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On a cool evening in Sutherland, the canteen was out of hot chocolate, the atmosphere wasn't brilliant and the football was scrappy. Welcome to football at it's purest. With a strong collection of young up and coming stars, former A-League players and 42 year old Sutherland player George Souris, this match was a clash of two titans who will both be aiming to be at the top of the table come seasons end.
With Sutherland lining up in their usual 4-4-1-1 playing Matt Bailey as the link between midfield and attack. The home side looked to control the match from the centre circle and work the ball out to the wings with Nick Stavroulakis and Panni Nikas dictating the pace of the game.
APIA from the get go looked as though they'd be playing counter attacking football as they set out their team in a somewhat unorthodox 4-3-2-1 formation with Franco Parisi leading the attack. With the D'Apuzzo brothers both getting a start, the away side were looking to play a high pressing game with plenty of long balls into the box.
As the match kicked off, former Bankstown City FC striker Hussein Salameh was played on the left wing for new club Sutherland, a position he looked uncomfortable in. His pace, width and physical presence will add an extra dimension to Sutherland's tactics over time however against APIA he at times struggled.
The key moment of the opening half hour for the home side was a strong penalty shout which was waved as "play on" when Sydney FC youth league striker Blake Powell was pulled down in the box. The crowd shouted penalty. The media box all shouted penalty. The referee however said that Powell went to ground too easily.
APIA's best chance of the game came just before the break when David D'Apuzzo attempted to slot the ball into the back of the net after a poor clearance off a corner. His shot was saved off the line by veteran defender Souris - much to the dislike of the travelling supporters.
After the break, the away side looked more likely to open the scoring as first Adam D'Apuzzo's penetrating run through the centre of the park was cleared for a corner at the crucial moment followed by Wandi Jajaw's one on one opportunity against Sutherland's keeper Simon Jaeger who pulled off a match winning save.
Just after the 55th minute mark there was a moment of madness by Sutherland striker Blake Powell who had a few choice words with David D'Apuzzo. As David lowered his head, Powell lent in for a head butt leaving the referee no choice but to show a red card.
Despite going down to ten men, Sutherland went from strength to strength as they used their ability of time and space on the pitch looked to be too much to handle for APIA.
In the 67th minute Matt Bailey was pulled down inside the box as APIA's defence looked to be coming increasingly frustrated with the attacking midfielder's runs through their back line. Former A-League midfielder, Panni Nikas stepped up and calmly slotted the ball into the net. From this moment on, it was definitely game on.
In the dying moments of the match APIA managed to clip the post twice and have a header just skip wide of the goal. It was a case of close but not close enough for the away side on a evening that really could have gone either way.
With a 1-0 win for Sutherland, head coach Robbie Stanton was pleased with the result praising his side for their valiant performance.
"Always happy with the way my team plays. They have heart and that makes a difference. Yes I was disappointed with the disallowed penalty and some of the challenges but a win is a win at the end of the day."
The question before the start of the season was how much longer Sutherland can expect George Souris to command their back line. Stanton was quick to reply, albeit in jest.
"George says he still has two more years to play, guess we'll have to wait and see."
In the other NSW Premier League fixtures tonight, Bonnyrigg White Eagles made a strong start to their 2012 season with a 3-2 away win over South Coast Wolves with Robbie Younis scoring a hat-trick in the process. Marconi Stallions also claimed maximum points as they dominated the newly promoted Blacktown Spartans with a 4-1 win. Nathan Elasi took the match ball home as he scored a hat-trick of his own to establish his battle for the 2012 Golden Boot.