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Olympic stunned by gritty Sharks

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Reigning Premiers and Champions Sydney Olympic were unable to continue their winning ways, kicking off the season with a shock 1-0 loss to Sutherland Sharks at Belmore Sportsground on Sunday evening.

It only took one goal for the home side to fall to the Sharks in what was a very physical match, with new recruit Jeremy Cox netting the winner in the 70th minute.

Olympic managed to start the half with fire, creating a goal-scoring opportunity within the first two minutes of the match.

Spanish striker Alex Sanchez was called offside after wrangling his way into a one-on-one with Sutherland keeper, Anthony Bouzanis.

Jordan Morfitis tried his luck for Sutherland from long range in the 11th minute, but it soared wide of the woodwork.

A free kick in the 13th minute saw Olympic come close to securing the opener, as Sanchez combined with defender Zach Mackenzie, who sent a shot towards goal which was collected by Bouzanis.

Olympic’s veteran custodian Paul Henderson put his skills on display in the 19th minute, managing to extend to get a hand to a shot from Sutherland and keep the game scoreless.

Sanchez made his way into the book in the 20th minute after getting tangled up with Sutherland’s Tarik Ercan, while Sharks skipper Marc Warren received a yellow card in the 26th minute for kicking the ball away as Olympic lined up for a free kick.

Ercan earned his first official warning from a forceful shove in the back of Sanchez in the 40th minute, with both teams coming out firing after the challenge.

The home side came close yet again in the 56th minute with Sanchez flicking a ball over to Olympic skipper Jason Madonis who fired a shot at Bouzanis.

Bouzanis hit the ball back into play for Madonis to shoot yet again but collected the skipper’s second shot to keep the home side at bay.

The first and only goal of the game came in the 70th minute, with another Spaniard Juan Carlos Romero combining with Cox to hit the back of the netting.

Olympic defensive line were calling for the offside flag when Romero slid the ball through to Cox, who sent it out of Henderson’s reach to finish.

Sanchez sent Olympic fans jumping out of their seats as he worked his magic and came millimeters away from the equaliser in the 76th minute.

The Spaniard weaved his way through Sutherland’s back line to let off a shot that flew past Bouzanis, ricocheting off the very edge of the woodwork and back into play.

Sutherland Sharks coach Terry Palapanis expressed his pleasure in his team’s performance.

“It was tough, exactly how we expected,” he explained.

“They’re a very good side Olympic, they’re the reigning Champions.

“We had to make it physical otherwise we wouldn’t be leaving with three points.”

Olympic coach Abbas Saad said he’s “not too disappointed” with the performance of his team.

“It was very, very physical,” he explained.

“Credit to them, they made it very difficult for us to play.

“They played off our mistakes and we got punished in the end.”

Match Stats

Sydney Olympic 0

Sutherland Sharks 1 (Jeremy Cox 70’)

Sunday 10th March, 2019

Belmore Sportsground

Referee: A. Arndt

Sydney Olympic: 1. Paul Henderson, 2. Thomas Whiteside, 6. Nicola Kuleski (19. Darcy Burgess), 7. Will Angel, 8. Jason Madonis, 9. Radovan Pavicevic (25. Dimitrios Petratos), 10. Harris Gaitatzis (17. Jack Stewart), 11. Jinya An, 12. Zach Mackenzie, 14. Alex Sanchez, 24. Hagi Gligor

Substitutes Not Used: 20. Eze Consoni, 23. Troy Danaskos

Yellow Cards: Alex Sanchez, 20’, Will Angel 76’, Jason Madonis 84’

Red Cards: Nil

Sutherland Sharks: 1. Anthony Bouzanis, 2. Quentin Cheng, 3. Marc Warren, 4. Patrick O’Shea, 7. Juan Romero, 8. Mateo Poljak, 10. Raul Romero, 11. Jordan Morfitis (32. Alexander Lopez), 12. Blair Brown, 19. Harry Sutherland, 21. Tarik Ercan (9. Jeremy Cox),

Substitutes Not Used: 15. Thomas Papa, 18. Mitchell Evans, 25. Brodie Clarkson

Yellow Cards: Marc Warren 26’, Tarik Ercan 40’, Juan Romero 90’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings

3 – Anthony Bouzanis (SS)

2 – Hagi Gligor (SO)

1 – Juan Carlos Romero (SS)

-By Madeline Riley (Twitter handle – @madelineriley23)

Olympic hungry for more success

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How can you better the perfect season?

