NWS Spirit FC and Sydney Olympic shared the points on a blustery Saturday evening at Christie Park.
A match of few moments, neither side were unable to capitalize on their chances throughout the game having to settle for a share of the points.
Both sides were happy to see each other out early, with Sydney Olympic enjoying more of the field position and chances in the opening half hour.
The first of which came in the 17th minute. Roy O’Donovan heading wide left of the target after Adam Parkhouse found him with a cross.
Six minutes later the Blues had another chance via Michael Vakis in the 23rd minute. Vakis took the ball from midfield forward into the box – but Christopher Marques was equal to the task meeting the shot with a good save.
Marques was called upon again on the half hour. Vakis with another effort from inside the box on the right saved by Marques before Donovan followed up, his shot from an angle on the left.
Spirit however seemed to settle after that, Nicholas Sorras was called upon to make a save at the other end on 36 minutes. Richie Darko from the right slipped a nice ball inside to Luiz Lobo. His shot nearly sneaking under Sorras who made the save.
Like the first half, the visitors started the better of the two sides, a dangerous ball across the face from Adam Parkhouse was cleared away desperately before O’Donovan could finish in the 52nd minute.
Another chance followed eight minutes later on the hour mark. Parkhouse was once again involved finding Simmons with a cross but Simmons header was deflected wide.
Once again though, Spirit came back into it. Their best two chances coming after the 75th minute through Lobo.
His first effort was palmed away by Sorras while his second attempt was well saved by Olympic’s big number one.
The Spirit attacker’s second chance saw his chance saved once more by Sorras after being put in cleverly by Darko on 80 minutes.
Sydney Olympic had one last chance to seal the three points. A counterattack led to an O’Donovan shot on the angle in the 91st minute. The striker once again denied by Marques in net.
Post-match Sydney Olympic coach Labinot Halitii thought his side were unlucky to not come away with maximum points.
“I thought we deserved the game today, performance wise I can’t fault the boys and we had the better chances.
“From what happened last week, we said to ourselves that we are better than that as a team and individually.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, Haliti continued.
“We’ll take the positives from tonight and look to build consistency over the next seven games.
“We need more performances like tonight.”
While NWS Spirit FC coach David Perkovic stated that the windy conditions for both teams played a huge toll on the final result.
“It was a frustrating game played in tough conditions, both sides found it difficult to play against the wind.
“No one was able to take control of the game tonight and in a game like that, it comes down to moments and neither side were able to take theirs tonight.”
Match Stats
NWS Spirit FC 0
Sydney Olympic FC 0
Saturday 8 July, 2023
Christie Park, Macquarie Park
Referee: Karl Davies
Assistant Referees: Matthew Harris & Arinath Gobinath
Fourth Official: Amber Morris
NWS Spirit FC: 1. Christopher Marques, 3. Musashi Kokubo, 4. Kota Odakura, 6. Corey Kavanagh, 7. Richard Darko, 9. Mitchell Davidson (17. Matthew Cahill 61’), 10. Peter Kekeris (11. Ollie Wiggin 72’), 13. Simon Nicholas, 16. Kyle Shaw, 20. Jared Lum (19’ Daniel Mitwali 61’), 21. Luiz Lobo (2. Anthony Younis 86’)
Substitutes Not Used: 13. Jacob Madden, 26. Maisam Awaz
Yellow Cards: Kekeris 56’, Mitwali 89’
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney Olympic: 1. Nicholas Sorras, 2. Peter Politis, 3. Michael Neill, 5. Ziggy Gordan (C), 6. Jack Simmons (10’ Darcy Burgess 62’), 7. William Angel, 8. Sam Mcillhatton (4. Ruben Sanchez Marcano 62’) , 11. Adam Parkhouse, 14. Michael Vakis (22. Fabio Ferreira 72’), 15. Willian Mutch, 99. Roy O’Donovan
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Christopher Parsons, 16. Joshua Okan, 24. Hagi Gligor.:
Yellow Cards: Ferreira 54’, Politis 82’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Christopher Marques (NWS)
2 – Michael Vakis (SO)
1 – Nicholas Sorras (SO)
By Justin Smith (@smiththejustin).
