Sunday, 23 September 2018

Season Review – Campbelltown City 2-1 Sydney Olympic

Sydney Olympic’s season ended in Adelaide on Saturday Afternoon, after going down 2-1 to Campbelltown City in the NPL National Semi-Final, eliminating us from the tournament and kissing goodbye the chance to automatically qualify for the 2019 FFA Cup Round of 32. Meaning we will have to do it the hard way, something which we have not been able to accomplish since 2015.

The match itself, we completely dominated the first-half and scored very early thanks to a Max Burgess long-range bomb, we should have been 5 or 6 up at the half-time break, we were the far better side, but we butchered numerous chances. Right on half-time, we dropped our guard and allowed them back into the match as they equalised, to bring the score to 1-1 at the break.

In the second-half, both sides created several opportunities and we were well in the contest, but as time ticked on, it looked increasingly likely that we were heading for extra-time. Unfortunately, a dubious penalty decision was given against us deep into injury-time, which cost us the game. Former Sydney Olympic defender Iain Fyfe, made no mistake to put us out 2-1.

Disappointing way to end the season obviously.

Below is a review of the squad for 2018:

- Paul Henderson – Had another outstanding season, but at 42, how much longer can he go on for, will be the big question.
- Tom Whiteside – Improved massively in 2018, had a great season.
- Jake de Marigny – Has missed 2 years of football now, no idea what’s happening with his injuries or what his situation is at the club.
- George Timotheou – Was a gun for us until he left for Schalke. What could have been a disaster and massive loss for our campaign was somehow salvaged, as we scrambled together a good enough defensive unit to hold steady and win the Championship.
- Rafa Jimenez – Was touted as a good signing, but only lasted a couple of games before he was gone, not sure what happened there.
- James Demetriou – Mid-season signing, good player, but let down the club and left us in the lurch for the trip to Adelaide and had he been there, it could have been a different story on Saturday.
- Nikola Kuleski – Good season and the type of bulldog most teams need in the middle of the park, if they are going to be successful.
- William Angel – Another consistent year from Will, always ready and willing to do whatever the team needs.
- Jason Madonis – Another good season from the skipper, firmly cementing himself to becoming a club legend.
- Radovan Pavicevic – Had a much better year than last season, was more comfortable in the 2nd striker/wide forward role and was a good foil for Alex Sanchez.
- Max Burgess – One of our best this season and unbelievably consistent for us for the entire campaign. Look forward to seeing him get even better.
- Jinya An – Ran all day, did whatever was needed by Abbas this season, played in various positions and didn’t disappoint anyone. Good season.
- Zac Mackenzie – Mid-season signing from APIA and after the departure of Timotheou, he slotted in seamlessly into the CB position and helped us to the Premiership and Championship.
- Alex Sanchez – What more needs to be said about this guy? The exact type of player Sydney Olympic Supporters have been screaming out for, for years. Someone to consistently put away our opportunities and score the goals, and boy didn’t he do that. A revelation.
- Brendan Hooper – Returned to the club midway through the season, adding some much-needed depth to the squad. Was ultimately used in a substitute role in the back end of the season.
- Darcy Burgess – Much improved player and an important cog in the Sydney Olympic machine in 2018.
- Ezequiel Consoni – Limited game time.
- Stephen Athanaseris – Limited game time.
- Riley Woodcock – Was a much-needed signing for us and proved to be invaluable for us down the left flank, had a great season.
- Hagi Gligor – Disappointingly missed the entire season for us after being hacked by a Hakoah grub earlier in the year. Good to see him ease his way back into the side these last few matches, should be ready and raring to go in 2019.
- Niko Tsattalios – Generally used as a super-sub throughout the season, he always added something and looked dangerous whenever on the park.
- Paul Katsetis – Another one who missed most of the season through injury, not sure of his situation at the club for next season.
- Youngsters like, Billy Patramanis, Callum Fitzpatrick, Ben Morrison, Adam Hristodoulou, Lachlan Watson, also appeared for us at various stages throughout the year.

