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Abbas Saad resigns as head coach of Sydney Olympic

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Sydney Olympic Football Club has announced that Abbas Saad has resigned from his position of 1st Grade Men’s Head Coach.

Abbas is Hall of Fame legend of the Club and took over as Head Coach a week prior to the commencement of the 2018 season on his return from Malaysia.

Under his guidance the squad won both a Premiership and Championship in 2018 and this season missed out on a finals spot on goal difference.

“It was an honour to Coach at Olympic, a club I won premierships as a player and now as a coach is something I am very proud of”. Saad commented;

“I feel I have taken this squad as far as I can and I am seeking a new challenge and opportunity in my coaching career. I wish nothing but the best for the players and Club. Saad added.

Sydney Olympic Football Club CEO John Boulous stated.

“Abbas is a popular and engaging figure throughout the Club and its fans and has made a positive difference since returning to the Club, Abbas made an immediate impact on taking over and instilled great belief, confidence and passion throughout the playing group, contributing to their immediate success”.

“Abbas will be missed and we wish him the best of luck for his future endeavours, being a Hall of Fame Legend he will always remain a friend and very welcome at our Club”. Boulous added.

Boulous added – “The Club will commence its search for a new coach immediately and are hopeful to complete this process as soon as possible to continue the appropriate planning for next season”.

No finals football for Sydney Olympic

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Reigning NPL NSW Men’s champions Sydney Olympic has narrowly missed out on a place in the finals despite a final round 3-1 win against Sydney FC at Lambert Park.

Two goals to Alex Sanchez and one to Jack Stewart was enough to silence the home side in what was a thrilling Round 22 contest.

Benjamin Koop found the back of the net in the 13th minute for Sydney FC but it proved to be nothing more than a stat line as Olympic claimed all three points.

The win was not enough to secure finals football for the Olympic, as a tight battle for fourth and fifth position was won by Sydney United and Marconi Stallions respectively.

Olympic had a brilliant start to the game, scoring twice within the first 10 minutes.

Stewart opened scoring for the visitors in the 5th minute, sliding a left-foot strike into the netting from the edge of the 18-yard box.

Sanchez doubled Olympic’s lead just minutes later, working his magic to charge through Sydney FC’s defence and send his shot out of reach of Thomas Heward-Belle in the 8th minute.

Despite a five-minute period of dominance for Sydney Olympic, Sydney FC were competitive against Olympic, utilising their technical ability to counteract Olympic’s experience and physicality.

The home side worked their way back into the game in the 13th minute, with Koop breaking free from Billy Patramanis to knock in a header from a Callum Talbot cross.

The teams continued to battle it out, with both sides having their share of chances, but it was Olympic who would score again in the 68th minute through Sanchez.

The Spaniard scored his second of the match, connecting with a cross from Jinya An to head home a third for the visitors.

Olympic coach Abbas Saad expressed his disappointment that his team weren’t going to be playing finals football this year.

“We’re disappointed but obviously very, very proud of the boy’s efforts,” he explained.

“We’ve beaten ourselves this year and that’s the disappointing factor, we could have done a lot better.

“It is what it is, we’ve beaten four of those top five teams that are going to be in the semi-finals.

“We felt if we could just get into the finals maybe we could show our true colours.”

Despite the loss, Sydney FC coach Jim Van Weeren was proud of the style of football his team was executing.

“The style of football the boys played, especially in the opposition half, and the combination play between boys was really special today,” he explained.

“There’s been some big learning moments in this comp.

“There’s some quality players and they can punish you for some mistakes, especially if you give the ball away in your half, as we saw today.”

Match Stats

Sydney FC 1 (Benjamin Koop 13’)

Sydney Olympic FC 3 (Jack Stewart 5’, Alex Sanchez 8’, 68’)

Sunday, 11 August 2019.

Lambert Park, Leichhardt 

Referee: D. Stack

Assistant Referees: J. Bell and M. Staples

Fourth Official: L. Jones

Sydney FC: 1. Thomas Heward-Belle, 2. Fletcher Mcfarlane (12. Calem Nieuwenhof 45’), 3. Benjamin Van Meurs, 5. Patrick Scibilio, 6. Harry Van Der Saag (9. Hamish Lamberton 82’), 8. Joel King, 11. Luke Ivanovic, 13. Jordan Swibel, 15. Ryan Teague (16. Paolo Bonanni 82’), 17. Callum Talbot, 18. Benjamin Koop

Substitutes Not Used: 4. Mitchell Mattison, 30. Matteo Scali

Yellow Cards: Calem Nieuwenhof 90’

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney Olympic FC: 1. Paul Henderson, 3. Riley Woodcock, 6. Nikola Kuleski, 8. Jason Madonis, 9. Radovan Pavicevic (22. Michael Gaitatzis 79’), 10. Harris Gaitatzis, 11. Jinya An, 12. Zachary Mackenzie, 14. Alejandro Sanchez, 17. Jack Stewart (2. Thomas Whiteside 88’), 25. Dimi Petratos (19. Darcy Burgess 66’), 26. Billy Patramanis,

Substitutes Not Used: 20. Ezequiel Consoni, 33. Nikolas Tsattalios

Yellow Cards: Riley Woodcock 38’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.

