Sydney Olympic has lost its first match in 10
weeks, going down to the Bonnyrigg White Eagles in a torrid affair on Saturday
Night. You can’t win every week and at some point, we knew we would have our
loss, and it happened to be to a much more desperate team.
Those who have been following this League for a while would know what becomes
of the pitch out at Bonnyrigg, especially at this time of the year. If we’re
being frank, you wouldn’t let your dog take a dump on it, it’s that bad. But in
saying that, we should have known this and prepared for the conditions
accordingly. Add to the fact that we’ve always had a tough time of it out there
and it was always going to be a slog. Bonnyrigg, being accustomed to playing
there, adapted to the conditions easier. It took us a while to get into the
match and find our feet, ironically, we had the best chance of the entire
first-half but unfortunately, the chance was missed. Not long after this
Alejandro Sanchez worryingly hobbled off, after being on the receiving end of
one too many rough challenges, we will just have to wait and see how bad it is.
At the half-time break there was no change to the 0-0 score-line, but we were
well in the fight and we were confident that we could get the job done in the
second-half.
At the start of the second-half, the arm-wrestle resumed, with the opening
stages being a battle for midfield supremacy, with both sides looking to gain
the upper-hand. Midway through the second-half we managed to score and thought
we had our breakthrough, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. Sensing
they had been let off the hook somewhat, in the last 20 minutes of the match Bonnyrigg
went for it. They did have a couple of chances in that time and they somehow managed
to bundle the ball into the back of the net to give themselves the lead. We pushed
hard in the closing stages for the equaliser but it would not be our night and we
suffered a 1-0 loss.
It wasn’t our greatest performance this season by any stretch of the
imagination but still we were unlucky to actually come out of it with a loss. So
just to wrap up this match, possession-based stuff and passing it around was
never going to win us the game on a pitch like that on Saturday Night. The
order of the day was route 1 stuff and a wing-based game, putting in cross
after cross into the box would have been the way to go.
No doubt we will have some bumps and bruises after playing on the heavy pitch,
but the concern is with Sanchez who got taken off in the first-half, we all
sincerely hope that it is nothing serious as the next 7 days are massive for
the club.
Currently we are in what’s called a “signing window” and as we have discussed a
few times, we do need a couple of re-enforcements, due to our injury list. Last
week Sydney Olympic did announce the signing of defender Brendan Hooper, who returns
after previously playing for the club between 2013-2015. Another midfielder and
forward will do nicely.
In the Club Championship, the U18s copped a 2-1 loss and the U20s also had a
loss, going down 3-1, no shocks here, we are woeful in these grades. If our first-grade
team happens to go through a 3 or 4 match winless run, we will find ourselves
in a scrap to avoid relegation, which of course occurs via the Club
Championship format, and this season it is particularly close.
Attention now turns to the coming week, the biggest week for Sydney Olympic Football
Club in many years.
On Wednesday we have an all-important FFA Cup Round 7 qualifier against old
rivals APIA Leichhardt. This is the final qualifying round, before the main FFA
Cup Round of 32 begins. The match will be at Belmore Sports Ground, this
Wednesday Night, May 30, Kick-Off is at 7.30pm.
Just 4 days later we will face APIA Leichhardt once again, this time in the
League on Sunday Afternoon, June 3. Both sides fill the top 2 positions in the
standings and after last week’s shock loss against Bonnyrigg, this match takes
on extra significance for us as top spot will be up for grabs. Kick-Off is at
3pm at Belmore Sports Ground.
Get out to both matches and support the boys.
Monday 28 May 2018
Sunday 27 May 2018
Sydney Olympic - Club Records - Pt 2.
This is a follow up on a blog I did last year
attempting to put to together the Sydney Olympic club records, that is player
appearances and goal statistics for every season.
They were incomplete, as the statistics for seasons 1958, 1959, 1960, 1975, 1976, 1980 had not been located.
Over the last few months, I have managed to track down the information for seasons 1975, 1976 and 1980.
So we are getting there, all that is left to find is the relevant information for seasons 1958, 1959, 1960, which are our first 3 seasons, where we competed in the NSW 2nd division. This will obviously not be easy, but we hope to track them down in the near future to complete these records.