I would say, without knowing 100%, that most of the players will be with us for 2019, but even still, it will not be enough, we must also strengthen and not rest on our laurels.

The last few Champions, Bonnyrigg, Blacktown City and Manly United, have all fallen in a heap recently. We must stay vigilant so as to not suffer the same fate. There are some good players out there that we should be going after and hopefully the club is on top of all of that and we see a couple of additions for next season.

Despite the disappointing end to the season, no one can be disappointed in the effort and accomplishments of the team this season. We are Premiers and Champions and nobody expected it. Congratulations to everybody who had anything to do with it, it was a collective effort and a well deserved reward for everyone’s efforts and was an amazing ride for the Sydney Olympic Supporters.

I will keep it short for the Tempe Reserve saga:

After hearing and talking about this for nearly 5 years, 2018 is the last year of the exclusive negotiating period with the Marrickville now Inner-West Council and Sydney Olympic, meaning by the end of 2018 or the start of 2019, we will know either way whether there is a green light for this project to begin or once again, the club will be shafted. We will wait and see.

Monday, 17 September 2018

Sydney Olympic 1-0 Perth SC

Sydney Olympic has begun its National NPL Finals Series with a hard-fought victory over the Western Australian Premiers, Perth SC, at Lambert Park on Sunday Afternoon.

Any talk of a potential Grand Final hangover coming into this match was put to rest, at least early on in the contest, as we started off well enough and within the first 5 minutes of the game, we had been awarded a penalty. Some nice bit of play down the right-hand side saw William Angel make his way into the box, where he was then fouled by a Perth defender. Jason Madonis stepped up and made no mistake with the spot-kick, to put us 1-0 ahead. Perth SC were a willing opponent and did not drop their heads as they got themselves back into the game. Even still, we had the better of the first-half and created a host of opportunities and we most certainly should have been in front by more than 1, as we headed to the half-time break. But, some poor finishing by us, left the door ajar for the opposition instead of killing the game off by half-time.

At the start of the second-half, Perth were the more desperate of the two teams and it showed, flying in with some dreadful challenges, all going unchecked by the referee as usual. We looked threatening enough in the early stages of the second-half but could not find the 2nd goal. The longer it stayed at 1-0, the confidence of Perth grew more and more, aware that we could not put them away. As a result, they started to play some football and had a couple of really good chances to punish us, but luckily for us they could not take advantage. After weathering this storm midway through the second-half, we gained a foot-hold back into the game and with Perth pushing on, it left them exposed at the back for us to counter-attack and we did we thought successfully, as we thought we had scored through Alejandro Sanchez, only for it to be disallowed for some reason. After a frantic last 10 or so minutes, the relief was evident as the referee blew for full-time, seeing us come away 1-0 victors.

It was a game where we rode our luck at stages and it is always difficult playing against an opposition you know nearly nothing about, but we did well enough and got the desired result.

It was good to see Hagi Gligor back on the field of play on Sunday after several months out, after suffering a serious leg injury via a horrific challenge in the home match with Hakoah back in April. Welcome back.

With Paul Henderson on a well-deserved break, Ezequiel Consoni got his chance in goals once again on Sunday. He looked shaky I must say early on, but a couple of excellent saves to keep Perth at bay, would have done his confidence the world of good as he ended up having a good game in goals.

No doubt it has been a long season for the boys, but with only 2 weeks to go potentially, they should be putting everything into these next matches, stay focused and win this tournament and then enjoy the off-season.

Sydney Olympic is back in action this Saturday, September 22, in the National NPL Semi-Final, against South Australian Premiers, Campbelltown City, at Steve Woodcock Sports Centre, Newton, South Australia, Kick-Off is at 3.30pm Sydney time.

