MELLINO Nathan

Substitutes: 31. KAMARA Kalilou, 40. KAMARA Mustafa, 7. PRISUDA Zeke, 24. LITSAS Bill, 34. FOTOPOULOUS Harris

Yellow cards: Kmet 38’

Red cards: N/A

Hakoah Sydney City East FC: 40. FIGUEIRA Michael. 17. JONES Harry, 15. KATSIONIS Steven, 22. KNIGHT Mitchell, 18. KOTON Jordan, 35. MAHACHI Dairai, 27. MAKRIDOPOLUS Jordan, 16. ORCHARD Joshua, 12. ROBERTS Nathan, 24. TURRALL Peter, 33. LEWIS Jordan

Substitutes: 23. JOVANOVSKI Jake, 31. KOLT Satchel, 28. USTIMENKO David, 29. HANCOCK Nathan

Yellow cards: Lewis 74’

Red cards: N/A

 

Sunday

Sydney Olympic FC 0-4 Sydney United 58 FC, 12pm at Belmore Sports Ground

Sydney United 58 secured their place in the finals series on the last day of the regular season, with a 4-0 win over Sydney Olympic at Belmore Sports Ground helping them leapfrog Hakoah and Wollongong into fourth.

The visitors raced to a 3-0 lead at the break, by which time Hakoah were kicking off against APIA across town. A fourth goal in the second half was icing on the cake, with Hakoah having slipped to a 2-0 defeat at Lambert Park to drop out of the five.

Sydney United 58 can look ahead to their first finals match next Saturday afternoon when they take on Wollongong at Lambert Park, while Sydney Olympic’s season comes to a disappointing end with their fourth consecutive defeat.

 

Manly United FC 0-0 Bonnyrigg White Eagles, 1pm at Cromer Park

Manly United and Bonnyrigg White Eagles played out a 0-0 draw at Cromer Park on the final day of the season for both sides; neither having qualified for the finals.

The scoreless draw did little for either side’s position on the last day, as Manly finish ninth – and ultimately five points from fifth place – while Bonnyrigg finish tenth, well above Rockdale and Olympic at the bottom of the ladder but relegated to the NPL 2 by the Club Championship table nonetheless.

 

Rockdale City Suns FC 1-5 Sydney FC, 1pm at Ilinden Sports Centre

Sydney FC bounced back from defeat last weekend to smash Rockdale 5-1 at Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon, with Giancarlo Italiano’s men back in dangerous form ahead of their first finals match against Sutherland Sharks next week.

Evan Tsakos registered a hat trick, while Hamish Lamberton and Ryan Teague rounded out the scoring for the competition’s most prolific side. Alexander Malfara scored the only goal of the game for his team, keeping Rockdale in the hunt at the break before their opponents blew them away with three in the second half.

Sydney FC could only finish as high as second after their 4-0 defeat to Blacktown City last week and duly secured their position to set up their clash with Sutherland next Saturday, while Rockdale’s season ended in familiar disappointment; the side from Ilinden Sports Centre rooted to the bottom of the ladder after a difficult year.

 

Blacktown City FC 1-1 Sutherland Sharks FC, 1pm at Lily Homes Stadium

Blacktown City celebrated their Premiership win at in front of a home crowd but were held to a 1-1 draw by Sutherland Sharks in the last match of the season before both sides begin their respective finals campaigns.

Lewis Fraser had the Premiers ahead at halftime but Sutherland fought back with a goal from Kuot Maliet to hold Blacktown to a draw and stop their three-match winning streak in its tracks.

Blacktown have a week’s rest after sealing their first place finish last weekend, while Sutherland continue their tricky run into the finals when they take on Sydney FC at Lily Homes Stadium.

 

Marconi Stallions FC 2-1 Wollongong Wolves FC, 1pm at Marconi Stadium

Marconi edged a 2-1 win over Wollongong in the last round of the regular season, with results elsewhere combining to shift the Wolves down into fifth ahead of the finals.

Martin Fernandez and Kye Soares scored for the hosts, while Taylor McDonald’s goal wasn’t enough to inspire Wollongong to snatch a point late in the game.