By National Premier Leagues NSW reporter Madeline Riley (@madelineriley23)

 

 

Olympic keep finals alive as United 58 stumble

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Sydney Olympic have kept their finals hopes are after a stunning 2-1 victory over Sydney United 58 at Belmore Sportsground on Sunday evening.

A goal to Tariq Maia in the 26th minute had Sydney United 58 with the advantage after the first stanza, but a 10-minute block early into the second half saw the pace of the game change drastically.

A goal to Olympic substitute Jack Stewart and a well-taken penalty from Olympic skipper Jason Madonis saw the home side work their way back into the game.

Despite a massive amount of pressure from the visitors, Olympic remained resolute in defence to hold on to the lead to take a hard-fought three points from the game.

It was a crucial three points for the reigning Premiers and Champions, but their finals football hopes will now depend on a loss from Sydney United 58 next weekend, as well as a win against Sydney FC.

Both teams threatened in the opening stages of the match, creating an abundance of goal-scoring opportunities, but were neither were able to make their mark on the game.

A robust defensive line for the visitors stifled Olympic’s chances while they built momentum before opening scoring in the 26th minute.

Olympic’s defence came to a halt after assuming the offside flag would be raised on Maia’s run, but as the linesman kept his hand by his side, Maia continued his run without hesitation and sent his strike out of Henderson’s reach.

The home side seemed to regroup at the half-time break, while a substitution sparked some positivity on the field.

Stewart came on in the 52nd minute in place of Billy Patramanis and scored just moments later in his first play of the game.

Henderson planted his goal-kick just outside the 18-yard box and Radovan Pavicevic sent a header through to Stewart.

Stewart then made his run, cutting in before sending a strike past Thomas Manos and into the netting to get Olympic on the scoreboard.

Olympic was awarded a penalty in the 57th minute, after Adrian Vlastelica brought down Pavicevic inside the area.

Madonis stepped up to the spot and sent Manos the wrong way to take the lead for the home side.

Neither team stopped fighting until the final whistle, but Olympic managed to maintain their one-goal advantage to finish the game 2-1.

Olympic coach Abbas Saad was very pleased with his team’s fight to come back from a one-goal deficit.

“I thought we played some good football,” he explained.

“The belief from the boys and the positivity in our play just kept us going.

“We knew if we could get one goal back, we could go on and win.

“It was fully deserved, and we showed a lot of fight.”

Sydney United 58 coach Miro Vlastelica was disappointed a penalty was the deciding factor of the game.

“It’s always tough losing on a call that could have gone either way,” he explained.

“I thought, considering we played two hours mid-week, they were probably struggling to keep up with us, so credit to my boys.

“We’re confident, next week we’ve just got to work hard and prepare for Manly.”

Match Stats

Sydney Olympic FC 2 (Jack Stewart 52’, Jason Madonis 57’ (pen))

Sydney United 58 1 (Tariq Maia 26’)

4th August, 2019

Belmore Sportsground

Referee: S. Lucas

Assistant Referees: K. Robinson & J. Park

Fourth Official: J. Crawford

Sydney Olympic FC: 1. Paul Henderson, 3. Riley Woodcock, 6. Nikola Kuleski, 8. Jason Madonis, 9. Radovan Pavicevic, 10. Harris Gaitatzis (2. Thomas Whiteside 61’), 11. Jinya An, 12. Zachary Mackenzie, 14. Alejandro Sanchez, 26. Billy Patramanis (17. Jack Stewart 52’), 33. Nikolas Tsattalios (44. Peter Kekeris 77’)

Substitutes Not Used: 20. Ezequiel Consoni, 25. Dimi Petratos

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney United 58: 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 5. Anthony Tomelic, 8. Matthew Sim (18. Glen Trifiro 63’), 9. Patrick Antlemi, 12. Liam Rose, 14. Tomislav Uskok, 15. Tariq Maia, 19. Joshua Macdonald (13. Michael Ruhs 41’), 20. Cristian Gonzalez (17. Matthew Bilic 58’), 21. Thomas Manos, 22. Yianni Fragogiannis

Substitutes Not Used: 1. Daniel Sadaka, 11. Yianni Perkatis

Yellow Cards: Anthony Tomelic 29’, Adrian Vlastelica 66’

Red Cards: Nil

By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Madeline Riley (@madelineriley23)

 

Stallions continue to sizzle

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A 10-man Marconi Stallions has secured a 1-0 win over Sydney Olympic in a tense battle on Sunday evening at Belmore Sports Ground and have kept their finals hopes alive and well. 