For the benefit of everyone reading this blog, here are the Top 20 for appearances & goals.
Appearances:
1. Gary Meier - 412 Games (1972-1994)
2. Gary Phillips - 312 Games (1982-1993)
3. David Barrett - 281 Games (1988-1997)
4. Peter Raskopoulos - 259 Games (1977-1979 & 1981-1989)
5. Tony Spyridakos - 251 Games (1982-1991 & 1992-1995)
6. Brian Smith - 212 Games (1962-1972)
7. Paul Henderson* - 211 Games (2010-)
8. Elias Augerinos - 210 Games (1991-2002 & 2003/04)
9. Ante Juric - 210 Games (1994/95 & 1997-2004)
10. Graham Jennings - 204 Games (1979-1985)
11. William Angel* - 193 Games (2011-)
12. Robert Ironside - 193 Games (1988-1994 & 1995/96)
13. Peter Katholos - 190 Games (1981-1986 & 1991-1993)
14. Peter Tsekenis - 180 Games (1991-2000)
15= Grant Lee - 176 Games (1988-1995)
15= Norman Tome - 176 Games (1993-2000)
16. George McCulloch - 168 Games (1965-1972)
17. Sotiris Patrinos - 159 Games (1960-1964 & 1966-1970) Missing 1960**
18. Comino Omeros - 158 Games (1958-1964 & 1966-1969) Missing 1958, ‘59, ‘60**
19. Pablo Cardozo - 157 Games (1990-1993, 1998-2001 & 2003/04)
20= Robert Hooker - 156 Games (1987-1992)
20= Chris Kalantzis - 156 Games (1983-1987 & 1997-2000)
Goals:
1. Brian Smith - 72 Goals (1962-1972)
2. David Harding - 69 Goals (1969-1975)
3. Pablo Cardozo - 68 Goals (1990-1993, 1998-2001 & 2003/04)
4= Marshall Soper - 60 Goals (1983-1989)
4= Norman Tome - 60 Goals (1993-2000)
5. Abbas Saad - 56 Goals (1987-1992, 1993/94 & 1996/97)
6. Mark Koussas - 53 Goals (1979-1985)
7. Doug Logan - 50 Goals (1963-1969)
8. John Karagiannis - 48 Goals (1963-1968)
9. Robert Ironside - 44 Goals (1988-1994 & 1995/96)
10. Peter Katholos - 42 Goals (1981-1986 & 1991-1993)
11= Chris Kalantzis - 40 Goals (1983-1987 & 1997-2000)
11= Matthew Mayora - 40 Goals (2008-2010 & 2012)
12. Sotiris Patrinos - 38 Goals (1960-1964 & 1966-1970) Missing 1960**
13. Harris Gaitatzis - 35 Goals (2014-2016)
14. Kris Trajanovski - 34 Goals (1993/94 & 1995-1997)
15. Chris Triantis - 31 Goals (2007-2012 & 2016)
16. Ante Milicic - 30 Goals (2001-2003)
17. Phil Makrys - 27 Goals (2010-2013)
18. Gary Manuel - 26 Goals (1971-1976)
19= Roy Blitz - 25 Goals (1965-1969)
19= Dimitri Hatzimouratis - 25 Goals (2014-2015)
19= Peter Raskopoulos - 25 Goals (1977-1979 & 1981-1989)
20. Greg Owens - 23 Goals (2000-2003 & 2004/05)
That’s how it looks as of 27/05/2018, until the records are completed. The relevant information has been passed onto the club.
They were incomplete, as the statistics for seasons 1958, 1959, 1960, 1975, 1976, 1980 had not been located.
Over the last few months, I have managed to track down the information for seasons 1975, 1976 and 1980.
So we are getting there, all that is left to find is the relevant information for seasons 1958, 1959, 1960, which are our first 3 seasons, where we competed in the NSW 2nd division. This will obviously not be easy, but we hope to track them down in the near future to complete these records.
For the benefit of everyone reading this blog, here are the Top 20 for appearances & goals.
