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Olympic snap up young guns as 2022 preparations commence

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Ante Juric has wasted no time in preparing for the 2022 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s season after the club announced the signing of four quality youngsters in Mathieu Cordier, Sam McIllhatton, Emmanuel Peters and Niko Ujdur.

Both Cordier and McIllhatton come to the Blues after successful seasons with APIA Leichhardt, young defender Ujdur spent the past year with the youthful Northbridge Bulls outfit while Peters was part of the Marconi Stallions senior setup.

“We are looking forward to the 2022 NPL NSW Men’s new season and want to build on our solid fourth place this year and a FFA Cup Round of 32 birth,” Juric stated to Football NSW.

“I believe we have further strengthened the squad for the new season by bringing in some excellent young players such as Mathieu, Sam, Emmanuel and Niko.

“The team will again be youthful, though it is also a team for the now, as I believe we will be capable of challenging for trophies.”

The club however lost three influential players from its 2021 squad with long serving Blues star Jason Madonis, pocket dynamo midfielder Hagi Gligor and Nicola Kuleski who have all moved to rival NPL NSW Men’s clubs. Japanese import striker Yu Hasegawa has also departed while Olympic did lose both Mo Adam and Fabian Monge to Xanthi FC earlier this year.

Juric will still have a fair bit of experience to counter his young gun stars on display with the likes of Tom Whiteside, Brendan Cholakian, Fabio Ferrerira, Adam Parkhouse and fan favourite William Angel all ready to wear the Blues jersey once more.

For Angel, it will be an amazing 19th year with the club and twelve as a senior Olympic first grader, such is his passion for the Blues.

“This club means everything to me and I am delighted to be back once again.

“We are aiming to build on last season after finishing in a good position.

“A lot of the younger boys are gaining experience which is great for now and shaping us as a squad for the future as we look to be a force in season 2022 and beyond.”

Sydney Olympic 2022: William Angel, Ben Van Meurs, Michael Glassock, Brendan Cholakian, Tom Whiteside, Marley Peterson, Fabio Ferreira, Simun Milicevic, Chan Deng, Danial Dias, Nick Sorras, Christopher Parsons, Adam Parkhouse, Oliver Pufflett, Matthew Cordier, Niko Ujdur, Sam McIllhatton, Emmanuel Peters.

Cholakian adapting well to Olympic life

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As one of the NPL NSW Men’s most experienced players, Brendan Cholakian has been a mainstay of Manly United’s squad for the majority of his time in the competition.

After making the big switch from Cromer Park to Belmore Sportsground for Sydney Olympic this year, the midfielder has settled right in to the new team dynamic, continuing to be one of the league’s most impactful players.

“I think this year was always going to be the toughest season for me because of the change,” he explained.

“Taking the big change into account, it’s been such a smooth and enjoyable season so far, the team, the squad, the coaching staff and the Club itself have been so welcoming to me and that made me fit in really, really well and it feels like I’ve been playing there for such a long period of time.

“We always knew it was going to take a fair bit of time for us to gel, but the chemistry that we’ve got as a playing group is really, really good and I’m enjoying my football now more than ever – it’s been a really good season.

“We’ve positioned ourselves really, really well, in that fifth spot and close to the top three or four that once we get back to playing, we can really close out the season with some strong form with the remaining games that we’ve got at home at Belmore.”

Having spent so much time at Manly, Cholakian experienced going back to Cromer Park as a visitor this season.

“It was strange when I came up against them the first time and it was actually at Cromer Park – it’s always strange going back to a place that you’ve been at for so long.

“I think the way that the Olympic has made me feel so much at home since day one, it made that transition a little bit easier.

“I still speak with a lot of the players at Manly still quite regularly and they’ll be good friends to me for a long, long time even outside of my footballing career.

“From that sort of individual people side of things, I still sort of keep in touch with everyone, but when it came to football, even though the first time back to Cromer was a bit strange, I haven’t really felt any different and I feel like my new home at Olympic is somewhere I want to be for a very long time.”

While the lockdown is stopping Olympic from getting together and training as a team, they are still training individually and building their chemistry through the digital channels available to them.

“As most people would say when you’re in lockdown the best escape is to sort of get out onto the paddock and have a run and have a kick so the fitness plan that has been provided to us by Olympic has been really, really good and, most importantly, we’ve got a really committed squad of individuals and I know that every single one of them is going to be doing this at the best of their ability.

