Sydney Olympic is off the mark for season 2019,
registering our first win against an opponent who has always been a thorn in
our side going back decades, Hakoah. We did it the hard way and there
definitely were some nervous moments near the end, but we well and truly
deserved the 3 points.
Before a ball was even kicked and given our predicament, one had the feeling
that the match was destined to be one of those tight and nail-biting affairs,
where one chance and one goal could win it for either side and as the match got
under way, those feelings were proven right.
There were not too many clear cut chances created by either side during the 90
minutes. It wasn’t totally devoid of goal scoring opportunities, but I don’t
know if it’s that pitch of theirs or what it was, but the contest was mainly a
midfield battle and almost a battle of wills out there.
We played decent in the first-half, solid in defence, but neither team could
break the deadlock as the score remained at 0-0 at the half-time break.
We looked much better in the second-half and managed to find the all-important
breakthrough mid-way through the second-half. New recruit Jack Stewart, found
some room for himself in the box to finish off well and score his 1st goal for
the club.
We also had the best other chance of the second-half right near the end as
Harris Gaitatzis let off a long range bomb, which was somehow parried onto the
crossbar by the Hakoah goalkeeper.
Not that he needs to redeem himself, but Paul Henderson made up for his error
last week with a fine performance in goals, keeping yet another clean sheet and
keeping Hakoah out all match, and they did have a few chances.
So, it’s good to get off the mark in 2019 and have our first win in the bank,
hopefully we can go on a run now and start climbing the ladder.
Obviously most things we do this season, will be
scrutinised and compared with what we did last season. One thing is certainly
clear, that in attack we do have issues. We are clunky with our combinations,
Alejandro Sanchez and Radovan Pavicevic look down on confidence, Jack Stewart
is new to the club and with Max Burgess leaving and Harris Gaitatzis coming in,
it is almost a new-look forward set up. It looks like it may need some time for
it to gel.
In defense, Zac Mackenzie went off early during the game with what looked like
a serious injury, but I do not know that for certain. William Angel played the
entire second-half at Centre-Back. By now, Will has to have played in every
position for us down the years.
That is 3 Centre-Backs injured now, as Brendan Hooper has a long-term injury
also and Mitch Stamatellis has yet to feature for us either this season. Our
depth will be tested in the next little part of the season.
Finally, congratulations to Niko Tsattalios, who notched up game 100 for Sydney
Olympic on Sunday.
In terms of the Club Championship, the U18s lost 2-0 and in the U20s, we picked
up a 3-2 win.
We need to keep up this momentum now, as on Wednesday Night, April 3, we have
our Round 2 catch-up match away to the Mt Druitt Town Rangers, at Popondetta
Park in Emerton, Kick-Off is at 7.30pm.
This is followed by Round 5, and we will be looking for our first home win of
the season on Sunday Afternoon, April 7, against an in-form and
top-of-the-table Wollongong Wolves outfit, at Belmore Sports Ground, Kick-Off
is at 4pm.
On the Sydney Olympic Girls side of things, in Round 4 they smashed the North
Shore Mariners 7-0, to go top of the NPL 1 women’s competition. A pretty good
start to the season.
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