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.
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