Olympic dominate United 58 on Easter Monday clash
A Roy O’Donovan brace ignited a stellar team performance from Sydney Olympic, as they defeated old foes Sydney United 58 3-0 on Easter Monday at Sydney United Sports Centre.
Olympic came into this match up with a three-game win streak and looked eager to make it four on the spin, as they continue to chase the top spot on the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s ladder.
Blues skipper Michael Glassock opened the scoring for the visitors with a perfectly placed finish, shortly before Roy O’Donovan doubled Olympic’s lead 15 minutes later and finished his double in the 66th minute as Olympic’s continued persistence paid off.
United 58 were unable to make their mark on the match, with Olympic’s league-leading defence keeping out the home side.
It was a very even start to the game, with both sides pressing at a fast pace throughout the majority of the first-half.
The first real chance of the game fell to Nikola Ujdur, after Adam Parkhouse found the defender wide open from a corner, with his header going close but eventually going over the bar.
Olympic forced United 58 into conceding several corners in the early stages of the match to put the hosts’ defence under pressure, however the United 58 defence looked up to task and produced a few dangerous counter-attacks on the back of these defensive sequences.
The visitors’ pressure paid off in the 15th minute, after Michael Glassock’s neatly placed strike had his side in the lead.
Glassock’s unprecedented run into the box almost fell apart, after he ran into Roy O’Donovan, however the ball perfectly sat up for him giving him an open passage into the box where he slotted it past Danijel Nizic.
United 58 tried to answer immediately and came close through Kyle Cimenti’s shot which forced an excellent save from Nicholas Sorras.
Olympic quickly doubled their lead in the 36th minute as Oliver Puflett managed to get a ball past a crowded box of United 58 defenders across to O’Donovan who tapped it in from close range for a two-goal lead.
The visitors firmly gathered control of the game and came close to adding a third in the later stages of the first half.
With Olympic up 2-0 at the break, United 58 entered the second half with plenty of work to do to salvage a result.
The hosts started off the second half on the right foot, however Olympic quickly found their footing after a slow start and regained control.
The hosts came agonisingly close to an opener on the hour mark, after Andreas Agamemnonos’ curling effort just went over the target.
Olympic found their third through O’Donovan, after a brilliant ball from Parkhouse set the Irishman up for a clear sight at goal from inside the box.
The goal was his sixth of the NPL NSW Men’s campaign that put him atop of the Golden Boot tally alongside three other players.
United 58 thought it had answered back almost minutes after the second O’Donovan goal after substitute Mihael Marcic’s effort looked destined to find the back of the net, if not for some incredible last-ditch defending which saw the ball cleared centimetres from the line.
It was a back and forth encounter in the final period of play, with both Parkhouse and Matthew Billic narrowly missing the target with their efforts.
The hosts looked determined to get off the mark, but were denied by some strong defending and stellar work between the sticks by Sorras.
Olympic finished the game off strong, finding themselves in some dangerous positions to add to their goal tally.
It just was not United 58’s day as they couldn’t find the final touch in front of goal and were punished by a clinical Olympic attack.
To rub salt in the wound of United 58, defender Yianni Fragogiannis was awarded his second yellow card and subsequent red card in the 4th minute of injury time by referee Christian Verdicchio after he tackled Olympic substitute Mathieu Cordier. It was a tough day in the office for the experienced defender who only just came back from injury.
Sydney Olympic coach Ante Juric noted his happiness in the result and pride in his side’s defensive efforts.
“When you play Sydney United at Sydney United it’s very tough, they’re definitely one of the best teams in the league, so to get three points is great,” he said.
“I thought the performance and energy was even better, so I’m very happy in every way.
“The defence is holding up brilliant, it’s early days but we pride ourselves on that big time and probably because I was a defender in my time,
“We are working together and it’s not just the back four or the keeper, it’s the eleven players that work hard defensively.”
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 FC 0
Sydney Olympic FC 3 (Glassock 15’, O’Donovan 36’, 66’)
Monday 18th April 2022
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Christian Verdicchio
Assistant Referees: Jackson Mackie and Logan Rhys Jones
Fourth Official: Ivica Covic
Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Danijel Nizic, 3. Jordan Roberts (6. Christopher Payne), 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 8. Kyle Cimenti, 9. Patrick Antelmi (5. Anthony Tomelic), 11.Yianni Perkatis, 14. Andreas Agamemnonos (21. Mihael Marcic), 15. Tariq Maia (10. Devante Clut), 17. Matthew Billic (13. Jordan Ivancic), 18. Glen Trifiro, 22. Yianni Fragogiannis
Substitutes Not Used: 55. Goran Palecek
Yellow Cards: Perkatis 33’, Billic 55’, Fragogiannis 52’, 94’
Red Cards: Fragogiannis 94’
Sydney Olympic FC: 1. Nicholas Sorras, 2. Thomas Whiteside (6. Mathieu Cordier), 3. Nikola Ujdur, 5. Michael Glassock, 7. William Angel, 8. Sam Mcillhatton, 9. Oliver Puflett, 11. Adam Parkhouse (62. Youshaa Knaj), 19. Darcy Burgess (10. Brendan Cholakian), 23. Daniel Dias, 99. Roy O’Donovan.
Substitutes Not Used: 17. Marley Peterson, 22. Fabio Ferreira, 30. Jeremy Pollard
Yellow Cards: Glassock 74’, Dias 80’, Angel 81’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Roy O’Donovan (SO)
2 – Michael Glasslock (SO)
1 – Adam Parkhouse (SO)
-Written by National Premier Leagues NSW Reporter Dominic Criniti @DominicCriniti
