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Round 3 Finals Series Preview – NPL NSW Men’s

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In the fight to secure the final spot in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Grand Final, Sydney Olympic will take on Blacktown City FC at Belmore Sports Ground this Sunday at 3pm with CommBank Stadium in their sights as well as facing Manly United in the big dance.

In a rematch of the final match of the season that saw Sydney Olympic crowned Premiers after defeating Blacktown City, who would have secured the premiership if they held on for a draw or a win, the two heavyweights will come face to face as they look to join Manly United FC in the Grand Final.

After taking out the silverware, Olympic enjoyed a week off before matching up with Manly United last weekend, where they suffered a loss in a tight penalty shootout.

They will surely be fired up and looking for redemption in front of their home fans as they hunt down the double glory in the 2022 competition.

Having already secured the win over the Western Sydney side in Round 11 and the victory in Round 22, Olympic will be confident they can tackle Blacktown as they have already proved twice this year.

Golden boot winner Roy O’Donovan will be one to watch as he leads the attacking force of Olympic, alongside their other talented attackers, with the likes of Oliver Pufflet, Adam Parkhouse and Darcy Burgess all posing big threats.

Sam McIllhatton secured the only goal within the match last week and will be looking to make it two from two, while the defensive duo of Michael Glassock and Ben Van Meurs will be hoping to hold out Blacktown.

Travis Major has been a force to be reckoned with since rejoining Blacktown late in the season, while Mitchell Mallia and Jordan Smylie were the goal scorers in last week’s win.

The Blacktown defence has been an impressive source of strength throughout the whole season, with Grant Lynch the standout in the back line and Tyren Burnie stepping up in the absence of Daniel Collins in recent weeks.

Blacktown, who lost to Manly in their first finals match before taking down APIA Leichhardt in their second, will be hoping their third is the lucky match that gives them a shot at the Championship after the Premiership fell away from them.

In a high-stakes match there is sure to be plenty of fire and fight as both sides give their all in their last shot at the Grand Final.

It will be just as intriguing on the bench as Ante Juric faces Mark Crittenden. In what could be Juric’s last match as coach of Olympic following the club’s announcement that he won’t be back in 2023, you can be sure that he will hype his chargers up and will leave no stone unturned in the fight of getting them to next Saturday’s final.

Who will join Manly United in the big dance next week?

Manly United book its tickets for the 2022 NPL NSW Men’s Grand Final

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Manly United FC have booked their place in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Grand Final, with a sensational victory over Sydney Olympic FC that finished 4-3 in penalties after regular time concluded 1-1.

Olympic’s Sam McIllhatton scored the first goal of the match in the 107th minute, giving the hosts the lead, but Manly secured another last minute goal to even the score just before the final whistle, this time through Bruno Mendes in the 122nd minute.

The penalty shoot out provided plenty of excitement as Manly secured a 4-3 victory, sending them and their loyal fans into raptures as they celebrated their incredible feat.

While the victory sees Manly United with a place in the Grand Final at Commbank Stadium on Saturday 27th August, Sydney Olympic will have to take on the winner of tomorrow’s battle between Blacktown City and APIA Leichhardt for their chance at the big show.

The match was typical of the playing style of these two teams; defensively strong and tactically impressive, although neither team was able to break ahead during regulation time.

The best chances of the match came after a hard fought 90 minutes, in injury time.

Manly came close through Matt Sim from a free kick just outside the 18-yard box – a shot he has made many times in his career.

Sim’s shot looked poised to meet the target, but connected with Olympic’s defensive line.

As the game went into the second minute of injury time, McIllhatton made a pass to substitute Fabio Ferreira to start a string of play that saw them come close to an opening goal.

Ferreira crossed to golden boot winner Roy O’Donovan, who let off an impressive header that was sensationally cleared off the line by Manly’s Alen Aganovic.

As neither side could break the deadlock, the game went to extra time.

The hosts were the first to secure a goal in the 107th minute through McIllhatton.

Nikola Udjur sent a throw-in to McIllhatton in a central position, who hit a brilliant left-footed strike at the target and out of reach of Manly ‘keeper Jack Greenwood.

Substitute Hagi Gligor came close to another for the hosts in the 114th minute as he let off a powerful shot from range, but couldn’t get his side ahead.

As the extra time period came to a close, the Northern Beaches outfit equalised in the last moments of the game for the second time in two weeks.

The opportunity came from a corner and after a Piriz header flew towards the target, it bounced out and Mendes tapped the ball in from close range.

Referee Michael Weiner blew the whistle for penalties and both teams amped themselves up for the high-pressure shootout

O’Donovan fired the first penalty into the netting against a hapless Greenwood, with Mendes following, sending Parsons the wrong way and slowly tapping his penalty into the netting.

