Blacktown City secure valuable away victory at Belmore
Blacktown City FC secured an important victory away from home with a 2-1 win over Sydney Olympic FC on Sunday evening at Belmore Sportsground.
Goals to Blacktown City’s Lachlan Campbell and Travis Major were enough to cancel out a goal from Olympic’s Jason Madonis after an action-packed second half of football.
The win adds a crucial three points to Blacktown City’s season tally which has them on equal points with Rockdale Ilinden at the top.
The first half of the match saw plenty of chances at both ends of the field, with Blacktown City goalkeeper Tristan Prendergast being called into action several times in the opening quarter.
Olympic’s Adam Parkhouse had the first chance of the match in the 2nd minute, sending a powerful strike towards goal but it was well-protected by Prendergast to deny the home side an early lead.
Blacktown City kicked into action on a counterattack in the 9th minute as Charles Mendy broke free of Olympic’s defensive line, however his opportunity fizzled out inside the box.
Oliver Puflett had his effort deflected by Prendergast in the 14th minute, with Parkhouse creating a chance from the deflected ball which again ended up in the visiting keeper’s hands.
Blacktown City had a chance from a free kick in the 37th minute with Jak O’Brien sending a ball into the box, however Grant Lynch sent his effort flying over the crossbar.
After playing out a scoreless stalemate in the first half, both teams came out firing in the second stanza, with the first goal of the match coming in the 58th minute.
Blacktown City’s inspirational captain Matthew Lewis sent a well-placed corner kick into the box and Campbell was clinical in his finish, heading the ball on target through the hands of Olympic keeper Christopher Parsons.
A second goal came in the 70th minute, this time for the home side.
Puflett played a ball back to Madonis, who fired a cracking strike from well outside the 18-yard box out of reach of Prendergast and into the netting to equalise.
The visitors earned a penalty in the 79th minute after Nicola Kuleski pushed down Major in front of the goalmouth.
Major stepped up to the spot and calmly converted to take back the lead for Blacktown. The goal was number six for the 2021 NPL NSW Men’s season for the ace marksman.
Both teams created chances in the final stages of the match, however neither team was able to capitalize on their chances, leaving Blacktown City with a hard-fought three points from the clash.
Blacktown City coach Mark Crittenden was pleased with his side’s effort in against a tough opponent.
“We lost Mario Shabow and Beza [Adam Berry] before the game so we had to make a reshuffle and that wasn’t going to be easy,” he explained.
“They’re a very good footy team and we know whenever we come here to play them that it’s going to be physical.
“The boys were up for it, so to have to make a couple of changes so late and to get a result here is a huge win for us.”
Olympic coach Ante Juric put emphasis on his team’s fighting spirit in his reflection of the clash.
“We played the team that’s on top and that’s always going to be a tough battle,” he said.
“What was disappointing was we gave away the two goals which makes it tougher to get a result.”
“Our team spirit is very good in terms of our boys don’t give up and we keep going until the very end.”
Match Stats
Sydney Olympic FC 1 (Jason Madonis 70’)
Blacktown City FC 2 (Lachlan Campbell 58’, Travis Major 80’)
Sunday 9th May, 2021
Belmore Sportsground
Referee: M. Bailey
Assistant Referees: J. Park and A. Hosnani
Fourth Official: N. Kour
Sydney Olympic FC: 2. Thomas Whiteside, 4. Benjamin van Meurs, 5. Michael Glassock, 6. Nicola Kuleski, 8. Jason Madonis, 9. Oliver Puflett (17. Marley Peterson 85’), 11. Adam Parkhouse, 23. Daniel Dias, 24. Christopher Gligor, 35. Mohamed Adam (22. Fabio Ferreira 62’), 70. Christopher Parsons
Substitutes Not Used: 18. Yu Hasegawa, 19. Darcy Burgess, 20. Luke Kairies, 21. Fabian Monge
Yellow Cards: Jason Madonis 11’, Nicola Kuleski 62’
Red Cards: Nil
Blacktown City FC: 1. Tristan Prendergast, 3. Daniel Collins, 4. Lachlan Campbell, 5. Grant Lynch, 6. Matthew Lewis, 7. Travis Major, 8. Jak O’Brien, 11. Rhett Desilva, 21. Charles Mendy (18. Suleyman Bangura 77’), 22. Carlos De Oliveira (32. Ryan Attard 87’), 24. Jackson Bandiera
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Dylan Niski, 29. Nicholas O’Brien, 31. Kai McLaughlin, 40. Alan Harbas
Yellow Cards: Jackson Bandiera 40’, Carlos De Oliveira 52’, Jak O’Brien 76’
Red Cards: Ni
Player Ratings
3 – Matthew Lewis (BC)
2 – Lachlan Campbell (BC)
1 – Jason Madonis (SO)
By National Premier Leagues NSW reporter Madeline Riley (@madelineriley23)
