In perhaps what was our best performance of the year on Sunday, we
ironically were not able to collect the vital 3 points this time. Unfortunately
we spurned numerous opportunities to take the lead and also managed to miss a
penalty, so we only have ourselves to blame. We must now pick ourselves up for
what looks like a tough 6 week stretch to close out the regular season.
Sydney Olympic started off the match very well and we looked well up for
it. Our enthusiasm would pay off within the first 10 minutes of the game as
Rockdale were continually bombarded and our persistent pressure paid off as
they gave away a penalty early on. Here was our chance to take the lead and
seize total control of the game. Radovan Pavicevic stepped up to take the
spot-kick, unfortunately his strike struck the post and rebounded away from
goal, this was our second penalty miss in a row after last week’s miss by Peter
Makrillos. As disappointing as this was we did not drop our heads and kept
pushing to find the opening goal. We continued to have chances throughout that
first-half, but as has been the story for most of the season we couldn’t put
any of our chances away. In defence we looked rather untroubled and pretty much
looked in control during the first-half. As it was, we had to go to the
half-time break with the match scoreless at 0-0.
The second-half began pretty much the same way as the
first-half ended, with Sydney Olympic controlling the match, but that final
pass or cross to unlock the Rockdale defence and set up a clear-cut chance
seemed to elude us. As the half went on we continued to find ourselves in
attacking positions deep in Rockdale’s half of the field, but we struggled to
finish off the chances that were coming our way. Nothing symbolised this more
when with around 15 minutes to go, William Angel made a marauding run down the
left flank and played a nice pass across the goal to what looked like a tap-in and
certain goal, unfortunately the chance was missed by an un-marked Niko
Tsattalios, it didn’t look like it would be our day. Rockdale were limited to
only a few half chances throughout the match, but as if knowing they were
getting out of jail in this match, grew in confidence and stepped it up in the
last 10 minutes in a bid to try and steal the victory, but no theft occurred
this time as we had to settle for a 0-0 draw.
So once again this season our Achilles heel was there
for all to see, scoring goals. We just don’t do enough of it, we can’t put teams
away and as a result we constantly find ourselves in a lot of these tense and
close games, which are no good for the heart. It also must be said that we
desperately missed the services of Yu Kuboki on Sunday Afternoon, who I believe
was suspended for accumulating too many yellow cards this season, he would have
made a difference.
Defensively we were once again very solid, this part of our game has been our major
strength this season. Conceding the fewest goals in the competition is a
testament to that. As long as our defence remains solid, we will continue to
keep ourselves in games this season and give ourselves every chance of winning
matches.
In terms of the Club Championship, our U18’s lost 3-0 and in the U20’s
we lost 2-1. A shit weekend all-round.
Our next match is this coming Sunday Evening, July 2, another important game
against an in-form Manly United at Belmore Sports Ground, with Kick-Off at 5pm.
Get to Belmore this Sunday and support the Club.
Monday, 26 June 2017
Monday, 19 June 2017
Sydney Olympic 2-0 Parramatta FC
Sydney Olympic have picked up another important victory, beating
Parramatta 2-0 at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday Afternoon. In a match which
never reached any great heights and at times mirrored a training run, as a
result of this, a bit of laziness crept into the side towards the end of the
match. The most important thing however was to pick up the 3 points which we
did.
Sydney Olympic controlled the match from the outset, this was unsurprising as Parramatta FC were fielding basically an entirely new squad and had a new coach in former Sydney Olympic Legend, Marshall Soper. We controlled most of the possession and we were passing it around well, but we were predictably finding it a little bit difficult to get through the ultra-defensive set-up of Parramatta. 15 minutes into the game though we did end up taking the lead somewhat fortunately, as a shot from new boy Mohamed Rahimi slipped through the Parramatta goalkeeper’s gloves to give us a 1-0 lead. We kept pressing in a bid to find the second goal, but some last ditch defending and some fine goalkeeping by Parramatta kept the score at 1-0. Disappointingly for Sydney Olympic we did allow Parramatta to have 2 very good 1-on-1 chances in the first-half, but a couple of good saves from Paul Henderson kept them scoreless. We probably should have been more in front but we went to the half-time break with a 1-0 lead.