Michael Glassock powered the next penalty into the netting to take his team’s tally to two, then James Oates fired his penalty above the crossbar, giving Olympic the advantage.

McIllhatton followed suit and skied his effort, bringing the opportunity back to Manly, but Marcus Lal’s penalty was saved by Parsons.

Udjur converted his penalty then Benjamin Koop stepped up to the spot and kept Manly in the match.

Ferreira stepped up with a chance to win the match but his shot went wide of the goal and Sim then converted to even the penalties to 3-3.

Daniel Dias rocketed his shot high for Olympic, leaving the visitors open to secure the victory, which they did through Luka Kmet.

Manly United captain James Oates was elated with his team’s grit to take the win in the long battle.

“We didn’t want to do it that way, we definitely did it the hard way but it just shows the group we have that two weeks in a row we’ve scored in the last minute with a never say die attitude,” he explained.

“We were up against it big time this week, we had two or three injuries, a suspension last weekend, and we already had injuries there so we had a shallow squad.

“For the boys to put in that effort to take it to pens, and then me to sky one and for them to do their job and bury it and take the win is unbelievable and I think we deserve to be in the final.

“It’s just a credit to the boys who are all working hard and everyone is doing their job.”

 Match Stats

Sydney Olympic FC 1 (3) (Sam McIllhatton 107)’

Manly United FC 1 (4) (Bruno Mendes 122’) 

Saturday, 13th August, 2022

Belmore Sportsground, Belmore

Referee: Michael Weiner

Assistant Referees: Bradley Wright & Patrick Teleki

Fourth Official: Kelly Jones

Sydney Olympic FC: 3. Nikola Udjur, 4. Ben Van Meurs, 5. Michael Glassock, 6. Mathieu Cordier, 8. Sam Mcillhatton, 9. Oliver Puflett (22. Fabio Ferreira 64’), 11. Adam Parkhouse (36. Peter Politis 120’), 19. Darcy Burgess (24. Hagi Gligor 81’), 20. Christopher Parsons, 23. Daniel Dias, 99. Roy O’Donovan

Substitutes Not Used: 2. Thomas Whiteside, 17. Marley Peterson, 90. Evan Hamele

Yellow Cards: Puflett 19’, Glassock 90’

Red Cards: Nil

Manly United FC: 3. Jesse Piriz, 4. James Oates, 5. Thomas Fay (29. Marcus Lal 115’), 8. Dominic Ferguson (9. Benjamin Koop 77’), 11. Matthew Sim, 14. Dejan Pandurevic (27. Hunter Elliot 100’), 17. Daniel Fabrizio (10. Luka Kmet 112’), 18. Lucas Rainbird, 19. Alen Aganovic, 20. Jack Greenwood, 22. Bruno Mendes

Substitutes Not Used: 31. Max Martinello, 41. Jack Obern

Yellow Cards: Ferguson 39’, Rainbird 90’, Fay 101’

Red Cards: Nil

Ante Juric to depart Olympic at the end of the season

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Ante Juric has announced that he will be departing his head coaching post at Sydney Olympic FC at the conclusion of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Finals Series after six solid seasons.

Citing personal reasons, the former defender and the club have mutually agreed to not renewing Juric’s contract for the 2023 season.

Sydney Olympic Club President Damon Hanlin paid tribute to Juric for his nine years as a footballer at the club that led him to the induction in the Hall of Fame as well as six seasons as a coach and Technical Director, showcasing his massive contribution to the former NSL club.

“I wish Ante all the best in his future coaching roles, and it would be great if he can leave on a bigger high with Sydney Olympic lifting the NPL NSW Men’s Championship trophy in a few weeks time.”

Juric, who led the Blues to the 2022 NPL NSW Men’s Premiership, are one win away from reaching the Grand Final but have to beat Manly United this Saturday at Belmore Sports Ground to take them to the big dance with the chance of clinching the double piece of silverware this season.

 

 

Sydney Olympic crowned 2022 NPL NSW Men’s Premiers

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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

Olympic’s Premiership hopes to go down to the wire following victory over Mt Druitt

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Sydney Olympic FC remain in the hunt for the Premiership after their 3-2 win against Mt Druitt Town Rangers at Popondetta Park on Friday night.

Ace marksman Roy O’Donovan fired home a brace either side of half time to push his tally to 19 for the season, alongside a goal to Sam McIllhatton to secure three points.

For Mt Druitt Town Rangers, they suffered a battling loss in what has been a tough campaign. The hosts pulled one back in the second half through substitute Mabior Garang and then a late screamer from Jack Stewart for some consolation.

Looking to finish off their home season in style, Mt Druitt Town Rangers were in the game early with a scramble almost going over the line then a drive from Solomon-Johnn Monahan-Vaiika thrashed wide from the corner.