Appearances:
1. Gary Meier - 412 Games (1972-1994)
2. Gary Phillips - 312 Games (1982-1993)
3. David Barrett - 281 Games (1988-1997)
4. Peter Raskopoulos - 259 Games (1977-1979 & 1981-1989)
5. Tony Spyridakos - 251 Games (1982-1991 & 1992-1995)
6. Brian Smith - 212 Games (1962-1972)
7. Paul Henderson* - 211 Games (2010-)
8. Elias Augerinos - 210 Games (1991-2002 & 2003/04)
9. Ante Juric - 210 Games (1994/95 & 1997-2004)
10. Graham Jennings - 204 Games (1979-1985)
11. William Angel* - 193 Games (2011-)
12. Robert Ironside - 193 Games (1988-1994 & 1995/96)
13. Peter Katholos - 190 Games (1981-1986 & 1991-1993)
14. Peter Tsekenis - 180 Games (1991-2000)
15= Grant Lee - 176 Games (1988-1995)
15= Norman Tome - 176 Games (1993-2000)
16. George McCulloch - 168 Games (1965-1972)
17. Sotiris Patrinos - 159 Games (1960-1964 & 1966-1970) Missing 1960**
18. Comino Omeros - 158 Games (1958-1964 & 1966-1969) Missing 1958, ‘59, ‘60**
19. Pablo Cardozo - 157 Games (1990-1993, 1998-2001 & 2003/04)
20= Robert Hooker - 156 Games (1987-1992)
20= Chris Kalantzis - 156 Games (1983-1987 & 1997-2000)
Goals:
1. Brian Smith - 72 Goals (1962-1972)
2. David Harding - 69 Goals (1969-1975)
3. Pablo Cardozo - 68 Goals (1990-1993, 1998-2001 & 2003/04)
4= Marshall Soper - 60 Goals (1983-1989)
4= Norman Tome - 60 Goals (1993-2000)
5. Abbas Saad - 56 Goals (1987-1992, 1993/94 & 1996/97)
6. Mark Koussas - 53 Goals (1979-1985)
7. Doug Logan - 50 Goals (1963-1969)
8. John Karagiannis - 48 Goals (1963-1968)
9. Robert Ironside - 44 Goals (1988-1994 & 1995/96)
10. Peter Katholos - 42 Goals (1981-1986 & 1991-1993)
11= Chris Kalantzis - 40 Goals (1983-1987 & 1997-2000)
11= Matthew Mayora - 40 Goals (2008-2010 & 2012)
12. Sotiris Patrinos - 38 Goals (1960-1964 & 1966-1970) Missing 1960**
13. Harris Gaitatzis - 35 Goals (2014-2016)
14. Kris Trajanovski - 34 Goals (1993/94 & 1995-1997)
15. Chris Triantis - 31 Goals (2007-2012 & 2016)
16. Ante Milicic - 30 Goals (2001-2003)
17. Phil Makrys - 27 Goals (2010-2013)
18. Gary Manuel - 26 Goals (1971-1976)
19= Roy Blitz - 25 Goals (1965-1969)
19= Dimitri Hatzimouratis - 25 Goals (2014-2015)
19= Peter Raskopoulos - 25 Goals (1977-1979 & 1981-1989)
20. Greg Owens - 23 Goals (2000-2003 & 2004/05)
That’s how it looks as of 27/05/2018, until the records are completed. The relevant information has been passed onto the club.
Monday 21 May 2018
Sydney United 0-2 Sydney Olympic
We almost have to pinch ourselves at what we are
seeing so far this season. The team is absolutely in top form and brushing
aside every adversary at this point in time. And it was no different on
Saturday Night, as we professionally and clinically swept aside Sydney United
at Edensor Park, in what was another brilliant display.
It was a cagey opening to this Sydney Derby as both sides felt each other out, but pretty soon we seized control of the contest and would go on to dominate the first-half. Despite our dominance and plethora of chances, we would take the lead via a defensive error, which saw Alejandro Sanchez put through on goal and he calmly put away his chance, continuing his great form of 2018 to put us up 1-0 up with around 20 minutes gone. After we managed to open the scoring, we kicked it up a few gears looking for our 2nd goal. We had a multitude of chances throughout the first-half as William Angel, Max Burgess, Radovan Pavicevic all should have scored goals in what was complete dominance from us. But it would be Tom Whiteside who would grab our 2nd of the night as his left-foot volley took a slight deflection before smashing into the back of the net and we were cruising at 2-0 up, he is becoming a goal-scoring machine. We continued to dominate in the final stages of the first-half and if we had our shooting boots on, we would have been at least 4 or 5 nil up at the half-time break, but we had to settle for the 2-0 lead.