Back to last week’s Grand Final, it was great to see so many old Sydney Olympic shirts around Leichhardt Oval, and it got me thinking at least, that some of these should be re-made by the club for supporters to purchase. The Sydney Winter, doesn’t make it easy to wear short sleeves, but it would be great to see people wearing these retro jerseys out and about throughout the Summer. God knows I would have no problem wearing one.
(L – R):
1960, 1967, 1979, 1983
1984, 1986, 1990, 1994
1995, 1996, 2000, 2002

Monday, 10 September 2018

We are the Champions – Sydney Olympic 3-1 APIA Leichhardt

After what feels like 7 very long years, Sydney Olympic are once again Champions after claiming the NSW Championship, defeating old rivals APIA Leichhardt 3-1 at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday.

We set the tone very early on in this Grand Final, taking the lead only a few minutes into the contest. A beautiful ball over the top found a free running Alejandro Sanchez, who’s pinpoint cross found an unmarked Radovan Pavicevic at the back post and his diving header, put us 1-0 up and sent the Sydney Olympic Supporters into early ecstasy. We continued to dominate proceedings, but very soon after this good early spell, APIA Leichhardt gained a foot-hold back into the match and began to play their own game. The contest ebbed and flowed and APIA did create a couple of opportunities to equalise during this period, but we defended brilliantly, a theme which would be repeated throughout the entirety of the day. But it would be us who would add to our lead, another great through ball once again found Alejandro Sanchez, who beat the offside trap and then rounded the APIA goalkeeper to finish expertly and put us 2-0 up, a fantastic goal. Both teams created chances leading up to half-time but at the half-time break, Sydney Olympic took a deserved 2-0 lead into the sheds.

It was a much more subdued beginning to the second-half. But as if realising the gravity of their own situation, APIA soon sprung back into life and pushed forward looking to get back into the match. They put us under pressure and got themselves into good enough positions to maybe score, but they never really threatened with any actual clear-cut chances, as our defence pretty much snuffed out every attack. After weathering this assault, we created several more opportunities and had it not been for APIA’s goalkeeper, we might have found ourselves with a 4 or 5 goal lead. With 15 minutes to go, we hammered the final blow into the 2018 Grand Final, as Alejandro Sanchez once again popped up to score his 2nd goal of the afternoon and extended our lead to 3-0, as O-LYM-PIC, O-LYM-PIC, O-LYM-PIC rang around Leichhardt Oval just like in the old days, it really was turning into a special day. A late controversial penalty awarded against us in injury-time, somewhat dampened the mood for a minute or 2, before that was all quickly forgotten as the referee blew for full-time and we could celebrate another Championship.



It was a truly magnificent afternoon to see so many Sydney Olympic Supporters come out to support the players and the club, the sighting of many a classic Sydney Olympic shirt being worn by many people around the ground also was brilliant to see.

When Abbas Saad was drafted in to coach the side a week before the start of the season, if anybody had said we would go on to claim the Minor Premiership and win the Grand Final, I would have advised them to go seek some medical help immediately.

But it has become a reality and Abbas Saad must take a lot of the credit for these accomplishments and must also take a lot of credit for convincing Alejandro Sanchez to stick around at the club after the departure of Gorka Etxeberria, who was the one who initially brought Alejandro to the club.

Just quickly on APIA, commiserations to them, they have had a big last 2 seasons, deep runs in the Waratah Cup, FFA Cup, Minor Premiership race as well as back-to-back Grand Finals. The loss of one of their most important players at the back end of this season hurt them and they definitely looked a fatigued side there on Sunday at Leichhardt Oval. Best of luck to them in the FFA Cup.

Of course, the season is not quite over yet for Sydney Olympic either, as we have the National NPL Finals Series to look forward to. A competition which involves the 8 other Minor Premiers of the other State Federations. The winner of this particular tournament earns a spot in the 2019 FFA Cup Round of 32, avoiding the need to play the 4 or so midweek qualifiers next season.

It all gets under way this coming Sunday Afternoon, September 16th. as we host WA Premiers, Perth SC at Lambert Park, Kick-Off is at 3.30pm