Sydney Olympic took time to settle but almost opened up the hosts in the 20th minute as McIllhatton, Adam Parkhouse and O’Donovan all combined for the latter to prod wide.

The visitors were looking to put pressure on the top two in the league coming into the final week and got the opener through the head of O’Donovan from an Oliver Pufflet cross for 1-0.

Mt Druitt Town Rangers tried to respond themselves in the 25th minute through their own sharpshooter Jack Stewart, but his effort was thrashed wide of the right-hand post.

Not content to sit on their goal lead, Olympic kept pushing forward.

Darcy Burgess sent a cutback over the top, then just before half time O’Donovan’s shot on the turn was saved.

The hosts tried to pull one back quickly after the restart and it fell to their main man.

Stewart found an inch of space before he turned one straight at Olympic’s Christopher Parsons.

Past the hour mark, the visitors had a pair of shots to extend their lead – Parkhouse with a free kick that went straight then Daniel Diaz found space to shoot right at Mt Druitt’s Jerome Narayan.

Mt Druitt Town Rangers weren’t about to lie down as Stewart teed up a cross for veteran Tarek Elrich to nod straight at Olympic custodian Parsons.

There was a moment to remember for Mabior Garang as the substitute pulled one back for Mt Druitt Town Rangers, tapping home from a Louis Khoury ball for 2-1.

Sydney Olympic tried to restore their two-goal advantage on the counter started by Mathieu Cordier but the play ended up with both O’Donovan and Pufflet having shots that deflected wide of the mark.

Pufflet had a big chance to finish off the contest when the ball fell to him with wide open pastures ahead of him. He strode over but Rangers keeper Jerome Narayan made a fantastic stop to keep the hosts in the contest.

O’Donovan was the width of the post away from securing the three points in the 86th minute when he struck the post, then Parkhouse swept it wide from yards out.

The visitors restored their two-goal lead from the spot after Cordier was fouled on the left side of the box.

O’Donovan stepped up and slotted it home to make it 3-1 for Olympic.

Mt Druitt Town Rangers signed off their home portion of the season with one last piece of flair as Stewart arrowed one in the bottom corner to make it 3-2.

Post-match, Mt Druitt Town Rangers coach Stewart Montgomery stated that the game was a snapshot of the Rangers season in 2022.

“It was a snapshot of the season for us,” he explained.

“We had good moments then conceded on the transition against a good Sydney Olympic FC side.

“I think when we came out in the second half and dominated then it was one moment that cost us.”

Montgomery also praised substitute and 20s scoring machine Mabior Garang for his work.

“We’ve been working with him all year. He is leading the scoring in the 20s and I think he has a big future in the game.” Montgomery said.

For Sydney Olympic FC coach Ante Juric, the former Blues defender admitted it was a scrappy contest but his side took the three points which was all that mattered.

“It was a little bit scrappy due to being a short week for us,” he said.

“I wasn’t happy with how we played tonight but it was about the three points so now we head into next weekend with a chance to lift the Premiership.”

Match Stats

Friday 22nd July 2022

Popondetta Park, Emerton

Referee: Michael Weiner

Assistant Referees: Joon Park & Joseph Lee

Fourth Official: Joel Crawford

Mt Druitt Town Rangers 2 (Garang ‘72, Stewart 93’)

Sydney Olympic FC 3 (O’Donovan ‘24, ‘89, McIllhatton ‘42)

Mt Druitt Town Rangers: 2. Solomon-Johnn Monahan-Vaiika, 6. Louis Khoury, 7. Jack Stewart, 8. Jason Perez, 15. Brayden Burr (36, Noah Panczyk ‘84), 17. Cooper Coskerie, 18. Olayinka Sunmola (24. Mabior Garang ‘63), 19. Bul Juach (25. Mohammed Sabbouh ‘45), 21. Tarek Elrich, 22. Rhett Desilva (11. Fumoto Kamada ‘22), 30. Jerome Narayan

Unused subs: 1. Oman Ramezani, 32. Jacob Micallef

Yellow cards: Monahan-Vaiika ‘86

Red cards: nil

Sydney Olympic FC: 3. Nikola Ujdur, 4. Benjamin Van Meurs, 5. Michael Glassock, 6. Matthieu Cordier, 8. Sam Mcillhaton, 9. Oliver Pufflet (17. Marley Peterson ‘86), 11. Adam Parkhouse (22. Fabio Ferreira ‘90), 19. Darcy Burgess (10. Brendan Cholakian ‘61), 20. Christopher Parsons, 23. Daniel Dias (24. Hagi Gligor ‘90), 99. Roy O’Donovan

Unused subs: 2. Thomas Whiteside, 90. Evan Hamele

Yellow cards: nil

Red cards: nil

By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)