A predominately youthful Sydney Olympic side has kept its PlayStation®4 NPL NSW Men’s competition final hopes alive after a grinding 2-0 victory over an out of sorts Bonnyrigg White Eagles outfit at Bonnyrigg Sports Club.
Saturday night’s contest was highlighted by a smashing breakaway goal from Jason Madonis, who surged past the White Eagles backline and blasted a powerful finish past James Chronopolous at the start of the second half as part of a resilient display from the visitors.
It was another frustrating night for the 2015 PlayStation®4 NPL NSW Men’s champions.
Apart from a few dangerous flurries in response to Madonis’ strike, the White Eagles were unable to truly test Olympic gloveman Paul Henderson.
A classy take from Harris Gaitatzis sealed an excellent away victory late as Olympic notched their second clean sheet in as many matches.
Olympic’s excellent pair of breakaway goals capped what was an otherwise miserly showing from both finals-chasing outfits, and there were shades of the drab Round Seven stalemate between the two sides in April when kick-off commenced.
Bonnyrigg started promisingly with rising young star Martin Lo making his solitary first grade start of the campaign and the former Wanderer was integral in carving out one of the hosts only chances of note when he released Aaron Peterson inside the box, but the White Eagles forward saw his effort parried by Henderson.
There was another flash of danger for Olympic at the end of the opening half when Yuta Kokado thrashed a dangerous cross across goal but as far as the White Eagles were concerned, it was to be one of the few moments of attacking endeavor in a match punctuated by Bonnyrigg’s lack of cohesion in the final third.
It left the travelling Belmore side with several opportunities to exploit the home side at the other end and Olympic eventually punished Bonnyrigg early in the second half when Madonis hammered an unstoppable finish past Chronopoulous.
On course for their fifth consecutive match without a win, Brian Brown brought leading marksman Robbie Younis and Bo Hyun Chun on to inject some sorely needed offensive verve.
However, the White Eagles were unable to break down a well-organized and enthusiastic Olympic defence, who had retreated stoically following Madonis’ opener.
And it was a similarly constructed passage of play that had led to Madonis’ effort for Olympic’s match-sealing second on the cusp of full-time, when Joshua Gaspari combined with Gaitatzis who blasted a powerful effort past Chronopoulous with four minutes remaining.
Olympic coach Grant Lee praised his side’s street-smart performance on a night where the Blues gave their finals credentials an emphatic boost and ended the Belmore statesman’s wait for a victory on Bonnyrigg soil.
“Bonnyrigg is always a difficult place to come and we came here with a young side tonight but I’m very happy with our performance, guys like Jake De Marigny proved themselves against high quality opposition,” he said.
“It’s good to get back to back clean sheets and I’m sure this a result that will help us aim for that top five.
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0
Sydney Olympic 2 (Madonis 58’, Gaitatzis 86’)
Saturday 16th July, 2016,
Bonnyrigg Sports Club, Bonnyrigg
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 1. James Chronopoulos, 16. Samuel Gallaway, 17. Gil Mun-Soo (9. Robert Younis 61’), 10. Yuta Kokado, 7. Gregory Kondek, 13. James McKenzie (3. David Vrankovic 75’), 15. Raymond Miller, 19. Aaron Peterson, 4. Michael Robinson, 6. Nikola Zonjic, 31. Martin Lo (21. Bo Hyun Chun 61’)
Substitutes Not Used: 2. Alexander Mansueto, 20. Stefan Savicic, 3. David Vrankovic,
Yellow Cards: 19. Aaron Peterson 66’, 9. Robert Younis 80’
Red Cards: N/A
Sydney Olympic: 1. Paul Henderson, 7. William Angel, 15. Jake De Marigny, 8. Howard Fondyke, 10. Harris Gaitatzis, 90. Joshua Gaspari, 67. Christopher Gligor (82. Nikita Andricopoulos 87’), 5. Jason Madonis, 37. Eoin Montford, 26. Cohan Morris, 3. Anthony Tomelic
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Denver Crickmore, 14. Jack Green, 51. Sebastian Malfara, 38. Stephen Athanaseris
Yellow Cards: N/A
Red Cards: N/A
-By Jacob Windon
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