Only goal difference kept the visitors in the finals places ahead of Hakoah Sydney City East, and Wollongong will need to pick themselves up in order to rebound against a resurgent Sydney United 58 next week at Lambert Park.

Marconi, meanwhile, end their season on a relative high, having finished two points outside of the five in seventh place.

-By Max Grieve

 

 

Round 22 – NPL NSW Review

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Sydney Olympic have been crowned 2018 National Premier Leagues NSW Premiers after a nail biting final round which featured plenty of twists and turns.

 
Olympic took out the Premiership with victory against Sydney United 58, but it was only made possible because of Hakoah Sydney City East’s shock upset of APIA Leichhardt Tigers.
 
It was a result not expected by many NPL NSW fans but will now set up a blockbuster finals series.
 
Rockdale City Suns were forced to share the spoils with Sydney FC as they were held to a 2-2 draw but it was enough to secure their spot in the playoffs as Marconi Stallions was thumped by Wollongong Wolves.
 
Blacktown City limped into the finals in fourth spot as they succumbed to their second straight defeat to a bottom three side as Sutherland Sharks this time had the better of them.
 
Finally Dylan Macallister gave himself the perfect send-off as he scored a hat trick for Manly United in his final game before retirement in their comprehensive win against Bonnyrigg White Eagles. 
 
Sydney Olympic 1 – Sydney United 58 0 at Belmore Sports Ground
It was a dream finish for Sydney Olympic on Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 victory against Sydney United 58 securing them the 2018 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Premiership.
 
Luck was on the side of the Abbas Saad coached outfit, as APIA Leichhardt TIger’s shock 2-1 loss to Hakoah Sydney City East ensured the historic club their first league premiership since 2011.
 
A goal to Alejandro Sanchez after only ten minutes gave the Blues the perfect start and they held on against tenacious opposition.
 
United 58 were reduced to 10 men on the cusp of the half time interval after Petar Markovic was sent off and had a goal disallowed for offside in the 74th.
 
As word travelled around the ground of APIA’s defeat, Olympic’s fans were building up for wild scenes at the final whistle. And what a party it was at Belmore Sports Ground.
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 1 – Hakoah Sydney City East 2 at Lambert Park
Hakoah Sydney City East has stunned the National Premier League NSW competition with a final day 2-1 victory against APIA Leichhardt Tigers denying the Lambert Park side a second consecutive Premiership title.
 
The visitors took the lead in the first half before APIA pegged their opponents back with a goal from Tasuku Sekiya ten minutes after the break. 
 
Adrian Ucchino might’ve won the game – and the title – for his side with a penalty but could only blast his spot kick over the crossbar.
 
With two minutes left on the clock, Robert Ezekiel popped up to seal a stunning win for Hakoah and deliver heartbreak for APIA and their fans. 
 
It was an incredible result to finish the season and one which is sure to cut deep for a long time to come for the Tigers.
 
Rockdale City Suns 2 – Sydney FC 2 at Ilinden Sports Centre

Rockdale City Suns has scraped into the 2018 National Premier Leagues NSW finals series after a 2-2 draw with Sydney FC at Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday. 

A brace from Rockdale’s Jonathan Grozdanovski helped the side to a 2-1 lead at the half-time break, before a 91st minute equaliser from Sydney’s Jeremy Cox levelled the scores.

Despite coming away from the match with only a point, it was enough for Paul Reid’s side to secure a top five finish thanks to Wollongong’s 3-0 thrashing of Marconi Stallions. 

Sydney FC finish the season on the bottom of the ladder but have secured their safety in the NSW top flight for another season by their overall performance on the Club Championship ladder. 

Rockdale will next week take on fourth placed Blacktown City in the first elimination final. 

 
Marconi Stallions 0 – Wollongong Wolves 3 at Marconi Stallions

Wollongong Wolves have ended Marconi Stallions’ finals hopes with a comprehensive 3-0 win at Marconi Stadium on Sunday.