We came out hard in the second-half, having a couple of really good chances to extend our lead. 10 minutes or so into the second-half we would eventually put one of those chances away, as Yu Kuboki got himself on the score-sheet once again this season with a nice low header to make it 2-0 to Sydney Olympic. We continued to create chances as Parramatta struggled to get out of their own half at times, but we could not add to our 2 goals. The final 20 or so minutes of the game descended into some poor play from us, giving the ball away, losing the ball in possession, poor passing and generally looking very lackadaisical out there. Although we were never really threatened by Parramatta who were just not good enough to take advantage of our poor play, there were some worrying signs from us out there. We had a great chance late on to make it 3-0 through a penalty, but Peter Makrillos missed the spot-kick, pretty much summing up the last 20 or so minutes from us.
So it was a comfortable victory for Sydney Olympic in the end. But it was not the sort of match you want to have under your belt when the really big and tough fixtures are coming up, and believe me they are coming in succession over these last 7 rounds of the season.
A mere 3 weeks since we signed Liam Youlley, he apparently has gone overseas chasing an opportunity over there, while there are also murmurings that a couple of others will be gone too, not good news.
In terms of the Club Championship, our U18’s lost 1-0 and in the U20’s we ended up with a 3-1 win.
Our next match is this Sunday Afternoon June 25, a vital game against Rockdale at Belmore Sports Ground, with Kick-Off at 3pm.
In the reverse fixture, morons connected to next week’s opponent damaged vehicles belonging to Sydney Olympic Supporters while also trying to initiate “punch-ons” with sections of the elderly Sydney Olympic Supporters. This happens on a regular basis with this mob, FNSW continues to ignore these actions & the constant provocations from this outfit masquerading as a soccer club. Hopefully Sydney Olympic is prepared for Sunday and can identify these grubs at the gate and not let them into the ground. I urge all Sydney Olympic Supporters to come out and support the club and each other this Sunday.
Get to Belmore this Sunday and support the Club.
Sydney Olympic controlled the match from the outset, this was unsurprising as Parramatta FC were fielding basically an entirely new squad and had a new coach in former Sydney Olympic Legend, Marshall Soper. We controlled most of the possession and we were passing it around well, but we were predictably finding it a little bit difficult to get through the ultra-defensive set-up of Parramatta. 15 minutes into the game though we did end up taking the lead somewhat fortunately, as a shot from new boy Mohamed Rahimi slipped through the Parramatta goalkeeper’s gloves to give us a 1-0 lead. We kept pressing in a bid to find the second goal, but some last ditch defending and some fine goalkeeping by Parramatta kept the score at 1-0. Disappointingly for Sydney Olympic we did allow Parramatta to have 2 very good 1-on-1 chances in the first-half, but a couple of good saves from Paul Henderson kept them scoreless. We probably should have been more in front but we went to the half-time break with a 1-0 lead.
We came out hard in the second-half, having a couple of really good chances to extend our lead. 10 minutes or so into the second-half we would eventually put one of those chances away, as Yu Kuboki got himself on the score-sheet once again this season with a nice low header to make it 2-0 to Sydney Olympic. We continued to create chances as Parramatta struggled to get out of their own half at times, but we could not add to our 2 goals. The final 20 or so minutes of the game descended into some poor play from us, giving the ball away, losing the ball in possession, poor passing and generally looking very lackadaisical out there. Although we were never really threatened by Parramatta who were just not good enough to take advantage of our poor play, there were some worrying signs from us out there. We had a great chance late on to make it 3-0 through a penalty, but Peter Makrillos missed the spot-kick, pretty much summing up the last 20 or so minutes from us.
So it was a comfortable victory for Sydney Olympic in the end. But it was not the sort of match you want to have under your belt when the really big and tough fixtures are coming up, and believe me they are coming in succession over these last 7 rounds of the season.
A mere 3 weeks since we signed Liam Youlley, he apparently has gone overseas chasing an opportunity over there, while there are also murmurings that a couple of others will be gone too, not good news.
