The script couldn’t have been written any better as a bumper crowd was on hand to witness the final round of the #NPLNSW Men’s competition as Sydney Olympic seized the Premiership title with a 2-0 victory over Blacktown City at Belmore Sportground on Sunday evening.
The scenario was relatively simple from the outset; if Blacktown City win they would top the league on the final day and become Premiers for 2022, however should Sydney Olympic win, they were still dependent on the outcome of Manly United v Rockdale Ilinden match, so it was all to play for as the final round of regular season fixtures drew to a close.
Roy O’Donovan was sitting on 19 goals for the season, one behind Alec Urosevski of Rockdale Ilinden, in the race for the Golden Boot and the side plots continued to mount and his brace was enough to secure the title on a tense nerve-wracking day at Belmore.
Adam Parkhouse was first to show in the 5th minute when the ball fell invitingly after an Oliver Pufflet air swing to half-volley goalward that, unfortunately for the Olympic fans, rattled the crossbar and fell away for a goal kick in what was a bustling, if somewhat nervy, start to the match.
The high press of the home side never allowed Blacktown to settle in the early stages with a high-tempo approach and the realisation of what was on the line.
Puflett played the ball back into the path of O’Donovan but Grant Lynch was quick to close down in the area.
Mario Shabow was felled just inside the box and felt he had a penalty but play was waived on in City’s first true foray into the Olympic area, the Blue’s finally clearing the danger when Travis Major hooked a left-footer well wide of the mark before Jackson Bandiera came close from a drive that snuck past the home post.
Blacktown, having weathered the storm, were starting to make in-roads but it was that man O’Donovan who opened the scoring on the day, his twentieth of the season, with a towering header from a Parkhouse cross in the 23rd minute. It was pulsating football at its finest.
A Bandiera cross was spilt by Chris Parsons with Jordan Smylie following in quick to react but requiring treatment after a head knock as City looked to level the match once more.
Parkhouse received the first caution of the match, quite needlessly, when holding back young City ‘Keeper Alex Robinson unnecessarily.
Smylie had a half-chance at the other end but couldn’t connect cleanly and another opportunity disappeared for the chasing Blacktown outfit.
Daniel Dias flung himself full length to deny Shabow before an undeniably passionate first-half came to a close with Olympic a goal to the good but fully aware it was not an insurmountable lead against a more than capable Blacktown City side.
City coach, Mark Crittenden, rang the changes after the break bringing on Charles Mendy and Mitch Mallia for Carlos De Oliviera and Jordan Smylie respectively.
A Bandiera free kick to the back post was met by the head of Grant Lynch but again the woodwork came to the rescue and Olympic let out a sigh of relief.
Lynch needed to be back in his defensive slot immediately to clear off the line from a looping Pufflet header after a deft O’Donovan chip over the top and with Blacktown needing to push on, inevitably gaps would be left at the back Olympic were only too happy to exploit.
O’Donovan was able to do just that in the 58th minute when a defensive mix-up between Campbell and Robinson allowed the striker to nip in and net his second of the match and, perhaps, earn him the Golden Boot outright for his 21st of the campaign.
It was smart play from the home side but it now forced Blacktown to throw any remaining caution to the wind if they were to wrestle anything back from the game whilst, should they so choose, Olympic could afford to close it down at the back and settle for what they had.
Blacktown forced the play and set up camp in and around the Olympic box but desperate defending kept the visitors at bay.
O’Donovan’s hat-trick celebrations were cut short when ruled offside but increasingly Olympic were hitting on the counter as the minutes ticked down.
A raft of yellow cards for the visitors including two to Daniel Collins ensured Blacktown wouldn’t finish the match with a full compliment on the pitch and the points going to Olympic in an epic battle for the top spot.
Blacktown City coach Mark Crittenden was gracious in defeat at the whistle.
“We got bashed up today.
“First-half they totally dominated us and were really in our face and didn’t allow us to play.
“At the end of the day we simply weren’t good enough.
“Full credit to Ante [Juric] and the guys on winning the Premiership.
“For us, we’ll regroup now and get ready for the semi final against Manly United next week.”
An obviously jubilant Sydney Olympic coach, Ante Juric, was delighted with the result.
“We dominated at home, which is nice, and is something we obviously wanted to do,” he said.
“It was important we did that with so many fans here but it was very tense out on the pitch and I’m super proud of how they played and the passion and commitment was plain to see.
“We didn’t set out to sit back in the second-half but the way they (Blacktown) played had us penned in a little but we were able to hit them on the break in transition.
“The guys didn’t want to concede any goals and the way they defended showed that clearly but I can’t praise this group of lads highly enough. To go down to the wire and become Premiers on the final day is special and we’ll enjoy the moment before we get out heads together for the finals games.”
Match Stats
Sydney Olympic 2 (Roy O’Donovan 23’, 58’)
Blacktown City 0
Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore
Sunday 31st July 2022
Referee: Adrian Arndt
Assistants: Andrej Giev & Joon Park
Fourth Official: Mikayla Ryan
Sydney Olympic: 20. Chris Parsons, 3. Nikola Udjur, 4. Ben Van Meurs, 5. Michael Glassock, 6. Mathieu Cordier, 8. Sam McIlhatton, 9. Oliver Pufflet (22. Fabio Ferreira 86’), 11. Adam Parkhouse (2. Tom Whiteside 90+1’), 19. Darcy Burgess (24. Hagi Gligor 72’), 23. Daniel Dias, 99. Roy O’Donovan
Subs not used: 10. Brendan Cholakian, 17. Marley Peterson, 90. Evan Hamele
Yellow Cards: Adam Parkhouse 32’
Red Cards: Nil
Blacktown City: : 30. Alex Robinson, 3. Daniel Collins, 4. Lachlan Campbell (32. Hiroaki Aoyama 80’), 5. Grant Lynch, 7. Travis Major, 8. Jak O’Brien (6. Matthew Lewis 68’), 10. Mario Shabow, 17. Dakota Askew, 19. Adam Berry, 22. Carlos De Oliveira (21. Charles Mendy 46’), 24. Jackson Bandiera (45. Danny Choi 68’), 89. Jordan Smylie (11. Mitch Mallia 46’)
Subs not used: 40. Dylan Niski
Yellow Cards: Lachlan Campbell 45+1’, Grant Lynch 80’, (Daniel Collins 83’ & 87’), Mitch Mallia 85’
Red Cards: Daniel Collins 87’
By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock
