Heart-Break - A.P.I.A. Leichhardt 1-0 Sydney Olympic

For a while there, i was really wondering whether to actually write a blog about last night's match. Very rarely do I leave a ground after a defeat as upset and as frustrated as I was last night. Triumph and Defeat are part and parcel of sport and of supporting a team, and the triumphs will always be too few, compared to the defeats. But even still, how that ball stayed out of the .A.P.I.A. net will always be a mystery to me and be something that I will never fully understand. As it is we have been knocked out of the Finals and season 2015 is now over. Another opportunity missed for the Club.

What makes the defeat worse is how well we have been playing recently and the quiet confidence that the supporters had. Positive that we would get passed A.P.I.A. and make it to next weekend. The 1st half of the match did not live up to any great heights. Neither side dominated the other as it turned into a real slog with crunching tackles flying in from both sides. Chances were proving hard to come by for both sides and it didn't look likely that there would be goal before half-time. There were a series of half chances but nobody could find the opening goal. Right on the stroke of half-time though,  A.P.I.A. launched an attack, the ball sat up for one of their players, who's scuffed shot hit the back of one of the Olympic defenders, with the ball looping over the despairing Paul Henderson to send A.P.I.A. to the break 1-0 up.

If in the 1st half we looked a little dis-jointed, in the 2nd half it was a completely different story. We had our foot on A.P.I.A's throat. We had chance after chance. Brendan Hooper hit the post from his shot, Dimitri Hatzimouratis had his shot saved onto the post, we had another shot that hit the wood-work, Go Shirai had his shot remarkably cleared off the line by an A.P.I.A. defender. It might have been Yianni Spyrakis who hit a fantastic lob, which was also desperately cleared off the line by an A.P.I.A. defender. Wave after wave of attacks brought out some more ridiculous saves this time from the A.P.I.A. Goalkeeper, the ball would just not go in. It was destined to not be our night, we just could not, no matter what we did, find the back of the net. We kept pushing and pushing to find the equaliser, but it never came. We could have kept on playing for another 5 hours it was just never going to go in. It was just one of those nights. As the full-time whistle blew, the frustration, disappointment and anger was clear to see on the many faces of the Olympic supporters who ventured out to Lambert Park last night. Another year has passed, another missed opportunity for the Club. Everybody was justifiably gutted, a terrible way to go out.

As is customary in this league and with the nature of the NSWPL, we will almost definitely lose some players for next year. Hopefully the players that remain along with the coaching staff stay the course. Hopefully everybody does their homework and can pin-point which exact players we need and can bring in that can help us next season. Hopefully, with the addition of these players we can keep working towards challenging again next season. There are also some fantastic young boys in the 20's who are well and truly capable of stepping up to First Grade next season as well.

Of course we are still in the FFA Cup. Our round of 16 match takes place in Melbourne on Tuesday night against Hume City at ABD Stadium in Broadmeadows, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, kicking off at 7.30pm.

Finals Fever - Sydney Olympic 2-0 South Coast Wolves

After 22 rounds of the home and away season, we finished in 4th spot. We are now effectively in a new competition. First past the post is a great achievement, but in Australia, the Finals Series and winning the Grand Final rules the roost. So with that, we began our Finals Series campaign this afternoon against the team who had finished the regular season in 5th spot, the South Coast Wolves, in a sudden death Elimination Final.

A gloomy Sydney day welcomed the supporters and players onto Lambert Park for the contest. We started the match well, immediately gaining a foot-hold in the contest and dominating the match from the outset. We were looking dangerous all over the park as we took the game to the Wolves. This was highlighted by the fact we created chance after chance inside the first 20 minutes of the contest. The supporters who made it out to Leichhardt were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to capitalise on our domination, they didn't have to wait long as Dimi Hatzimouratis finished off some nice work from Michael Gaitatzis down the flank to put the ball away and send us 1-0 up and give us a well deserved lead. We had a couple more chances before half-time to extend our lead but it was not to be, and we went to the break leading 1-0.

As expected, the beginning of the 2nd half saw the Wolves come out looking to find an equaliser to get back into the contest. The 2nd half see-sawed back and forth as Wolves were pushing for their goal and we were in turn hitting them on the counter-attack, which made it a very entertaining game to watch. Although the Wolves were getting into the match I don't recall them having more than 1 clear cut opportunity to score during the 2nd half. This was contrary to ourselves who continued to create chances, but just unable to find the killer 2nd goal. 25 minutes into the 2nd half, Scott Balderson and Michael Gaitatzis were replaced by the returning Niko Tsattalios and Go Shirai respectively. Wolves were still looking for the equalising goal, a goal would come but it would be Olympic's goal, a great ball from Taiga Soeda found Harris Gaitatzis in space, who dribbled it into the box and smashed his shot passed the Wolves Goalkeeper to send the Olympic supporters into delirium. The 2nd goal kicked the stuffing out of the Wolves players who had no more left to give. 10 or so minutes later the full-time whistle was blown and we had got the job done courtesy of a 2-0 win.