“Our WhatsApp group chat blows up quite regularly with a fair bit of banter, in fact, I think now that we’ve gone into lockdown the WhatsApp group has probably got a bit more content in there in comparison to when we were seeing each other every pretty much every second day of training anyway.

“We’ve got a really good bunch of boys everyone gets along really well, everyone’s reaching out to individuals independently as well – I’ve reached out to the boys just checking to see how they’re going, and I’ve received the same, so it just shows what a strong group of players that we have.”

With the extension of the NSW stay-at-home orders, Cholakian can’t wait until it is safe to get back on the pitch and continue Olympic’s 2021 campaign.

“We’ve positioned ourselves in a really good spot in terms of the league, being fifth with a number of games to go.

“With a number of those games at Belmore, it gives us a really good opportunity to secure our spot in finals football and finish as high as we can on the table, so that when we do go into the finals series we’re going into that with a bit of sort of winning momentum.

“It’s also been a really successful year for us in the Cup competitions – we’ve got the semi-final of the Waratah Cup against Blacktown, and we obviously want to win that game and get into the final, and then we’ve got the big matchup against Sydney FC in the FFA Cup so we’ve still got so much to play for.

“That’s why this time off is so important to make sure that we are staying fit and sharp so when we do get back we’ve got a couple of big-ticket items to make sure that we win and progress well in.”

-By Madeline Riley

 

 

 

 

 

Adam and Monge jet for Greek adventure

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Sydney Olympic young guns Mo Adam and Fabian Monge departed Sydney for Athens on Wednesday evening with the dynamic duo set to wear the colours of Greek Super League 2 outfit Xanthi FC for the 2021-2022 season.

The duo dazzled the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition this year showcasing their rich talents after arriving at the club this season.

17-year-old Matthew Scarcella also joined his teammates on a trip that all three hope will spearhead their footballing careers further.

All players will link up with a familiar name to many following the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition in former Sydney Olympic coach Jaime Monroy.

Monroy took charge of the Blues during the 2017 NPL NSW Me’s season and was recently announced as Xanthi FC’s new Head Coach for the 2021-2022 season.

Xanthi are hoping to go one better this year in achieving their goal of winning promotion into the Greek First Division after missing out last season bowing out in the final playoff match against Panetolikos.

“We wish the players the best of luck and thank them for their contribution to our club,” the Club stated in its official press statement.

“We are disappointed to see them leave as they are exceptionally talented players but as a club, we are very happy and proud that we are able to play a role in providing this opportunity to further their career.”

Rangers frustrate Olympic with precious win at Belmore

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Mt Druitt Town Rangers have kept their NPL NSW Men’s finals hopes alive with a narrow 1-0 win against Sydney Olympic at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday.

A first half strike from Rangers’ prolific marksman and former Olympic ace Jack Stewart was all it took as the Rangers claimed a vital three points following on from securing a round of 32 spot in this year’s FFA Cup after defeating Rockdale Ilinden in midweek.

It was a frustrating performance from Olympic who never found their stride during the contest.

The win keeps Mt Druitt in contention for finals football closing the gap to the top five.

It was the visitors who made the early running, Olympic finding themselves under the pump and struggling to get out of their own half including an early punched clearance from keeper Nicholas Sorras.

Marc Warren, back in the Rangers’ starting eleven after serving a one-match ban for a red card in the aforementioned match, was pivotal in breaking up the Olympic attacks through a congested midfield.

Olympic kept their shape to weather the early storm with only a long-range effort from Portuguese star Fabio Ferriera to show for their endeavour.

A succession of corners for the home side had the Rangers defence scrambling to clear.

Ferriera broke down the right and centred for Mohamed Adam but the striker couldn’t connect cleanly in the greasy conditions and sent his shot wide of the goal.

Brendan Cholakian was no closer when sending a free-kick high over the bar shortly after.

Neither keeper had been tested midway through the opening half, both defences standing strong when called upon and neither side able to find the telling pass when required in a free flowing but tense encounter.

Ferriera again utilised trickery to create an opening for a cross that Cholakian headed into the waiting arms of Rangers’ ‘keeper Carlos Saliadarre.

It was talisman Stewart who opened the scoring for the visitors in the 38th minute after fashioning an opportunity and striking a low shot into the net.

It was the moment of individual brilliance the game was crying out for to spark it into life as the former Blues striker celebrated his ninth goal of the NPL NSW Men’s campaign.