That is the question Abbas Saad and his Sydney Olympic squad will ponder this preseason as they look to defend their incredible 2018 Premiership and Championship double winning campaign.

The boys from Belmore stunned many last year as they shirked preseason uncertainty, after a coaching chance weeks out from round one, to record one of the best seasons by an NPL NSW Men’s club side in recent years.

Doing it once is hard enough and the success of the previous season is sure to be a hard act to follow.

Saad is confident his team won’t be headed towards a sophomore slump in 2019 but accepts this time around the team is set to face some unique challenges.

“The NPL is a tough league where anyone can win so this season for us is going to be one of our toughest challenges yet,” Saad said.

“We didn’t have the best squad on paper last season but we showed with hard work what could be achieved.

“This time around we will have the target on our back and the pressure will be on the players to take their game further and on me to help facilitate that improvement.”

One major hurdle facing Saad and Olympic is how they will go without star midfielder Max Burgess who was rewarded for his stellar campaign by signing an A-League contract with Wellington Phoenix.

Burgess was immense as Sydney Olympic’s number 10 in 2018 providing both assists and goals on their way to the double.

Veteran defender Riley Woodcock has also moved back to Perth leaving a major hole in the backline.

Saad and Olympic have been active in the transfer market bringing in a number of former club favourites including Mitchell Stamatellis, Troy Danaskos as well as the Gaitatzis brothers Harry and Michael Gaitatzis.

The club has also re-signed 16 players from last season, one being Spanish star sensation Alejandro Sanchez, leaving Saad confident the players at his disposal will be able to keep Olympic at the top.

“Max and Riley are both irreplaceable players and we will definitely miss them this season. Players of their quality and with A-League experience are so valuable in the NPL so it will be a challenge to fill the void they leave,” Saad said.

“The new boys coming in are all quality players and I’m sure they will do a good job and make just as big a contribution to the team.

“Last year I was able to play one system for most of the year and I knew we would always be a good chance of winning. However, this season I will need to make a few changes to what we do to suit the players we have in the squad and to not be too predictable for our opposition.”

One player Olympic fans will be happy to see back in their team’s colours this year was star striker Alexis Sanchez who spurned numerous approaches from clubs in Australia and abroad to return for a second year at Belmore Sports Ground.

Although revealing he at one point succumbed to losing the Spanish striker, Saad said he was overjoyed to get the news he would once again have the services of his leading goal scorer

“It took a bit of hard work but thankfully we’ve kept him for this season,” he said.

“There were a lot of clubs, ranging from other NPL sides to A-League clubs as well as professional teams abroad, all circling looking to sign him but he said he wanted to build on what he achieved here and signed on for the season.

“He is more than good enough to play in Asia or in the A-League so to have him leading the line again is a major coup for us.”

A busy preseason program has filled Saad with plenty of confidence leading into the regular season and he believes fans should have more reason to smile in 2019.

“This is a very talented group of players and with the players coming in I think we have a much deeper squad than we did last season,” he said.

“If we are able to jell as quickly as we did last year then we shouldn’t have any problems but finding that chemistry with the new guys and the returning players will be one of our main challenges early on.

“I have a lot of belief in the boys and I’m confident this can be another successful season for the club.”

Sydney Olympic open their NPL NSW Men’s championship and premiership title defence with a round one match against Sutherland Sharks at Belmore Sports Ground on March 10.

Key player movements

Arrivals: Harris Gaitatzis (Rockdale City Suns), Troy Danaskos (Marconi Stallions), Mitchell Stamatellis (Hakoah Sydney City East), Michael Gaitatzis (Mounties Wanderers)

Departures: Riley Woodcock (Perth), Brendan Hooper (injury), Max Burgess (Wellington Phoenix)

-By Nick Houghton

Gaitatzis brothers join Sydney Olympic

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Reigning National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Premiers and Champions Sydney Olympic have continued their recruitment for the 2019 season with the announcement of the Gaitatzis brothers Harris and Michael for the new year.

Harris returns to the club after spending some time with rivals Rockdale City Suns where he continued to be one of the competitions most skilful players, while Michael returns after a stint with National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s side Gladesville Ryde Magic where he took out both the Player of the Year and Golden Boot awards.

Blues Head Coach Abbas Saad was delighted with the signing of both brothers.