A 77th minute Mitchell Mallia strike was all it took for the visitors to claim the lead for the Waratah Cup Champions, despite Liam Youlley receiving a red card in the 85th minute.

The result gives Marconi a crucial three points and will see them break away from a deadlocked race for fifth position and finals football.

It also means Olympic will be facing an uphill battle to finish the regular season within the top five.

It was a hard-fought battle from the get-go at Belmore, with both teams fighting to make an early impact on the game.

Despite playing out of position, Riley Woodcock was solid in the centre of Olympic’s defence, making several crucial saves to keep Marconi at bay during the early stages of the game.

Olympic had a chance in the 27th minute as a misdirected clearance landed at the feet of Alex Sanchez in prime position in front of goal, but Nenad Vekic produced a stellar save to keep the game scoreless.

Marconi’s Martin Fernandez created a great opportunity for the visitors in the 57th minute, slipping a ball through Olympic’s defence to the penalty spot, but no one was able to get on the other end of the ball and their chance fizzled out.

Another chance for Marconi came in the 71st minute as substitute Damian Tsekenis set up Peter Pelekanos with a great opportunity just outside the area, but Olympic custodian Paul Henderson managed a terrific save to deny the visitors.

The only goal of the game came in the 77th minute after a misdirected ball from Billy Patramanis saw Marconi with a throw-in in line with the penalty spot.

A bicycle kick from Tsekenis at the edge of the 18-yard box landed with Mallia, who fired his shot out of reach of Henderson and into the netting.

Disaster struck for Marconi in the 85th minute as Liam Youlley was awarded his second yellow card from Katie Patterson, leaving the visitors with just 10 men in the late stages of the game.

Olympic took advantage of their extra player and mounted pressure on Marconi until the final whistle, but they weren’t able to get the equaliser.

Marconi coach Peter Tsekenis said he was happy with his team’s effort to get the win.

“I thought we created enough chances to take the lead early and when you don’t take your chances you leave yourself open, but it was great to get the goal and get the result,” he explained.

“Defensively we were strong when we needed to be… and we got the goal we needed with the subs coming on and doing their business.

“We got over the line on a big game and that says a lot.

“We’re now going to look forward to our midweek Round of 32 in the FFA Cup and worry about one game at a time.

Olympic coach Abbas Saad said the game “could have gone either way.”

“It was just a battle out there. They didn’t play much football, we just had to deal with it.

“We played well, we played with a lot of guts and we took it out to them but unfortunately we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”

Match Stats

Sydney Olympic FC 0

Marconi Stallions FC 1 (Mitchell Mallia 77’)

28th July, 2019

Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore

Referee: K. Patterson

Assistant Referees: N McOrist J Adabjou

Fourth Official: S Quinn

Sydney Olympic FC: 1. Paul Henderson, 3. Riley Woodcock, 6. Nikola Kuleski, 8. Jason Madonis (25. Dimi Petratos 82’), 11. Jinya An, 14. Alejandro Sanchez, 17. Jack Stewart, 19. Darcy Burgess (10. Harris Gaitatzis 75’), 26. Billy Patramanis, 33. Nikolas Tsattalios, 44. Peter Kekeris (9. Radovan Pavicevic 60’)

Substitutes Not Used: 20. Ezequiel Consoni, 21. Alex Gollan,

Yellow Cards: Nikola Kuleski 25’

Red Cards: Nil

Marconi Stallions FC: 1. Nenad Vekic, 2. Nathan Millgate, 3. Giorgio Speranza, 4. Roberto Speranza, 8. Connor Evans, 10. Marko Jesic, 12. James Andrew (11. Mitchell Mallia 54’), 14. Peter Pelekanos, 16. Liam Youlley, 23. Brandon Vella, 28. Martin Fernandez (40. Damian Tsekenis 66’)

Substitutes Not Used: 7. Sean O’Connell, 15. Lachlan Sepping, 17. Kristian Sekutkoski,

Yellow Cards: Liam Youlley 18’, 84’

Red Cards: Liam Youlley 84’

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.