Before we had to time to settle into the second-half, a melee had erupted after we had spurned an early chance. A Sydney United player then proceeded to push Sanchez to the ground on several occasions for reasons we don’t know. The referee sent the Sydney United player off which sparked the melee and 2 or 3 minutes of on-field rubbish. This was a clear attempt by them to put us off our game, as they were being thoroughly outplayed and thus tried the rough stuff only for that to also backfire. For the rest of the second-half we would be up against 10 men. This incident seemed to have a negative effect on us as despite now having the man advantage and being 2-0 up, we retreated into our shell for the next portion of the match. Sydney United started to control the game and had more of the ball, with us resorting to counter-attacks, which by the way should have resulted in us putting the game to bed if we had managed to finish off the opportunities. Although the opposition huffed and puffed throughout that second-half, they really didn’t create too many clear-cut chances and as the full-time whistle went, we had recorded another good victory.
So it was another fantastic display from Sydney Olympic as we continued our winning run and continue to play good football. Defensively we are looking very solid also. Confidence would be sky-high at the moment.
This match wrapped up the first half of the 2018 season, time sure does fly. 9 Wins, 1 Draw, 1 Loss. We will be doing extremely well to match that in the second half of the season and we all hope that it happens.
In the Club Championship, the U18s copped a 3-0 loss and the U20s also had a loss, going down 3-1.
In our Round 6 FFA Cup Qualifier against Hawkesbury City from last Wednesday Night, plenty of younger players got a run, but we still had enough quality on the park to get through to the next round. We rode our luck at different stages during the match but we got the job done which is what mattered. Now we look forward to seeing who we draw for Round 7, which is the final Qualifying round before the main FFA Cup draw.
For our next match, we are back out to Fairfield this Saturday Night May 26, to take on the Bonnyrigg White Eagles in another vital match. It will be at the Bonnyrigg Sports Club, Kick-Off at 7pm.
It was a cagey opening to this Sydney Derby as both sides felt each other out, but pretty soon we seized control of the contest and would go on to dominate the first-half. Despite our dominance and plethora of chances, we would take the lead via a defensive error, which saw Alejandro Sanchez put through on goal and he calmly put away his chance, continuing his great form of 2018 to put us up 1-0 up with around 20 minutes gone. After we managed to open the scoring, we kicked it up a few gears looking for our 2nd goal. We had a multitude of chances throughout the first-half as William Angel, Max Burgess, Radovan Pavicevic all should have scored goals in what was complete dominance from us. But it would be Tom Whiteside who would grab our 2nd of the night as his left-foot volley took a slight deflection before smashing into the back of the net and we were cruising at 2-0 up, he is becoming a goal-scoring machine. We continued to dominate in the final stages of the first-half and if we had our shooting boots on, we would have been at least 4 or 5 nil up at the half-time break, but we had to settle for the 2-0 lead.
Before we had to time to settle into the second-half, a melee had erupted after we had spurned an early chance. A Sydney United player then proceeded to push Sanchez to the ground on several occasions for reasons we don’t know. The referee sent the Sydney United player off which sparked the melee and 2 or 3 minutes of on-field rubbish. This was a clear attempt by them to put us off our game, as they were being thoroughly outplayed and thus tried the rough stuff only for that to also backfire. For the rest of the second-half we would be up against 10 men. This incident seemed to have a negative effect on us as despite now having the man advantage and being 2-0 up, we retreated into our shell for the next portion of the match. Sydney United started to control the game and had more of the ball, with us resorting to counter-attacks, which by the way should have resulted in us putting the game to bed if we had managed to finish off the opportunities. Although the opposition huffed and puffed throughout that second-half, they really didn’t create too many clear-cut chances and as the full-time whistle went, we had recorded another good victory.
So it was another fantastic display from Sydney Olympic as we continued our winning run and continue to play good football. Defensively we are looking very solid also. Confidence would be sky-high at the moment.
This match wrapped up the first half of the 2018 season, time sure does fly. 9 Wins, 1 Draw, 1 Loss. We will be doing extremely well to match that in the second half of the season and we all hope that it happens.
In the Club Championship, the U18s copped a 3-0 loss and the U20s also had a loss, going down 3-1.
In our Round 6 FFA Cup Qualifier against Hawkesbury City from last Wednesday Night, plenty of younger players got a run, but we still had enough quality on the park to get through to the next round. We rode our luck at different stages during the match but we got the job done which is what mattered. Now we look forward to seeing who we draw for Round 7, which is the final Qualifying round before the main FFA Cup draw.
For our next match, we are back out to Fairfield this Saturday Night May 26, to take on the Bonnyrigg White Eagles in another vital match. It will be at the Bonnyrigg Sports Club, Kick-Off at 7pm.
Monday 14 May 2018
Sydney Olympic 5-1 Wollongong Wolves
The Sydney Olympic boys are in a purple patch of
form at the moment, backing up their impressive recent displays by putting the
Wollongong Wolves to the sword on Sunday Afternoon at Belmore. The confidence
within the squad would be sky-high which is great, as we have some very
important matches coming up.
It was a lively start to the match as both sides looked well up for the contest, it was an even first 10 or so minutes and Wollongong more than held their own. There were no real clear-cut chances in the opening stages, but it was a competitive contest all the same, with us just shading proceedings. Pretty soon though we took the lead via a beautiful finish from Radovan Pavicevic, who was put through on goal by Alejandro Sanchez with a nice flick pass. We dominated the next little period of the game and pretty soon we were rewarded with our 2nd goal of the afternoon. Our centre-back Tom Whiteside managed to score our 2nd with a great back heel flick, which was reminiscent of a goal the former Dutch International Rafael van der Vaart scored whilst playing at Ajax many years ago, a great bit of skill by Tom and we were now 2-0 up. In between our goals Wollongong should have had at least 1 player sent off, their new “superstar” recruit was flying into our players studs-up and off the ball, while others were elbowing our players in the head, all of this of course, was “not seen” by the referee. In the last 5 minutes of the first-half Wollongong stepped up their play and had a couple of good chances too. They were rewarded with a goal just moments before the half-time break thanks to a long-range strike. With Wollongong pulling 1 back we went in at half-time a little deflated but still leading 2-1.
The match was evenly poised as we started the second-half. In the first 15 or so minutes of the second-half you’d have to say that Wollongong had the better of the play and they put us under the pump in that period, fortunately for us, they were not able to take advantage of their dominance in possession and so we were able to survive. Shortly after this period though, we made it 3-1 and punished them with a bullet freekick from Alejandro Sanchez, their goalkeeper had no hope of getting anywhere near it, it was a great goal. Wollongong kept pushing in an attempt to get back into the contest, but as they pushed we hit them on the counter with around 10 minutes to go. Sanchez set up Pavicevic inside the box who put his chance away to put us 4-1 up. Wollongong by this time, with the wind knocked out of them were deflated, and right near the end we made it 5-1 as Sanchez grabbed another goal as he was found in the box from a William Angel cross.
So again, it was another outstanding performance by Sydney Olympic and even more so, considering Max Burgess and Nikola Kuleski were missing, adding to the long list of players we already have missing at the moment, among them, Hagi Gligor, Jake de Marigny, Paul Katsetis. A truly Herculean effort.
In the Club Championship, the U18s grabbed a 0-0 draw and the U20s had a 1-1 draw.
Our next match is a Round 6 FFA Cup Qualifier against Hawkesbury City, this Wednesday Night, May 16, at Peter Moore Field. Kick-Off is at 7.30pm. We cannot afford to take this match lightly. Despite Hawkesbury being an NPL 3 side, they have dangerous players and have the ability to cause us problems, we must be switched on.
Our next match in the League is this Saturday Night, May 19. A tough match away to Sydney United at Edensor Park. Kick-Off is at 7.30pm.
The matches are coming thick and fast, get down and support the boys.