“They are quality players that will add further ammunition to our teams attacking philosophy.

“I have been impressed by how hungry both boys are to join our squad and make the most of their move back to Olympic, they will be a good fit and provide increased depth and options to our squad, it is great to have them back”.

The brothers were equally as excited to re-join Olympic and be playing together again:

“Olympic has always been a club I have held close to my heart and after a few years away, I’m excited to be coming back to play some quality football, with a great group of guys, stated Harris.

“I know we are going to have a strong season and I’m very much looking forward to wearing the blue and white jersey again” he added.

Michael equally was also anticipating the new season.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to return to the club where I spent three great seasons, I am excited to build on the success the club experienced in 2018 and I look forward to achieving further success in 2019.”

Sydney Olympic will commence its pre-season preparations on Monday 12th of November.

 

 

 

 

 

Sydney Olympic re-sign 16 players from Championship winning squad

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National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Premiers and Champions Sydney Olympic FC announced the re-signing of 16 players from its 2018 Championship winning squad for the 2019 season.

In 2018, the squad enjoyed a very successful season winning both the NPL NSW Men’s Premiership and Championship and to retain a large majority of the squad is a huge boost for the club and its fans.

The likes of Spanish sensation Alejandro Sanchez Lopez, club skipper Jason Madonis, veteran shotstopper Paul Henderson as well as long serving club player Will Angel all penned new deals with the Blues.

As did Hagi Gligor, Jinya An, Nikola Kuleski, Darcy Burgess, Jake De Marigny, Bill Patramanis, Nik Tsattalios, Radovan Pavicevic, Riley Woodcock, Thomas Whiteside, Zach Mackenzie, Ezequiel Consoni will also don the Olympic jersey in season 2019.

Head Coach Abbas Saad was happy to see the majority of his squad sign up for the new year.

“Our squad has a great mix of youth and experience and to be able to retain the core of our squad is testimony to how hungry we all are to maintain the momentum of last season and be better again”.

“The exceptional talent, effort and dedication these players demonstrated in 2018 made it a very easy decision to retain them”.

“We have celebrated the success of last season and understand this season is a fresh start and we need to work hard to ensure we do the very best for this great club and our fans”.

While Sydney Olympic CEO John Boulous was equally delighted with the announcement.

“Our club has a very clear philosophy to develop and support players by creating an environment and culture for them to reach their potential. This is evident by the recent departure of Max Burgess to the Wellington Phoenix, as well as George Timotheou to Bundasliga giants FC Schalke 04 in July”.

“In the coming week we will be announcing some new signings that will compliment these retained players and round off our squad for the 2019 season”.

The squad will commence pre-season training in mid-November.

Olympic ace Max Burgess snapped up by the Wellington Phoenix

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Hyundai A-League side Wellington Phoenix have snapped up 23-year-old attacking midfielder and former Sydney Olympic maestro Max Burgess on a one-year deal.

Burgess enjoyed a spectacular season, scoring seven goals in 23 appearances as the team secured top spot in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition going on to win the Grand Final – He also featured in the Ultra Football Team of the Year for his amazing performances with the Blues in 2018.

“I am extremely excited to be signing with the Wellington Phoenix and I am determined to make my mark with my new team.

“When I heard of the interest, I jumped at the chance and with the encouragement I have received from Mark Rudan, I can’t wait to get started.”

Head Coach Mark Rudan has been aware of his talent for a while and his interest was confirmed after Burgess gave a very good account of himself against Wellington Phoenix in pre-season.

“He has tasted Hyundai A-League experience before but I feel that he has plenty more to show.

“We have the perfect environment for him to develop and show that true potential he holds.

“I’m looking forward to having his attributes and his hard work ethic within the squad.”

Burgess began his career at Rockdale City Suns shortly after Mark Rudan left as Head Coach. It was at the New South Wales club that his talent was recognised by Sydney FC, who then brought him in to their Youth Academy.

He made his first Senior start for the club in the Hyundai A-League 2014/15 season before signing for the Newcastle Jets for the remainder of the campaign.

After a few appearances for the Newcastle Jets he moved back to Sydney FC as part of the Youth and FFA Cup Squad.

Burgess signed for Portugese LigaPro side União in 2017 before returning to Sydney Olympic FC.

Burgess could be in contention for a spot in the squad against Newcastle Jets next Sunday 21 October in the opening round of the Hyundai A-League 2018/19 season.