Wolves were coming off the back of several weeks of effectively Finals Football and it looked like they had run their race by the time they got to the Finals, but it was a good effort from them given where they were during the mid-way part of the season to even make the top 5. For us we look to be in good form and playing some good football. Hopefully the boys can keep it going for 3 more weeks.

In today's other Finals match, APIA Leichhardt lost 3-1 at home to the Bonnyrigg White Eagles. Which means we will be in another Elimination Final next week at Lambert Park to face APIA Leichhardt.

Deserved Victory - Sydney Olympic 1-0 Sydney United

The final regular season round of the season is here. Going into this final round, there were still a few unanswered questions regarding where we would finish and who we could be potentially facing in Week 1 of the Finals. It's all been run and won now. I'll expand on this further, a bit later.

On to the game. The boys would have been eager to erase the 3-0 loss earlier in the season at Edensor Park. The match started with tackles flying in from both sets of players. It was surprising that within the first 10 minutes we already had 3 players with Yellow Cards whilst the opposition had none for some crude challenges of their own. The opposition had a few chances via set pieces but the Olympic defense dealt with them pretty easy all day. We also managed to carve out some chances in the 1st half but could not manage to find the back of the net. United's Goalkeeper was called into action to help keep the score at 0-0. Will Angel picked up an injury halfway through the 1st half and was replaced by Harris Gaitatzis. Not sure what the injury was, hopefully it was not too serious and Will is ready for next week. Not much else of note happened and we went to the break dead-locked at 0-0.

In the 2nd half we stepped it up a bit and began to control the match. We created further chances early on in the 2nd half and 10 or so minutes in we managed to open the scoring. We had a few shots saved in quick succession, with Harris Gaitatzis there to bury the rebound and put us 1-0 up. As the match progressed we really should have put the game to bed as we had several further chances but we were unable to capitalise and thus unable to kill the game off. With the score at 1-0 the opposition were always in the match and had a few half chances of their own to grab an equaliser. But our defense held firm and Hendo at the back was safe between the sticks. The score remained 1-0 at the full-time whistle, another deserved 3 points.

Around the grounds; Bonnyrigg put Rockdale to the sword smashing them 4-0, APIA played out an entertaining 4-4 draw with Blacktown Spartans, South Coast Wolves beat a hapless Marconi 2-0 consigning that club to almost certain relegation, Parramatta Melita ensured their safety by beating Manly 2-1 in Manly and Blacktown City beat Sutherland 4-1 to clinch the Minor Premiership.

As a result of the final round results, disappointingly we weren't able to crack it for a top 3 finish and secure the double chance in the Finals. As a result of finishing 4th we take on a rampant South Coast Wolves who finished 5th in an Elimination Final next weekend. APIA (2nd) play Bonnyrigg (3rd) in the Qualifying Final, with Blacktown City having a week off.

Penultimate Round - Sutherland Sharks 0-2 Sydney Olympic

After Tuesday night's trip to the A.C.T. the boys had to back up on Saturday night to take on an always difficult Sutherland on their own pitch. The Sharks lost their coach and a few important players at the end of last year, so it has not been a successful year for them. They have given a chance to and blooded a few youngsters this season and were still a slim chance to make the Finals coming into last night's fixture, but all in all they really didn't have too much to play for last night. A carefree and pressure-free mindset, or a not-caring mindset, could produce several different outcomes.

The match started with both sides getting out quick from the blocks in a hotly contested opening 20 minutes. Sutherland carved out some opportunities for themselves, but we solidly held them out. Overall we were the better side and dictated proceedings, creating several chances but we unfortunately couldn't find the back of the net in the opening exchanges. We kept our foot on the accelerator in a bid to open the scoring, and we would through Dimi Hatzimouratis who pounced on a parried shot from Scott Balderson to put the ball away and give us a 1-0 lead 5 minutes before the break. Not much else happened for the next 5 minutes and we went to the half-time break leading 1-0.

Sutherland gave it a real go in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half in bid to find an equaliser. They had a couple of chances, fortunately for us they were not able to find the back of the net. From this point on we once again took control of proceedings. We dominated the rest of the match causing havoc for the Sharks defense with good interplay and in the process creating a plethora of chances, only to be foiled by last ditch defending and good goalkeeping. With the score remaining at 1-0 all it would have took was for Sutherland to score to change the complexion of the match. A goal would come, but it was for the good guys, as in injury-time we were awarded a penalty. Harris Gaitatzis stepped up to put the spot-kick away and give us a well deserved 2-0 lead, and that's how the score would remain at full-time.

So it was another solid victory for the club. Very professional performance.

Given last night's other result (Bonnyrigg 0-3 A.P.I.A.) we are now 1 point behind Bonnyrigg for that all-important 3rd place finish, which gives you a double-chance in the Finals. So it will go right down to the wire. All energy should be directed towards this.