It was a lively start to the match as both sides looked well up for the contest, it was an even first 10 or so minutes and Wollongong more than held their own. There were no real clear-cut chances in the opening stages, but it was a competitive contest all the same, with us just shading proceedings. Pretty soon though we took the lead via a beautiful finish from Radovan Pavicevic, who was put through on goal by Alejandro Sanchez with a nice flick pass. We dominated the next little period of the game and pretty soon we were rewarded with our 2nd goal of the afternoon. Our centre-back Tom Whiteside managed to score our 2nd with a great back heel flick, which was reminiscent of a goal the former Dutch International Rafael van der Vaart scored whilst playing at Ajax many years ago, a great bit of skill by Tom and we were now 2-0 up. In between our goals Wollongong should have had at least 1 player sent off, their new “superstar” recruit was flying into our players studs-up and off the ball, while others were elbowing our players in the head, all of this of course, was “not seen” by the referee. In the last 5 minutes of the first-half Wollongong stepped up their play and had a couple of good chances too. They were rewarded with a goal just moments before the half-time break thanks to a long-range strike. With Wollongong pulling 1 back we went in at half-time a little deflated but still leading 2-1.
The match was evenly poised as we started the second-half. In the first 15 or so minutes of the second-half you’d have to say that Wollongong had the better of the play and they put us under the pump in that period, fortunately for us, they were not able to take advantage of their dominance in possession and so we were able to survive. Shortly after this period though, we made it 3-1 and punished them with a bullet freekick from Alejandro Sanchez, their goalkeeper had no hope of getting anywhere near it, it was a great goal. Wollongong kept pushing in an attempt to get back into the contest, but as they pushed we hit them on the counter with around 10 minutes to go. Sanchez set up Pavicevic inside the box who put his chance away to put us 4-1 up. Wollongong by this time, with the wind knocked out of them were deflated, and right near the end we made it 5-1 as Sanchez grabbed another goal as he was found in the box from a William Angel cross.
So again, it was another outstanding performance by Sydney Olympic and even more so, considering Max Burgess and Nikola Kuleski were missing, adding to the long list of players we already have missing at the moment, among them, Hagi Gligor, Jake de Marigny, Paul Katsetis. A truly Herculean effort.
In the Club Championship, the U18s grabbed a 0-0 draw and the U20s had a 1-1 draw.
Our next match is a Round 6 FFA Cup Qualifier against Hawkesbury City, this Wednesday Night, May 16, at Peter Moore Field. Kick-Off is at 7.30pm. We cannot afford to take this match lightly. Despite Hawkesbury being an NPL 3 side, they have dangerous players and have the ability to cause us problems, we must be switched on.
Our next match in the League is this Saturday Night, May 19. A tough match away to Sydney United at Edensor Park. Kick-Off is at 7.30pm.
The matches are coming thick and fast, get down and support the boys.
Monday 7 May 2018
Sutherland Sharks 0-3 Sydney Olympic
With a clinical display in the second-half
against the Sutherland Sharks, Sydney Olympic find themselves Top of the Ladder
after 9 rounds of the NSW NPL this season, thanks to a dominant 3-0 victory.
We started the match off promisingly once again and we looked well up for it on Saturday Night, against a side who potentially could have been a very difficult opponent for us. It would be Sydney Olympic though who would control proceedings. Our front 3 of Radovan Pavicevic, Alejandro Sanchez, Jason Madonis have been in top form so far this season, combined with the support of Max Burgess, Nikola Kuleski, Jinya An from midfield, we created several chances in that first-half. It was basically all-out attack from us with William Angel and Riley Woodcock overlapping and supporting the attack from their fullback positions. Despite our dominance we could not find the opening goal in that first-half, Jinya An hit the woodwork twice, Sanchez and Pavicevic were denied as well and we had a couple more chances outside of these. In defense we did not look all that troubled, although Sutherland did have a couple of chances of their own and Paul Henderson did have to make a decent save at one point. But as we headed to the half-time break, a sense of deja vu engulfed the Sydney Olympic Supporters who turned up to Seymour Shaw Park on Saturday Night, would it again be one of those nights, where we would have to battle all the way to the very end to defend a slender lead or save a draw?
