Apia Leichhardt, 6pm Saturday 31st August 2019 - NSW NPL Grand Final
- philipkeegan
- Sep 5, 2019
- 5 min read
So, it all comes down to this. The NSW NPL Grand Final of 2019. The game was held at the new Parramatta Stadium, a fantastic stadium and I would say after King Tom the best in the country. The Parramatta Leagues Club is right next door and I headed there to meet up for some pre-match drinks in the sports bar. There were plenty of Croatia fans in there and it was a decent bar. The down side to this was the fact that the team were now playing their 5th game in 14 days, 2 of which have gone to extra time. The season was compacted by the NSWFA in order to play the game at this stadium as it was the only weekend it was free to use. Apia on the other hand had not played a game in 10 days. It has been a real achievement to get to the grand final and credit has to go to the players and staff who have had to play a game every 3 days for 2 weeks now.
As mentioned before, it is a very good stadium. The only downside being the beer was mid strength. The security was good, not over zealous and I don’t recall even seeing the police. The SUS were already in the stadium when we arrived around 15 minutes before kick off. I was also told that club legend Manis Lamond was in with them – I had to get a picture with him!
We hung our flag up at the back of the stand and took our places for the game. The crowd was given as over 6,500 and I would have said that we had more than half of that, as we took up the whole lower tier behind the goal. Despite the upper tier on all sides being closed, as well as the opposite end, the atmosphere was fantastic as streamers went off in the SUS to welcome the sides onto the pitch. With the attendance as high as it was I am in no doubt that a national second division would work and that we could easily be part of it. We have the ground and the support, just a federation with no interest in growing the game whatsoever. As long as the franchises of the A League limp along they are happy enough. The SUS had a banner which read FFA+FNSW = CIRCUS. Very apt. Making a team of semi professionals play 5 games in 14 days is a joke. God, I was nervous. The game kicked off and was somewhat of a dull affair in the early stages. Croatia certainly did not look like they had played all those games and did not look off the pace at all. Chances were few and far between, the only one being when former Croatia striker Payne stole the ball off a defender in the box, but was denied by Manos. It was an even game and as I felt that Croatia had started to have the better of it, they fell behind. A long cross found the head of Paul Galimi and his header looped over Manos to give Apia the lead. The rest of the half went by in a flash of singing and nervousness on my part. The mid strength beer did nothing for it. It looked like we should have had a penalty towards half time but as it was down the other end I did not see it well enough. The half time whistle sounded at 0-1 to Apia. Half time gave me the opportunity to get a photo with club legend Manis Lamond – thanks for the pic Manis! Great to see former players getting behind the team (from Perth as well, I believe).
The second half started with Croatia on top and it took a goal line clearance from Payne to keep the score at 1-0. However this was not to last and about 15 minutes in Croatia were level. Simonoski tangled with a defender and he went down. But no free kick was forthcoming and he whipped in a dangerous cross across the face of the goal for Matthew Bilic to direct into the net and pandemonium set in behind the goal. At 1-1 Apia were starting to look in trouble as Croatia got more of the ball, but could not create the clear cut chance to win the game. The game drifted towards extra time with a number of players going down with cramp and injuries with some being replaced. The game finally finished in a 1-1 draw and that meant for the third time in 2 weeks Croatia would be forced to play an extra 30 minutes.
Extra time started badly for Croatia. Within 5 minutes they were behind when a hopeful flick forward by Payne was latched onto by Symons. Manos came racing out of his goal to cover but was too late as Symons lobbed the ball first time to bounce into the empty net. It was a great finish but had an element of luck to it. Croatia did not let their heads go down and took the game to Apia for the rest of the first half but just could not fashion an equalizer. The half time whistle sounded as tension mounted. Croatia almost levelled it up again in the opening minutes of the second half of extra time, but the header was cleared off the line amid some desperate defending. Apia then went in search of the corners to waste time as Croatia dominated possession. Time was ticking away quickly and only 1 minute of stoppage time was added. Croatia just could not find the leveller and as the final whistle sounded we went down 2-1. It was a gallant effort from the lads, with luck we could have won. Apia certainly were not the better team in my opinion. Croatia and grand finals just don’t seem to mix well. The 2006 triumph against Blacktown is the only one we have won since 1983. We have lost in another six in either the NSL or the state league. It’s also worth noting that the club has finished top of the ladder 11 times in that period. Where I grew up that meant you won the title. We headed to Parra Leagues to have food and a beer. It really has been a great season but I just felt deflated. Losing finals will do that to you. I could not head onto the club, I missed a great party I was told. The club is alive and kicking; even a report of the season on the FNSW website gave Croatia supporters a mention. The best in the country? You know it. We may have lost the battle but we won the war. We are still here, we are still relevant, memberships are up and crowds are great. If only the FFA could get its act together and get that national second division going. I will be doing an end of season round up to follow this, so stay tuned. Sydney Croatia Ole Ole Ole….
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