Sydney Olympic have made it three from three in the National Premier League NSW Men’s competition, defeating Sydney FC 3-2 in their round 3 clash at Valentine Sports Park on Sunday.
It was a quiet first fifteen minutes of the match as both sides looked to feel each other out, with the majority of chances being small and coming from good, direct wide play.
However, in the 16th minute, Sydney Olympic opened the scoring with a clinical goal.
Adam Parkhouse ran onto a good direct ball from Matthew Buettner in behind and struck a low right footed shot, which was saved well by Adam Pavlesic.
However, the ball fell to Darcy Burgess in the middle, and the midfielder made no mistake in converting into a gaping goal.
Ten minutes later, Olympic had a chance to add a second, as a good ball into the back post found the head of Roy O’Donovan, but Max Buratto did well to put him off and force the shot off target.
In the first half, Olympic’s defence was strong and solid, only restricting Sydney to shots from well outside the eighteen-yard box.
However, their first real chance of the match was taken with aplomb, following a good piece of forwards, proactive play.
Clayton Taylor picked up the ball off a throw from Pavlesic off an attacking transition, before driving down the left wing.
He then exchanged an intricate one two with Alen Harbas, continuing his run in behind, and struck home a precise left footed shot into the far corner from an acute angle.
In the 44th minute, a good, inswinging cross in off a corner from Matthew Scarcella found the foot of Nathan Paull for Sydney, but the ball was cleared well off the line.
A few minutes into the first half, an incisive pass from Jack Simmons in the left central space saw O’Donovan in behind and in on goal, but the strikers dink went over the bar from a tight angle on his first touch.
Two minutes later, Sydney went down the other end as Taylor drove and found Harbas in a one on one, but the forward couldn’t find the target.
Nick FitzGerald was presented with a chance to put Sydney Olympic in front for the second time in the match in the 64th minute after a good back post ball from Michael Neill, but the winger headered over the bar.
In the 68th minute, Sydney had a golden chance to go ahead, but Taylor’s shot was saved in a one on one after a good pass from Harbas, with the wingers rebound effort going over the bar.
Sydney Olympic controlled possession in the second half and had some good moments of attacking play, with their opponents looking to go forwards mainly on transition.
In the 75th minute, they took the lead once again, as Burgess found himself a brace with a stunning volley from just inside the box, striking a loose ball with aplomb.
Nine minutes later, Roy O’Donovan made it three for Olympic with a similarly stunning strike.
Latching onto a high ball, he cut inside and fired a shot from just inside the box into the top left-hand corner, bouncing off the crossbar and over the goalline.
However, in the 86th minute, Sydney was presented with a lifeline, as a cross from deep saw the home side win a penalty due to a collusion in the area.
Luka Smyth made no mistake in converting, hitting the ball powerfully down the middle of the goal.
In added time, Sydney was presented with a chance to draw level off a close-range free kick, but Kealey Adamson’s strike was saved solidly by Nicholas Sorras.
Despite controlling the second half, the last few minutes were nervy for Sydney Olympic, but they held on well and continued their maximisation of points, picking up their third win in as many games.
Olympic coach Labinot Haliti was happy with the performance.
“We played against a good team – Sydney FC are a good side and they’ve got players who have an aspiration to make the A-League Men squad.
“It’s always a tough game and they play good football, so it was a good game to watch, but I was delighted that we took the three points.”
While Sydney FC coach Jimmy van Weeren gave credit to some of his young chargers who made their official NPL NSW Men’s debuts at Valentine Sports Park.
“Olympic had more of the ball in the second half and we thought we limited their chances despite all the possession they had, but they put two goals away with some great finishes in the second half.
“We had a lot of guys make their NPL NSW Men’s debut today, some boys who were 16 and 17 which is a big positive for us, so we’re happy about that.”
Match Stats
Sydney FC 2 (Taylor 34’, Smyth 87’)
Sydney Olympic 3 (Burgess 16’, 75’, O’Donovan 84’)
Sunday 19 February, 2023
Valentine Sports Park
Referee: Sam Kelly
Assistant Referees: Patrick Teleki and Joshua Kermond
Fourth Official: Alessandro Llana
Sydney FC: 2. Cameron Fong (21. Louis Agosti 50’), 4. Nathan Paull, 6. Matthew Scarcella, 7. Ben Gibson, 10. Alen Harbas (9. Luka Symth 73’), 11. Clayton Taylor (13. Hayden Mathews 79’), 18. Oscar Priestman (C), 29. Aaron Gurd, 30. Adam Pavlesic, 33. Will Kennedy (26. Zane Schreiber 45’), 34. Max Buratto (8. Kealey Adamson 45’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Gus Hoefsloot,
Yellow Cards: Kennedy 29’, Buratto 31’, Agosti 89’, Gibson 90’
Red Cards:
Sydney Olympic: 1. Nicholas Sorras, 3. Michael Neill (C), 4. Benjamin van Meurs, 5. Zygmunt Gordon, 6. Jack Simmons, 8. Sam Mcillhatton (14. James Georgaklis 69’), 10. Darcy Burgess (7. William Angel 79’), 11. Adam Parkhouse, 12. Matthew Buettner, 29. Nick FitzGerald (9. Oliver Puflett 73’), 99. Roy O’Donovan
Substitutes Not Used: 2. Peter Kontis, 20. Christopher Parsons, 23. Jakob Cresnar
Yellow Cards: Simmons 14’
Red Cards:
Player ratings:
3 – Darcy Burgess (SO)
2 – Roy O’Donovan (SO)
1 – Michael Neill (SO)
By National Premier Leagues Men reporter Jack George