In terms of the Club Championship, our U18’s lost 1-0 and in the U20’s we ended up with a 3-1 win.
Our next match is this Sunday Afternoon June 25, a vital game against Rockdale at Belmore Sports Ground, with Kick-Off at 3pm.
In the reverse fixture, morons connected to next week’s opponent damaged vehicles belonging to Sydney Olympic Supporters while also trying to initiate “punch-ons” with sections of the elderly Sydney Olympic Supporters. This happens on a regular basis with this mob, FNSW continues to ignore these actions & the constant provocations from this outfit masquerading as a soccer club. Hopefully Sydney Olympic is prepared for Sunday and can identify these grubs at the gate and not let them into the ground. I urge all Sydney Olympic Supporters to come out and support the club and each other this Sunday.
Get to Belmore this Sunday and support the Club.
Tuesday, 13 June 2017
Sydney Olympic 2-0 Sydney FC NPL Team
Monday Night’s performance wasn’t one of the most convincing displays we
have seen this year, but at this stage of the season, what is of the upmost
importance is to keep collecting the 3 points and to pick up as many wins as
you can. By doing this hopefully we will find ourselves high on the ladder come
the end of the season with Sydney Olympic a chance of doing something in the
Finals.
It was a fairly circumspect start to the match from both sides as both took a while to warm into the match. The first bit of action came about 5 minutes into the game, when William Angel made a nice run down the left and then delivered a cross which was deflected and ended up hitting the crossbar and going out for a corner. From the ensuing corner there was a bit of a goalmouth scramble but unfortunately we could not turn it into the opening goal. The opposition did have their periods of dominance in terms of possession and did have a few half chances but they never really looked that threatening in the first-half. In the final 10 minutes of the first-half, in between the two footed challenges from the opposition, we looked the more dominant team in possession and created the bulk of the chances, all be it they were only half chances but certainly we probably should have finished off one of them and taken the lead into half-time. But at the half-time break, neither side could break the deadlock and the score remained 0-0.
We started the second-half the same way we ended the first-half, in full control and clearly the dominant side. As a result of this dominance we were able to take the lead 10 minutes into the second-half through a goal from Jinya An, who scored direct from a corner which was not dealt with by the opposition and missed by everyone to nestle into the back of the net, putting us 1-0 up. The next 25 or so minutes was fairly even as the opposition pressed hard looking for an equaliser while Sydney Olympic defended stoutly, absorbed a bit of pressure and tried to hit on the counter-attack. With about 5 minutes to go we had a great chance to ease the nerves and kill the game off, but Yu Kuboki failed to finish off his golden chance as his shot was saved. Fortunately though, we would grab our second goal soon after, coming right at the death as the ball found its way to Jinya An who made room for himself and his left footed shot found the bottom of the net, to seal the victory and the vital 3 points.
So as stated at the top, it was not the greatest display, but what mattered is the 3 points and that we were fairly comfortable defensively during the 90 minutes with our opponent not throwing a hell of a lot in terms of attack.
2 more new signings made their debut for the Club as well on Monday, George Timotheou came on with roughly 20 minutes to go and looked pretty assured in defence and Ben Morrison who came on with only a few minutes to go.
In terms of the Club Championship, our U18’s lost 5-2 and in the U20’s we ended up with a 3-0 win.
Our next match is this Sunday Afternoon June 18, another must win match against what will be a now desperate Parramatta FC outfit, at Belmore Sports Ground with Kick-Off at 3pm.
Get to Belmore this Sunday and support the Club.
It was a fairly circumspect start to the match from both sides as both took a while to warm into the match. The first bit of action came about 5 minutes into the game, when William Angel made a nice run down the left and then delivered a cross which was deflected and ended up hitting the crossbar and going out for a corner. From the ensuing corner there was a bit of a goalmouth scramble but unfortunately we could not turn it into the opening goal. The opposition did have their periods of dominance in terms of possession and did have a few half chances but they never really looked that threatening in the first-half. In the final 10 minutes of the first-half, in between the two footed challenges from the opposition, we looked the more dominant team in possession and created the bulk of the chances, all be it they were only half chances but certainly we probably should have finished off one of them and taken the lead into half-time. But at the half-time break, neither side could break the deadlock and the score remained 0-0.
We started the second-half the same way we ended the first-half, in full control and clearly the dominant side. As a result of this dominance we were able to take the lead 10 minutes into the second-half through a goal from Jinya An, who scored direct from a corner which was not dealt with by the opposition and missed by everyone to nestle into the back of the net, putting us 1-0 up. The next 25 or so minutes was fairly even as the opposition pressed hard looking for an equaliser while Sydney Olympic defended stoutly, absorbed a bit of pressure and tried to hit on the counter-attack. With about 5 minutes to go we had a great chance to ease the nerves and kill the game off, but Yu Kuboki failed to finish off his golden chance as his shot was saved. Fortunately though, we would grab our second goal soon after, coming right at the death as the ball found its way to Jinya An who made room for himself and his left footed shot found the bottom of the net, to seal the victory and the vital 3 points.
So as stated at the top, it was not the greatest display, but what mattered is the 3 points and that we were fairly comfortable defensively during the 90 minutes with our opponent not throwing a hell of a lot in terms of attack.
2 more new signings made their debut for the Club as well on Monday, George Timotheou came on with roughly 20 minutes to go and looked pretty assured in defence and Ben Morrison who came on with only a few minutes to go.
In terms of the Club Championship, our U18’s lost 5-2 and in the U20’s we ended up with a 3-0 win.
Our next match is this Sunday Afternoon June 18, another must win match against what will be a now desperate Parramatta FC outfit, at Belmore Sports Ground with Kick-Off at 3pm.
Get to Belmore this Sunday and support the Club.
Monday, 5 June 2017
Wollongong Wolves 2-1 Sydney Olympic + FFA Cup debacle
The loss on its own is nothing to be ashamed of as the Wollongong Wolves
are a good side and a contender this season, despite where they find themselves
on the ladder at the moment. But for Sydney Olympic it brings to an end a
disappointing week for the Club and its Supporters.
We started off well in the first-half and looked the more dangerous side, but as has been the case in many of our first-half performances this season we went behind after conceding 2 goals in quick succession. Just before half-time we had a chance to cut the deficit, but the chance was missed and so we went to the half-time break trailing 2-0.
We came out hard at the beginning of the second-half looking to get back into the contest. 10 minutes into the second-half we got our breakthrough, as Niko Tsattalios put in the rebound after the ball had come off the woodwork. Soon after we came close to drawing level only to see the chance cleared off the line. The last 30 minutes or so were frantic, as we looked for goals and Wollongong tried to hit us on the counter. Unfortunately we could not find an equaliser and there would be no change to the score, as we went down 2-1.
In fairness, the players had every right to drop their heads after what happened in mid-week, instead we saw a committed performance down in Wollongong against a team that is on the rise. With a bit of luck we could have quite easily walked away with a draw if not the 3 points.
So as it stands we are currently holding onto 3rd spot on the ladder by our fingertips, with a gaggle of clubs all on our tails. The last 9 rounds of the season will be interesting to say the very least. Can the disappointment of being knocked out of the FFA Cup be used as motivation to do something in the League this season? We shall wait and see.
In terms of the Club Championship, our U18’s won 2-1 and in the U20’s we ended with a 2-2 draw.
A quick word on a few new signings. Liam Youlley played last week and he was joined by Mohamed Rahimi a player signed from Blacktown Spartans and George Timotheou from Canberra, who we signed from Sydney FC.
Who is making these signings? Does this person or persons not see fit to sign a Centre-Forward or maybe Left and Right backs, instead of having to play people out of position all the time, which at the same time removes those players from parts of the pitch where they are actually more useful and dangerous?
I’ve had a few days to ponder over what I was going to write in regards to the FFA Cup debacle of last Wednesday Night. We as in Sydney Olympic Supporters, have a tendency to be melodramatic and over-state certain situations.