It was a game to remember for Wollongong’s Peter Simonoski who netted a hat trick in the victory as he denied Marconi the chance of finals football in their first season back in the NSW top flight. 

The Wolves striker slotted one in the first half before he added a pair of delightful chipped efforts in the second stanza to finish the season with a tally of 12 goals.

It was a bittersweet end to the season for Wollongong who displayed the high quality football they are capable of but were unable to consistently deliver this campaign as they once again missed out on the post season.

 
Blacktown City 0 – Sutherland Sharks 2 at Lily Homes Stadium
Blacktown City have limped into the finals series after going down 2-0 to Sutherland Sharks at Lily Homes Stadium on Sunday.
 
The loss was Blacktown’s second defeat in as many weeks with both losses coming against teams in the bottom three. 
 
In an at times uninspiring contest, Sutherland stung Blacktown with two second half goals courtesy of Nick Littler and Adrian Vranic. 
 
The result was a winning send off for Sharks coach Grant Lee who announced his decision to leave the club at the conclusion of the regular season.
 
For Blacktown they will need to rediscover the form which had them at the top of the table during the opening rounds of the competition when they host Rockdale City Suns in next week’s elimination final. 
 
 
Manly United 5 – Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 at Cromer Park  
Dylan Macallister has signed off his illustrious career with a hat-trick as Manly United cruised to a 5-1 demolition of Bonnyrigg White Eagles in front of a jubilant Cromer Park crowd on Sunday afternoon. 
 
It was the visitors who took the lead early on courtesy of a JeWook Woo header, however Macallister equalised five minutes later and it was all one way traffic from there. 
 
The veteran was gifted an opportunity from the spot by an Aaron Avery handball in first half stoppage time, which saw the visitors reduced to ten men for the remainder of the contest. 
 
A 50th minute Nikola Taneski strike granted the hosts some additional comfort, before Sam Wilson nodded home confidently to ensure the three points inside the final five minutes. 
 
However there was still time for a fairytale conclusion, as one last goal from Macallister raised the Cromer Park faithful onto their feet, as he snuck his home his third to acquire the match ball one last time. 
 
It was a deserved high to cap off a disappointing season for Manly, who were unable to defend their Championship title, while the result added insult to injury for their opponents Bonnyrigg, whose relegation was confirmed. 

