City falls short against Wests APIA in Round Two
Despite promising signs in Round One of the Australian Championship, both Adelaide City and Wests APIA entered Round Two hungry for more after settling for a point each following unsuccessful penalty shootouts in their respective games.
Adelaide City faced an entirely different proposition in its second consecutive home game.
After taking on an Avondale side juggling five starting debuts and a head coach only days into the job, APIA arrived in Oakden as a well-oiled machine with a well-established coach, squad, and style of play.
Football is a funny game sometimes. APIA spent 90 minutes huffing and puffing against Broadmeadow and, despite being good value for multiple goals, left Newcastle scoreless.
In Round Two, a fortuitous deflection in the box put the ball in the path of Fabian Monge, who scored the third-fastest goal in Australian Championship history, giving APIA the lead just one minute and forty-six seconds after kick-off.
The early goal set the tempo for the half, with APIA dominating proceedings, and NPL NSW Medallist Eddie Caspers influential in midfield alongside goalscorer Fabian Monge.
The Black and White’s chance came late in the first half when Oliver Kalac saved an Asad Kasumovic free kick to send Wests APIA to the break ahead.
Vas Parhas opted for a double change at the break, replacing Nicholas Bucco and Dom Costanzo for the youthful exuberance of Fabian Grelli and Giorgio Parhas.
Grelli seemed to earn a penalty minutes into the second half, but referee Ben Abraham overturned the decision after consulting his assistant referee.
Things went from bad to worse for City when Jack Stewart won the ball in the box 10 minutes later, before cutting it back to an unmarked Jordan Segreto who doubled his side’s lead.
The Black and White were still up for the fight with Asad Kasumovic, who was denied by the woodwork twice the previous week, bringing a Daniel Bressan diagonal ball under his spell and smashing past Oliver Kalac to bring his side back into the game in the 72nd minute.
For a moment, the game opened up, resembling the chaotic closing stages of the Avondale match the week before.
As the game neared its conclusion, APIA youngster Taye Hedley sealed the tie, exchanging passes with teammate Jack Stewart on the edge of the box before placing a composed finish past John Hall to secure a 3-1 win for the visitors.
Adelaide City head to Newcastle on Friday the 30th of October to take on Broadmeadow Magic in Round Three of the Australian Championship.
Match Details
Adelaide City 1 (Kasumovic 73’)
Wests APIA 3 (Monge 2’, Segreto 65’, Hedley 87’)
2026 Australian Championship — Round 2
Friday, 23 October 2026
Adelaide City Park