But make no mistake, what happened last Wednesday Night was nothing short of an absolute disgrace and is just the latest in a long line of failures for Sydney Olympic ever since we were dumped back into this – black-hole / hell-hole – that now calls itself “NPL NSW”. If FFA or FNSW actually came to Belmore at the start of the year and handed us a pen and paper and told us we could create our own route to make the FFA Cup, we could not have come up with an easier route even if we tried, and yet still we failed.
Of course as a result of losing in the FFA Cup Qualifiers this automatically knocks us out of the Waratah Cup also. Now I can sit here and point fingers and play the blame game and there are plenty of people worthy of blame, but the only thing I can say is to remind the people running the Club at the moment, is that Sydney Olympic is not your play thing, the Sydney Olympic Supporters want to see a successful club from top to bottom and First Grade should be the crowning glory. 1 Championship and 1 Minor Premiership since the end of the NSL in 2004 is just not good enough and is actually an embarrassment.
Our next match is next Monday Afternoon (Queens Birthday Public Holiday) June 12, a tricky home match against an ever-improving Sydney FC NPL team, at Belmore Sports Ground, Kick-Off is at 3pm.
We need a Big Performance next Monday.
We started off well in the first-half and looked the more dangerous side, but as has been the case in many of our first-half performances this season we went behind after conceding 2 goals in quick succession. Just before half-time we had a chance to cut the deficit, but the chance was missed and so we went to the half-time break trailing 2-0.
We came out hard at the beginning of the second-half looking to get back into the contest. 10 minutes into the second-half we got our breakthrough, as Niko Tsattalios put in the rebound after the ball had come off the woodwork. Soon after we came close to drawing level only to see the chance cleared off the line. The last 30 minutes or so were frantic, as we looked for goals and Wollongong tried to hit us on the counter. Unfortunately we could not find an equaliser and there would be no change to the score, as we went down 2-1.
In fairness, the players had every right to drop their heads after what happened in mid-week, instead we saw a committed performance down in Wollongong against a team that is on the rise. With a bit of luck we could have quite easily walked away with a draw if not the 3 points.
So as it stands we are currently holding onto 3rd spot on the ladder by our fingertips, with a gaggle of clubs all on our tails. The last 9 rounds of the season will be interesting to say the very least. Can the disappointment of being knocked out of the FFA Cup be used as motivation to do something in the League this season? We shall wait and see.
In terms of the Club Championship, our U18’s won 2-1 and in the U20’s we ended with a 2-2 draw.
A quick word on a few new signings. Liam Youlley played last week and he was joined by Mohamed Rahimi a player signed from Blacktown Spartans and George Timotheou from Canberra, who we signed from Sydney FC.
Who is making these signings? Does this person or persons not see fit to sign a Centre-Forward or maybe Left and Right backs, instead of having to play people out of position all the time, which at the same time removes those players from parts of the pitch where they are actually more useful and dangerous?
I’ve had a few days to ponder over what I was going to write in regards to the FFA Cup debacle of last Wednesday Night. We as in Sydney Olympic Supporters, have a tendency to be melodramatic and over-state certain situations.
But make no mistake, what happened last Wednesday Night was nothing short of an absolute disgrace and is just the latest in a long line of failures for Sydney Olympic ever since we were dumped back into this – black-hole / hell-hole – that now calls itself “NPL NSW”. If FFA or FNSW actually came to Belmore at the start of the year and handed us a pen and paper and told us we could create our own route to make the FFA Cup, we could not have come up with an easier route even if we tried, and yet still we failed.
Of course as a result of losing in the FFA Cup Qualifiers this automatically knocks us out of the Waratah Cup also. Now I can sit here and point fingers and play the blame game and there are plenty of people worthy of blame, but the only thing I can say is to remind the people running the Club at the moment, is that Sydney Olympic is not your play thing, the Sydney Olympic Supporters want to see a successful club from top to bottom and First Grade should be the crowning glory. 1 Championship and 1 Minor Premiership since the end of the NSL in 2004 is just not good enough and is actually an embarrassment.
Our next match is next Monday Afternoon (Queens Birthday Public Holiday) June 12, a tricky home match against an ever-improving Sydney FC NPL team, at Belmore Sports Ground, Kick-Off is at 3pm.
We need a Big Performance next Monday.
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