Elhelou The Hero As Marconi Condemn Olympic To Relegation
Marconi Stallions defeated Sydney Olympic 1-0 on Sunday afternoon in the penultimate round of the NPL Men’s NSW regular season, with substitute Ahmad Elhelou scoring a late winner in a tight encounter at Belmore Sports Ground.
The two sides were separated by just one goal, with Elhelou finding the decisive strike only minutes after coming off the bench.
The three points lifted Marconi into second place on the ladder, while the defeat condemned Sydney Olympic to relegation from the state’s top tier before the final round of the competition — a bitter pill to swallow for such a proud and historic club.
The first goalscoring opportunity of a relatively dour opening half came in the 13th minute when Sydney Olympic’s Bailey Callaghan fired from outside the box, with his effort narrowly missing the target.
Marconi responded five minutes later with a diagonal free-kick from the left by Marko Jesic, which goalkeeper Filip Kurto did well to punch away.
The game continued to ebb and flow before Marconi came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock just after the half-hour mark.
Franco Maya received a cross from the left before unleashing an audacious left-footed volley that crashed against the crossbar with such ferocity that the entire goal structure appeared to shake.
Marconi went close again in the 37th minute when the ball fortuitously fell into the path of Damian Tsekenis.
The Stallions forward attempted to steer the ball towards goal, but Kurto reacted well to turn the effort behind for a corner.
A minute later, Sydney Olympic almost found an opening at the other end.
Zac Zoricich produced an instinctive effort from the edge of the penalty area, forcing a superb reflex save from Marconi goalkeeper Joel Wade.
It proved to be the final real opportunity of a scoreless first half.
The second half developed into a stalemate, with both sides playing a tightly controlled contest that was more akin to a game of chess than an open attacking encounter.
With his side searching for a breakthrough, Marconi coach Peter Tsekenis went to his bench in the 63rd minute, making a triple substitution to breathe new life into the contest.
The changes became even more significant following news over the Belmore Sports Ground PA system that Sydney United 58 and APIA Leichhardt had played out a 0-0 draw.
That result meant a Marconi victory would see the Stallions move into equal second place with their Edensor Park-based neighbours, but ahead on goal difference.
Despite the introduction of fresh legs, the game remained tight.
Sunday Yona went close for Marconi in the 74th minute, firing just wide of the target.
Sydney Olympic responded moments later when a long ball forward found Marco Arambasic.
The replacement striker controlled the ball nicely but could only fire his effort just wide.
Marconi continued to apply pressure and went close again in the 79th minute.
An inswinging corner from Matej Busek found Cameron Windust inside the penalty area, with his header on target before Kurto produced a neat punch to clear the danger.
The visitors continued to push.
In the 83rd minute, Tyren Burnie carried the ball forward from deep inside his own half before finding Yona on the left.
Yona forced Kurto into another reflex save, with the Sydney Olympic defence eventually scrambling the ball away.
However, the reprieve was only temporary.
Just a minute later, Marconi finally broke the deadlock.
The ball fell favourably to substitute Elhelou, who produced a clever diagonal effort from the left and found the opposite bottom corner.
There was nothing Kurto could do this time as Marconi took a 1-0 lead.
Sydney Olympic pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages, but Marconi held firm.
In stoppage time, Noah Anderson fired an effort across the face of goal, but there was nobody available to provide the finishing touch for what would have been a second Stallions goal.
The final whistle confirmed a huge three points for Marconi, lifting them into second place and, simultaneously, confirming Sydney Olympic’s relegation from the NPL Men’s NSW competition.
Following the match, Marconi coach Peter Tsekenis was a satisfied and proud coach, but also expressed his sympathy for Sydney Olympic and their current predicament.
“It was a tough game as both teams were playing for something,” Tsekenis said.
“For me it’s bittersweet as an ex-player of Sydney Olympic because usually these two great clubs are playing for silverware, but today was a little bit different.
“I am happy, of course, that we got the result and are now looking at second spot. It’s now up to us next week against Spirit at home, but we have a number of players on yellow cards and we’ll have to make some decisions on how much we risk.
“I think today defensively we were strong and we probably should have scored even in the first half through our dominance.
“Also, I felt that our replacements that came on played well and finished the game for us, which is a very positive thing.”
Marconi will now head into the final round with second place in their sights, while Sydney Olympic face the difficult task of preparing for life in the Football NSW League One Men’s competition in 2027.
Match Stats
SYDNEY OLYMPIC: 0
MARCONI STALLIONS : 1 (Elhelou 84’)
Sunday 23rd August 2026
Belmore Sports Ground
Referee: Noah Moss
Assistant referees: James Makris, Benjamin Eisikovich
Fourth Official: Alexandar Zastavnikovic
SYDNEY OLYMPIC: 20. Filip Kurto, 4. Joshua Hong, 7. Seth Clark (34. Marcus Fernandez 40’), 8. Kaan Nizam, 10. Panayioti Armenakas, 12. Zac Zoricich (6. Jok Akuien 46’), 14. Jacob Tresoglavic, 16. Bailey Callaghan, 18. Peter Politis, 21. Adam Bugarija (58. Daniel Wong 82’), 23. Sebastian Kukucka (9. Marco Arambasic 75’).
Substitutes not used: 1. Josip Orlovic, 35. Peter Grozos, 37. Jack Markwell.
Yellow Cards: Akuien 55’
Red Cards: Nil
MARCONI STALLIONS: 1. Joel Wade, 2. Tyren Burnie, 3. Cameron Windust, 4. Anton Mlinaric, 5. George Daniel, 7, Franco Maya (19. Ahmad Elhelou 63’), 8. James Bayliss (21. Noah Anderson 63’), 9. Damian Tsekenis (11. Matej Busek 54’), 10. Marko Jesic (17. Sunday Yona 63’), 14. Jack Armson, 23. Quinten Blair.
Substitutes not used: 15. Aleksandar Duricic, 16. Luca Pecora, 20. Oliver Yates.
Yellow Cards: Daniel 42’
Red Cards: Nil
By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Joe Russo