Olympic doubled their efforts however, a buoyed Rangers side piled on the pressure and a Tarik Elrich header was gratefully grabbed by Sorras as another attack was broken up by a teetering Olympic defensive unit.

There was no addition before the interval that saw Rangers halfway to completing an impressive away victory and on the balance of play it was a deserved lead.

Kamada found space down the right flank and sent over a cross that Mitchell Smith could only cushion his header into the arms of Sorras as Rangers, not sitting on their laurels, looked to increase their lead and put the result beyond any doubt in a show of their intent.

Olympic’s recent ‘Super Sub’ hero Yu Hasegawa replaced Oliver Puflett as coach Ante Juric looked to change the point of attack and open up options for his Olympic side in the 53rd minute and it almost paid dividends but for a desperate last ditch tackle to deny Cholakian once more.

With renewed vigour the home side mounted a concerted flurry of attacks yet still were unable to pick the lock.

Cholakian found himself through one-on-one with Saliadarre but the giant frame of the gloveman proved unbeatable as he pulled off a point black save against the onrushing striker in what was Olympics best opportunity of the match.

Rangers were not to be denied the points leaving coach Stewart Montgomery overjoyed with his side’s commitment.

“It was a real team performance today in what a six-pointer for both sides,” he said.

“If we didn’t win today all our focus would be on the FFA and Waratah Cups but we are not just a cup side and it’s not what we are about.

“We dominated in the first-half and played some really good football. We can put a lot of that down to the experience of Marc Warren today. His communication and talking on the pitch was just what was needed.”

Sydney Olympic coach Ante Juric rued a frustrating outing for his side.

“Mt Druitt played well, particularly in defence. They bunkered in well today and we were poor to be honest,” Juric said.

“We didn’t hit our passes nor take the few opportunities we did create. We’re disappointed in a lot of ways with the result particularly in the way our attacks were breaking down before we reached the front third.

“We are there or there about in the top five and we still have a lot to play for this season with the FFA Cup so we are doing well in many ways and will look to fight hard until the end of the season.”

Match Stats

Sydney Olympic 0

Mt Druitt Town Rangers 1 (Stewart 38)

Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore

Sunday, 20th June 2021

Referee: Stephen Lucas

Assistant. Referees: Janush Adabjou & Amir Hosnani

Fourth Official: Mutjaba Ebrahimi

Sydney Olympic: 1.Nicholas SORRAS,  2.Tom WHITESIDE, 5.Michael GLASSOCK, 6.NiKola KULESKI, 8.Jason MADONIS, 9.Oliver PUFLETT (18.Yu HASEGAWA 53), 10.Brendan CHOLAKIAN, 22.Fabio FERREIRA, 23.Daniel DIAS (29.Deng CHAN 83’), 24.Christopher GLIGOR (19.Darcy BURGESS 71), 35.Mohamed ADAM (17.Marley PETERSON 83’)

Substitutes not used: 20.Luke KAIRIES, 27.Simun MILICEVIC

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Mt Druitt Town Rangers: 1.Carlos SALIADARRE, 2.Solomon-Johnn MONOHAN-VAIIKA, 3.Travis OUGHTRED, 4.Mitchell SMITH, 6.Blake THOMPSON, 7.Jack STEWART (26.Olayinka SUNMOLA 86), 8.Jason PEREZ (10.Takumu TSUJIMURA 89), 14.Fumoto KAMADA (9.Toufic ALAMEDDINE 75), 17.Cooper COSKERIE, 21.Tarek ELRICH, 33.Marc WARREN

Substitutes not used: 13.Ahmed ALGARAWI, 18.Jared MACEROLA, 22.Jake MAMONE

Yellow Cards: Perez 79

Red Cards: Nil

By National Premier Leagues NSW reporter Micky Brock

Hasegawa the hero as Olympic snatch it at the death

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A Yu Hasegawa goal deep into added time has helped Sydney Olympic snatch a dramatic 1-0 win against Sydney FC at Belmore Sports Ground on Saturday.

Hasegawa headed home from a Michael Glassock cross in the 93rd minute to give Olympic their second win on the trot and extend their unbeaten run to four.

It was a heartbreaking result for the Young Sky Blues, who had their chances to take the lead throughout the second half but paid the price for their poor finishing.

The result boosts Olympic’s finals hopes with another vital three competition points with only six games left to play in the regular season.