By halfway through the second-half we got our answer to that question. We put away 3 quick goals and we were basically home and hosed. The first goal was from a nice volley finish from Pavicevic, the 2nd goal came through a great Madonis run where he was then brought down inside the box, he picked himself up to dispatch the penalty and the 3rd goal came via Madonis again, as he was set up by Sanchez and buried his shot low and into the corner to put us 3-0 up. The second-half was an attacking masterclass from Sydney Olympic and it looked like men against boys out there, we easily could have scored a couple more as well. In defense we were fairly comfortable throughout the match as we ran out comprehensive 3-0 winners.
It truly was a magnificent performance by the team and probably our most complete display of the season so far. We can’t get ahead of ourselves as there is a long way to go in 2018, but there are positive signs for the rest of the season.
As has been discussed, the squad does need a couple additions to offset the long-term injuries we have at the club. It is a delicate balance between finding and bringing new guys in, but at the same time, not disturbing the current chemistry of the side in this current moment. With the window opening on May 14, expect to see a couple of signings.
In the Club Championship, the U18s grabbed a 1-1 draw and the U20s picked up the 2-1 win. A good weekend all-round.
In our FFA Cup Round 5 encounter away to Terrigal United last Wednesday Night, our 20s players got their chance to show what they’ve got as a youthful Sydney Olympic got the job done with a 2-0 win and we now await our opponents in Round 6.
Our next match is in the League this coming Sunday Afternoon, May 13, at home at Belmore Sports Ground against the Wollongong Wolves. Kick-Off is at 3pm. Get down there and support the club.
We started the match off promisingly once again and we looked well up for it on Saturday Night, against a side who potentially could have been a very difficult opponent for us. It would be Sydney Olympic though who would control proceedings. Our front 3 of Radovan Pavicevic, Alejandro Sanchez, Jason Madonis have been in top form so far this season, combined with the support of Max Burgess, Nikola Kuleski, Jinya An from midfield, we created several chances in that first-half. It was basically all-out attack from us with William Angel and Riley Woodcock overlapping and supporting the attack from their fullback positions. Despite our dominance we could not find the opening goal in that first-half, Jinya An hit the woodwork twice, Sanchez and Pavicevic were denied as well and we had a couple more chances outside of these. In defense we did not look all that troubled, although Sutherland did have a couple of chances of their own and Paul Henderson did have to make a decent save at one point. But as we headed to the half-time break, a sense of deja vu engulfed the Sydney Olympic Supporters who turned up to Seymour Shaw Park on Saturday Night, would it again be one of those nights, where we would have to battle all the way to the very end to defend a slender lead or save a draw?
By halfway through the second-half we got our answer to that question. We put away 3 quick goals and we were basically home and hosed. The first goal was from a nice volley finish from Pavicevic, the 2nd goal came through a great Madonis run where he was then brought down inside the box, he picked himself up to dispatch the penalty and the 3rd goal came via Madonis again, as he was set up by Sanchez and buried his shot low and into the corner to put us 3-0 up. The second-half was an attacking masterclass from Sydney Olympic and it looked like men against boys out there, we easily could have scored a couple more as well. In defense we were fairly comfortable throughout the match as we ran out comprehensive 3-0 winners.
It truly was a magnificent performance by the team and probably our most complete display of the season so far. We can’t get ahead of ourselves as there is a long way to go in 2018, but there are positive signs for the rest of the season.
As has been discussed, the squad does need a couple additions to offset the long-term injuries we have at the club. It is a delicate balance between finding and bringing new guys in, but at the same time, not disturbing the current chemistry of the side in this current moment. With the window opening on May 14, expect to see a couple of signings.
In the Club Championship, the U18s grabbed a 1-1 draw and the U20s picked up the 2-1 win. A good weekend all-round.
In our FFA Cup Round 5 encounter away to Terrigal United last Wednesday Night, our 20s players got their chance to show what they’ve got as a youthful Sydney Olympic got the job done with a 2-0 win and we now await our opponents in Round 6.
Our next match is in the League this coming Sunday Afternoon, May 13, at home at Belmore Sports Ground against the Wollongong Wolves. Kick-Off is at 3pm. Get down there and support the club.
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