Madonis to put friendship aside as Olympic target Premiers scalp

Sydney Olympic midfielder Jason Madonis will be putting his friendship aside with Rockdale Ilinden’s star player and Baker Alec Urosevski as the Blues go in search of a Grand Final ticket this weekend.

Urosevski has been in scintillating form for the newly crowned 2020 Premiers with Madonis acknowledging the ace marksman’s dangers come Saturday evening when the pair lock horns in their semi-final clash with the winner progressing to this year’s Grand Final.

“Alec and I actually played together at Sydney Olympic 10 years ago and since he moved to Rockdale we’ve played against each other countless times.

“He’s definitely one of their danger men up front so we can’t afford him time and space.

“It’s always a good battle when we play and I’m sure we’ll be trying to one-up each other on Saturday.”

Madonis would love nothing more than to see Olympic knock off Rockdale who clinched their first ever NPL piece of silverware last weekend – The Blues too had a great opportunity in fighting for the Premiership but their 1-1-all draw against the Mt Druitt Town Rangers put an end to their title hopes – It was a game which also saw the Blues stalwart miss a crucial penalty.

“Of course, Sydney Olympic is a club that always has high expectations, and the goal is to win every piece of silverware on offer. We are disappointed we fell short however there is still the Championship trophy to fight for and all of our attention is focused on winning that to cap off a strong season.

“I was obviously gutted with the penalty miss and drawing the game but that’s all part of football.

“I’ve had a good run from the penalty spot and converted all of them in the last three years so this one just wasn’t meant to be. I’ll learn from it and move on.”

Traditionally, matches against Rockdale always prove to be thrilling ones and Saturday evening’s encounter is sure to be just that as the Ilinden Sports Centre will play host to a blockbuster affair.

“Rockdale is a strong team and Ilinden is always a tough place to go. They’ve been consistent all season and won the Premiership for a reason.

“In saying that, I have full belief in my team and I’m confident that if we go there and play to the best of our ability we can win the game and progress to the Grand Final.

“Everyone knows about the rivalry between our two clubs and these games are always the most exciting, I’m really looking forward to it.

“We will go into the game just like every other game, giving 100% and having full confidence and belief that we can win the game.

“Yes there’s a little more pressure being a semi-final, but we’ve been here before and we know what it takes to win big games and qualify for Grand Finals.

“It’s been two-years since we won the Championship and everyone at the club is hungry to do it again.”

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