Points secured as Olympic return to winning ways
Sydney Olympic have secured an important three points with a come from behind 3-1 victory over Sydney FC at the Illinden Sports Centre on Friday evening.
It was Sydney FC who made the sharper start, with the home side opening the scoring just four minutes into the match.
A patient, sharp move from Sydney allowed Zachary De Jesus to – after an incisive switch from Will Kennedy – find the clever run of Lachlan Middleton in behind on the right side.
Middleton ran onto the pass and, while stretching from the by-line, cut the ball back exceptionally to find Tiago Quintal.
The attacking midfielder made no mistake from close range, placing a shot from just outside the six yard box past Noah James and emphatically into the back of the net, to the delight of the home side, who were in search of three points to escape the bottom two.
Just two minutes later, Olympic looked to have equalised, with a beautiful curling cross from Adam Parkhouse finished by the head of Teng Kuol, but the striker was adjudged to be offside and the goal was cut out.
In the 15th minute, the away side were inches away from equalising once more.
A powerful, penetrating run from Kuol saw him break through on the right, where he then played a perfect ball across the face of goal to Roy O’Donovan.
After taking a touch, the clinical striker was in a one on one with a stranded Alexander Zaverdinos from just outside the six yard box, but miraculously hit the inside post, missing a sensational opportunity to draw the scores level.
While the 15 that followed didn’t see any clear cut chances, it was hard to keep your eyes off the pitch, with matches tempo, intensity and tension escalating with every minute.
Three minutes into the second half, Olympic finally found their reply, courtesy of a stunning freekick from Kuol.
After Sydney lost the ball deep in build-up, Lachlan Middleton upended Sam Mcillhatton a few metres outside the area.
Off the set piece, Kuol thundered a sensational strike into the top right-corner to crucially equalise for the away side.
Following goal, the energy lifted once more, with Olympic determined to leave the Illinden Sports Centre with three points.
In the 59th minute, they did find their goal, with a set piece again providing success for the away team.
A clipped ball in from Mcillhatton on the touchline wasn’t cleared by the Sydney defence, and eventually found Jack Simmons at the back post.
The midfielder cleverly cut the ball back to George Timotheou, who took a snapshot with his weaker foot.
The ball found the back of the net via a rebound from Sydney’s defence, giving Olympic the lead for the first time in the match.
Sydney Olympic had a chance to make it three in the 63rd minute, with Michael Vakis emerging free past the back post, but the forward couldn’t direct his header goalwards.
In the 70th minute, Olympic did add a third, with the goal made by a stunning run from Vakis.
Picking up the ball on the right, Vakis sprinted into the space inside, passing three players with his assertiveness and stunning control.
Just after entering the box, he unleashed a powerful low shot, which was saved by Zaverdinos.
However, his parry only found the foot of O’Donovan, who tapped the ball home to make three for Olympic, securing the victory.
Sydney Olympic coach Labinot Haliti was happy with the win, but stated his desire to continue to work on the small details.
“I think when we concede an early goal there’s always going to be a bit of momentum,” he said.
“Once we got into our game we showed what we can do, but again, it’s the little details we’ve got to work on and that’s all we can do – keep working.”
Sydney FC coach Jim Van Weeren was frank with his overall assessment stating his side gifted Olympic the second half goals.
“In the second half we gave them goals,” he said.
“They’re young players, they’re going to do that and it’s fine, but I think the real key is that we say we learn from it, and learning means changing your behaviour because we make a lot of the same mistakes week after week.”
Match Stats
Sydney FC 1 (Quintal 4’)
Sydney Olympic FC 3 (Kuol 47’, Timotheou 59’, O’Donovan 70’)
Friday 17 May, 2024
Illinden Sports Centre
Referee: Karl Davies
Assistant Referees: Rowan Fisher and Matthew Harris
Fourth Official: Ethan Zvargulis
Sydney FC: 40. Alexander Zaverdinos, 3. Tyler Williams, 4. Joseph Calusic, 5. Zachary De Jesus (2. Noah Mathie 80’), 8. Lachlan Middleton, 10. Tiago Quintal (7. Oscar Fryer 65’), 13. Jacob Brazete (14. Jared Middleton 80’), 16. Pearson Kasawaya, 22. Will Kennedy (C), 24. Wataru Kamijo (28. Nickolas Alfaro 65’), 29. Joseph Lacey (33. Mathais Macallister 65’)
Substitutes Not Used: 30. Mason Hartni
Yellow Cards: Kennedy 27’, L. Middleton 47’, Kasawaya 51’
Red Cards: None
Sydney Olympic FC: 1. Noah James, 2. Peter Politis (15. William Mutch 72’), 4. George Timotheou, 5. Ziggy Gordon, 8. Sam Mcillhatton, 10. Darcy Burgess (6. Jack Simmons 45’), 11. Adam Parkhouse (7. Jaden Casella 90’), 12. Zac Zoricich (23. Jackson Bandiera 72’), 14. Michael Vakis, 18. Teng Kuol (19. Gianni Di Pizio 77’), 99. Roy O’Donovan (C)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Christopher Parsons
Yellow Cards: Politis 17’
Red Cards:
Player ratings:
3 – Michal Vakis (SO)
2 – George Timotheou (SO)
1 – Teng Kuol (SO)
By Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)