Written by National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Madeline Riley (@madelineriley23)

 

APIA keep pace on league leaders with Olympic victory

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A Chris Payne double has helped APIA Leichhardt Tigers claim bragging rights with a 3-1 win in the grand final rematch against Sydney Olympic at Lambert Park on Sunday.

The win all but ties up second place for APIA with three games still to play ensuring they have at least one home game in the finals.

The Tigers opened the scoring thanks to a well taken finish from Paul Galimi late in the first half.

Payne scored a quick double in the first ten minutes to put the home side well and truly in the drivers seat.

Jinya An pulled one back for Olympic with half an hour to play, but a confident performance from the APIA defence helped the hosts across the line.

Olympic had the best of the early chances after breaking quickly down the left; the balling running for Alejandro Sanchez on the edge of the area only for the shot to go whistling past the post and into the side netting.

APIA were less of a direct threat to the scoreboard in the opening stages of the game, barely testing Paul Henderson is the first half hour.

Payne had a decent chance when he was found at the top of the box by Adrian Ucchino, but he could only manage to drag his shot past the near post.

The Tigers grew into the game as the half wore on; Payne again coming close to breaking the deadlock with a low free-kick that drew a sharp save from Henderson.

A few minutes later the APIA forward turned provider, hitting a deep cross from the left for Paul Galimi to head in at the back stick.

The visitors were given no time to settle into the second half, and found themselves down by two just minutes after the restart. Sam McIllhatton picked up the ball on the left and slipped a pass through to Payne, whose heavy touch hit the goalkeeper before bouncing back off his chest and into the net.

Payne scored again shortly after, winning a penalty after being brought down by Thomas Whiteside and Mitchell Stamatellis before dispatching the spot kick with ease.

At 3-0, Olympic would have rightly felt the score was an unfair reflection of the game as it was played: the visitors had had the better of the first half chances, but two unfortunate goals in the first ten minutes after the break had broken them.

Peter Kekeris and Jinya An worked hard for Olympic as they chased the game, and combined well on the hour mark to give their side a lifeline. Kekeris took down an overhit cross on the left wing and whipped a mean ball towards the far post for An to tap past Ivan Necevski in the APIA goal.

Kekeris very nearly carved out a second for the visitors as the final whistle approached, but a poor finish from Harris Gaitatzis ensured APIA would hold on for a deserved win.

“We defended very well and we were patient in our possession,” said APIA coach John Calleja.

“We played well with the ball and got the opportunity off the set piece and scored.

“Coming in 1-0, we were happy with that. Then there were about ten minutes in the second half where we just went bang-bang, our intensity was really good.

“We looked fairly comfortable, Olympic had a bit of the ball but we weren’t too worried about that. It could have been more comfortable if we’d scored the fourth, but I’m happy with today.”

Olympic boss Abbas Saad will hope his side can improve over the week as Olympic prepare to take on Marconi Stallions in a season-defining clash at Belmore Sports Ground next Sunday.

Match Stats

APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 3 (Galimi 38’, Payne 48’, 55’)

Sydney Olympic FC 1 (An 60’) 

21st July, 2019

Lambert Park, Leichhardt

Referee: S. Lucas

Assistants: M. Riedy, B. Wright

Fourth official: H. Sappey

APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC: 7. DIAZ Tynan, 3. GALIMI Paul, 21. KOUTA Michael, 12. MCILLHATTON Sam, 19. NASRABADI Dom (14. HUGHES Lachlan), 1. NECEVSKI Ivan, 10. PARISI Franco, 6. PAYNE Christopher, 4. SYMONS Joshua, 16. SYMONS Sean, 18. UCCHINO Adrian

Substitutes not used: 17. GULISANO Samuel, 15. MUATA-MARLOW Themba, 20. TRAJKOVSKI Michael, 22. TURNBULL Luke

Yellow cards: Sean Symons 63’

Red cards:

Sydney Olympic FC: 11. AN Jinya, 7. ANGEL William, 19. BURGESS Darcy, 22. GAITATZIS Michael (10. GAITATZIS Harris), 1. HENDERSON Paul, 44. KEKERIS Peter, 8. MADONIS Jason, 14. SANCHEZ Alejandro, 4. STAMATELLIS Mitchell (17. STEWART Jack), 2. WHITESIDE Thomas (45. TSATTALIOS Nikolas), 3. WOODCOCK Riley

Substitutes not used: 20. CONSONI Ezequiel, 25. PETRATOS Dimi

Yellow cards:

Red cards:

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.