APIA Fall At Final Hurdle In Their Bid For Premiership Glory

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Hakoah Sydney City East has stunned the National Premier League NSW competition with a final day 2-1 victory against APIA Leichhardt Tigers denying the Lambert Park side a second consecutive Premiership title.
The visitors took the lead in the first half before APIA pegged their opponents back with a goal from Tasuku Sekiya ten minutes after the break. 
Adrian Ucchino might’ve won the game – and the title – for his side with a penalty but could only blast his spot kick over the crossbar.
With two minutes left on the clock, Robert Ezekiel popped up to seal a stunning win for Hakoah and deliver heartbreak for APIA and their fans. 
It was an incredible result to finish the season and one which is sure to cut deep for a long time to come for the Tigers.
With little but pride to play for, Hakoah came out strong; Andre De Jong’s wayward shot from distance a warning of the visitors intent to win.
They went close again a few minutes later when Amaury Gauthier rose in the middle to meet a corner, but the header lacked conviction and sailed wide of the target.
Shaken from their early stupor, APIA drove forward through Tasuku Sekiya, who blasted a shot against the goalkeeper only for Sean Symons to collect the ball and graze the crossbar with a shot of his own a few moments later.
Nathan Millgate took a bouncing ball on the run before swiping a volley wide of the near post, while Sekiya won a corner which Adrian Uccinho swung in for Anthony Bouzanis to swipe clear. 
APIA appeared to be knocking on the door after an indifferent start, but pushed forward at the expense of their defensive line. They were left hopelessly exposed as Andre De Dong streaked clean through the middle on the break, with Ivan Necevski left to make a terrific save in the one-on-one to keep the game scoreless.
There was little Necevski could do about Hakoah’s next attack, as a ball dropped into the box from the left flank for Amaury Gauthier to smash home past the stranded keeper with minutes to go until halftime.
The situation became even more dire at the break as news filtered through that Sydney Olympic had taken a lead at Belmore. Still, APIA picked themselves up to equalise just six minutes after the restart, as Sekiya took a loose ball on the left before picking his spot and guiding the ball perfectly across the goalkeeper and into the top right corner.
APIA looked to lack control in the midfield despite their goal, with Sekiya and Parisi pushing forward to leave a gap behind them. Themba Muata-Marlow saw a weak header gathered easily by Bouzanis, while up the other end Andre De Jong fell to deflect a shot past the post as Hakoah looked for the killer blow. 
Corey Biczo came on as a substitute to have a shot saved at point blank range; the ball coming to him at a near-impossible angle at the back post. 
With scores level heading into the final ten minutes, APIA might’ve felt they had one hand on the Premiership when Sean Symons won a penalty in the 83rd minute; jinking behind his man before going down to give his side a golden chance to take the lead for the first time in the match.
Adrian Ucchino took responsibility for the spot kick, and succumbed to the pressure of the moment as he drilled his penalty over the crossbar .
Ucchino’s miss served as a turning point in the match – and the title race – as Hakoah drove forward to grab a second, with Andre De Jong holding the ball up for Robert Ezekiel to sweep in a second for the visitors. 
APIA had chances to snatch a draw, but by now the players looked exhausted. Howard Fondyke drilled a low shot just past the near post, before Nathan Millgate popped up at the back post to glance a cross from Franco Parisi wide of the goal. 
One late goal seemed possible for the Tigers, but two in the final few minutes proved too much. In first place heading into Round 22, APIA Leichhardt must settle for second ahead of their first finals clash next weekend.
APIA’s Billy McColl remained proud of his team’s effort over the course of the season as they look towards the finals, regardless of the result on a bitterly disappointing final day.
“We were still positive at halftime. We were controlling the game and we’re a footballing team, so we knew we were going to create chances and we did create chances – today they didn’t go in,” he said.
“It’s been a great year and we’re disappointed not to win the title, but if you can’t put your shots away then you don’t win. Hakoah took their chances and they’ll take the points.”
“To finish the season with three wins is great for us,” said Hakoah’s Gavin Rae.
“APIA have been a difficult opponent for us recently – at least over the last couple of seasons – so to get a result against them is great as well. We went and nicked it at the end, but that’s football. Fortunately for us we got the win.”
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 1 (Sekiya 51’)
Hakoah Sydney City East FC 2 (Gauthier 34’, Ezekiel 88’)
Sunday August 12, 2018
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: B. Abraham
Assistant Referees: M. Mcorist, D. Horstead
Fourth official: T. Plasto
 
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC: 7. FONDYKE Howard, 3. GALIMI Paul, 19. LUNDY Brandon (8. BICZO Corey), 2. MILLGATE Nathan, 15. MUATA-MARLOW Themba, 1. NECEVSKI Ivan, 10. PARISI Franco, 20. SEKIYA Tasuku, 4. SYMONS Joshua, 16. SYMONS Sean, 18. UCCHINO Adrian

 

 

Substitutes not used: 13. D’APUZZO David, 38. GULISANO Samuel, 22. TUXFORD Blake, 5. ADATTINI Stephan

 

 

Yellow cards: N/A
Red cards: N/A

 

 

Hakoah Sydney City East FC: 1. BOUZANIS Anthony, 20. COMBES James, 19. COX Dominic, 10. DE JONG Andre, 6. DRAPER Cameron (12. EZEKIEL Robert), 21. GAUTHIER Amaury (31. KOLT Satchel), 8. GREEN Oliver, 3. KOUTA Michael, 60 NOJI Takayuki (11. CRIGHTON Jordan)i, 5. STAMATELLIS Mitchell, 4. WALKER Bradley

 

 

Substitutes not used: 40. FIGUEIRA Michael, 17. JONES Harry

 

Yellow cards: N/A
Red cards: N/A
By National Premier Leagues NSW reporter Max Grieve