The game came alive in the 5th minute when Sydney FC ran through the middle and ended the move with a shot by Clayton Taylor  that was well saved by ‘keeper Nicholas Sorras who turned it away for a corner.

Shortly afterwards, the reply from Sydney Olympic came from Oliver Puflett, but his attempt was just over the crossbar.

In the 22nd minute, the home side should have taken the lead.

The ball bobbled around the penalty box before making its way over to Mohamed Adam on the right. Still, his drilled diagonal thunderbolt was cleared off the line by Cameron Fong in what was miraculous for the Young Sky Blues.

The remainder of the first half was a tightly controlled affair by each side, and there were no further chances from either side that were going to break the deadlock.

The opening chance of the second half belonged to Kai Kamakura, who came on during the interval for Sydney FC, but an alert Sorras in goal met his diagonal shot from the right.

In the space of a few minutes, there two golden chances for Sydney FC, and, on both occasions, they were thwarted by a brilliant Sorras in goal for the home side.

It was the 65th minute when a diving Sorras well saved Taylor’s shot from the left, and eventually, the ball was cleared away by the defence.

A few minutes later, there was an even better chance when a square ball reached Oscar Priestman, and he blasted his shot from close range, but Sorras again was able to block it, this time with his feet.

In the 85th minute, Jaiden Kucharski ran onto a corner and shot from close range, but the ball finished over the crossbar, and once again, Sydney FC went perilously close without actually scoring.

Sydney Olympic then literally stole the game in stoppage time when a brilliant Glassock cross from the right found Hasegawa in the box, and his header went in over the ‘keeper and off the underside of the crossbar to send his teammates into raptures.

It was his second of the season, and a goal that could prove huge come end of the season when round 22 concludes.

After the game, Sydney Olympic coach Ante Juric acknowledged that a draw perhaps would have been a fair result but was more than happy to celebrate the win.

“It’s nice to get two wins in a row now because it’s the business end of the season,” he said.

“In terms of football, it probably should have been a draw because they were very good, but that Nick’s [Sorras] job and that’s why he got brought back into the team.

“Sydney FC had some good chances, but they did miss them, and we were a bit lucky to get one at the end. The win is important because it’s the business end of the year, and we have a good spirit and are building slowly.”

His counterpart Jim Van Weeren was adamant that his young side needed to capitalise on their chances.

“I don’t really know what to say because we had more than enough chances to win, but credit to Sorras the goalkeeper because he made at least three really good saves to keep them in the game,” he said.

“Football is about converting chances and they showed us that tonight. The disappointing thing is that we should be able to deal with that sort of pressure there at the end and prevent that chance from going in.

“It’s a learning moment but still disappointing. Next week we are home against Manly and they are a top three or four team. It’s going to be a really tough game and we are going to have a find a way to try to turn it around from tonight.”

Match Stats

SYDNEY OLYMPIC:  1 (Hasegawa 90’ + 3)

SYDNEY FC: 0

Saturday 12th June 2021

Belmore Sports Ground

Referee: S.Kelly
Assistant Referees: A.McConachie, E.Kocbek

Fourth Official: H.Al-Nakeeb

SYDNEY OLYMPIC: 1.Nicholas Sorras, 2.Thomas Whiteside, 4.Benjamin Van Meurs, 5.Michael Glassock, 6.Nikola Kuleski, 8.Jason Madonis (19.Darcy Burgess 66’), 9.Oliver Puflett, 21.Fabian Monge, 22.Fabio Ferreira (17.Marley Peterson 81’), 23.Daniel Dias, 35.Mohamed Adam (18.Yu Hasegawa 68’).

Substitutes not used: 20.Luke Kairies, 27.Simon Milicevic, 29.Chan Deng

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Card: Nil

SYDNEY FC: 1.Levi Kaye, 2.Cameron Fong, 3.Aaron Gurd, 5.Thomas Fay, 7.Aidan Simmons (18. Oscar Priestman46′), 11.Adrian Segecic (10.Jaiden Kucharski 68’), 12.Jake Girdwood-Reich, 13.Clayton Taylor, 17.Jayden Trenkoski (32.Kai Kamikura 46’), 19.Joseph Calusic, 33.Corey Hollman.

Substitutes not used: 16.Stevan Stanic-Floody, 60.Maz Vartuli.

Yellow Cards: Hollman 64’, Girdwood-Reich 80’

Red Card: Nil

By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Joe Russo