Our next match is our final regular season home game of the season, next Sunday at Belmore Sports Ground against Sydney United - kickoff 3pm.

FFA Cup - Gungahlin United 0-1 Sydney Olympic

I, along with a few others decided to make the trek down to the A.C.T. to watch our boys take on A.C.T. NPL club Gungahlin United in the round of 32 of the FFA Cup. After flooring it down the highway for 2 and a bit hours we arrived on the northern outskirts of the A.C.T. at a freezing Gungahlin. Arriving at the ground it was heartening to see so many Sydney Olympic scarves and jackets wrapped around the many supporters who made it down for the match. Add to that the many Canberra Olympic people at the match and there was plenty of support for the boys for this very important match.

The match started with both sides looking to attack, which was made difficult by the condition of the pitch, which from all reports also hosts League, Union and AFL matches during the season. The healthy crowd was treated to a pretty decent match all be it scrappy at times. Gungahlin managed to carve out a couple of chances and had one excellent chance to take the lead but the shot went wide. We were dangerous down the flanks creating a few openings through some nice crosses all of which didn't find their mark and we went to the break dead-locked at 0-0.

At half-time we went down to see what was on the menu at the Gungahlin canteen. The hosts and well done to them, were catering for their guests, so we grabbed some souvlakia and to be fair they weren't bad. If the weather wasn't cold enough at the beginning of the 2nd half it somehow got worse with the temperature further dropping and accompanied now by a wind watch was blowing across the ground, which made things worse.

Back to the game. At the start of the 2nd half we seemed to lift our intensity which was lacking in large parts during the 1st half. We were looking much more dominant, reducing Gungahlin to sporadic attacks. Again we were looking dangerous down the flanks via Will Angel and Troy Danaskos down the Left and Brayden Sorge and the recently brought-on Michael Gaitatzis down the Right who replaced Go Shirai. The introduction of Yianni Spyrakis for Ryan Keir also seemed to spark us. With around 15 minutes to go, we made our final substitution with Scott Balderson coming on for Harris Gaitatzis. We were dominating Gungahlin with good passing and getting at them down the flanks but could not produce the killer ball. 6 or 7 minutes from the end our goal would come through Michael Gaitatzis who dribbled into the box, cut onto his left foot and smashed his shot into the corner of the net, leaving the Gungahlin Goalkeeper with little chance.

To the relief of the supporters who made the journey down, we avoided extra-time and the lottery of penalties and further dropping temperatures, to get the job done within the 90 minutes. We are through to the round of 16 of the FFA Cup, we will await to see who we draw in the next round.

Our next match is against Sutherland Sharks at Seymour Shaw Park on Saturday night - kickoff 7.30pm.

Building momentum - Sydney Olympic 4-0 Blacktown City

It was an unusual kickoff time for a Sydney Olympic league game, Saturday 3pm. It was moved mainly to give the boys an extra day to recover before our all-important FFA Cup round of 32 match on Tuesday night against Gungahlin United down in the A.C.T. Blacktown City were coming off a Wednesday FFA Cup round of 32 match of their own and we were saving a few players for Tuesday night, those two factors were going to make this match intriguing and those gathered at Belmore were interested to see how the match would pan out.

It didn't take too long to find out what kind of match we were in for as we opened the scoring inside the opening 5 minutes via a Scott Balderson headed goal, we only had to wait another 10 or so minutes for our 2nd goal with Dimi Hatzimouratis finishing coolly to double our lead. 10 minutes before half-time Taiga Soeda joined the party getting our 3rd goal, and the Olympic supporters couldn't believe what they were seeing. This was not the end of the scoring though as Taiga grabbed a 2nd with a great freekick giving us a 4-0 lead. Moments later the referee blew for half-time and we went to the break with well deserved 4-0 lead.

The 2nd half began with both sides trying to continue the free-flowing play of the 1st half. As expected Blacktown City came out eager to improve on their dismal 1st half display, we also had a few chances to further extend our lead. But by mid-way through the 2nd half both sides were pretty much resigned to accepting the end result, giving our boys a chance to put our feet up and not exert ourselves as much, having in mind our very important match on Tuesday night, this was a great position to be in. To the joy of the Olympic supporters full-time came and we had banked another important 3 points and a great win to boot.

I don't like to use the word ''curse'' but we have had a bit of trouble with Blacktown City over the last few years, with wins against them proving hard to come by. Sure they were coming off a 3 day break, but i will take a win against them all the same. Our form and performances have certainly picked up after our mid-season slump. We are looking good heading into the business end of the season.

Our next match is the FFA Cup round of the 32 clash against Gungahlin United in the A.C.T. - kickoff 7.30pm.

The club has organised a bus for supporters to go down and watch the game, call (02) 9787-7890 to book your seat or head to the offices at Belmore Sports Ground. Or you can head down independently and get your tickets at the gate at the Gungahlin Enclosed Oval.