George Tsamouras Football Journey

Newcastle Olympic recorded their 3^rd win of the season defeating Valentine 6-1 while Reserve Grade recorded their 2^nd successive loss of the season, going down by 2-1.

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade went into this game as league leaders with a 4-point gap from second placed Valentine FC. The game certainly lived up to expectations and despite having double the number of shots on goal, the boys in blue sustained their second successive defeat of the season!

Without star midfielder River Peterson who was unavailable for this match and George Tsamouras covering the left back position, two thirds of the “engine room” was again not there! Although the game started well with both teams attacking and cancelling each other out, a poor judgement by Olympic goalie who came off his line to collect a routine ball but didn’t get there, enabled a Valentine attacker to steal the ball and fire into an empty net for a 1-0 lead in the 14^th minute!

The problem with Olympic was their inability to win the ball in midfield, dominate possession and impose their game on the opposition! When they did get the ball the constant use of the long ball by Brody Taylor was ineffective! When Olympic failed to close down Valentine in midfield and a through ball was placed on one of their attackers, the decision to track him down on the wrong side by an Olympic defender enabled the later to fire a shot and put Valentine 2-0 up by the 18^th minute!

With the luxury of a 2-0 cushion and the absence of an Olympic midfield which could win the ball and thread their way through with crispy passing, Valentine cruised their way to half time without any trouble. Any ball above the ground and long was being handled with ease. The 5-3 shots-on-goal ratio to Valantine is a statistic which told the story and a statistic which we have not been accustomed to seeing by this Olympic team this season!

At the start of the second half Blake Clifton replaced Oliver Steinerts and took his place in attack, sending Rhys Butler to play as an attacking midfielder. The use of the long ball continued and the frustration in the players began to build-up as the desire was certainly evident but the method of play was wrong!

In the 54^th minute Brody Taylor was guilty of a reckless tackle which the referee correctly punished with a straight red, the second red in the past month by the same player, and Olympic were reduced to 10 players for the remaining 35 minutes!

Clifton was brought back in defence and Tsamouras was sent into his customary midfield role. The impact from this change was immediate. The midfield began to control possession and the short passing game began to replace the use of the long ball. Olympic players began pressing their opponents and forcing errors and retreat!

Olympic players appeared first to the ball and the warning signs of a come-back were evident when George Tsamouras saw a deflected shot go on the wrong side of the post followed by another shot by Jesse Fitzgerald just over the cross bar. From the ensuing goal kick, Tsamouras won the header in midfield, the ball bounced once and into the path of Fitzgerald who ran into the box and as he was about to shoot, was cut down for a penalty!

Jess Fitzgerald made no mistake from the penalty and Olympic brought the game back to 2-1 in the 66^th minute. Valentine tried to break Olympics’ momentum with time wasting “injuries” but to no avail.

Liam Craig came on for William Phillips in the 67^th minute, taking over as a left full back. Olympic continued to press Valentine all over the field forcing them to retreat inside their half to defend their lead and looking for the quick counter-attack as their only option.

This was the best period of the game for Olympic and if they had started the match playing with this formation and tempo, perhaps the result may have been different. It was also a great game to watch with one team throwing everything at the opponent to force an equaliser and an opponent soaking up pressure and looking for the counter attack to score their third goal to kill off the game.

In the 74^th minute a mid-air collision between Liam Craig and a Valentine opponent left the Olympic player with a head injury which meant he had to be replaced after only being on the field for 7 minutes. This brought Kai Zervas into the game and further internal positional swapping.

The arm wrestle between the two teams continued until the final whistle with the best chance falling to Jesse Fitzgerald in the 86^th minute. Despite the efforts of both sets of players the score remained 2-1 in favour of Valentine FC. The final 13-7 shots on goals ratio in favour of Olympic and 10-1 corner count is indicative of how much better the team played in the 2^nd half despite playing with one player short for 35 minutes!

Olympic remain in 1^st place on the table despite two successive defeats but now only with a slender 1 point difference from second placed Valentine FC. They face Lambton Jaffas at Darling St Oval in the game that marks the half way mark of the 2026 season.

Newcastle Olympic first grade treated it’s fans to a 6-1 demolition of Valentine FC who never looked capable of getting anything from the game!

After being eliminated by Valentine FC in the Cup earlier this season, Newcastle Olympic had an extra reason to want to obtain the 3 points from the Croudace Bay Complex.

Jared Muller opened the score in the 18^th minute on his 100^th game for the club but Valentine were quick to bring the match level in the 32^nd minute through Myles Gaffrey. Wil Southcombe scored a beautiful goal in the 41^st minute to take Olympic with a 2-1 lead into the half time interval. A 7-6 shots on goals ratio in favour of Olympic at half time didn’t provide any indication about what was to follow in the final 45 minutes of the game.

Kale Bradbery scored a hat trick in the opening three minutes of the second half to extend Olympics’ lead to 5-1 and put the game beyond the reach of the home side!  Yuhei Sato scored Olympics’ 6^th goal two minutes before the end to complete the teams biggest win of the season.

A 17-1 shots on goal ratio to Olympic showed the dominance of the side which gave them only their 3^rd win of the season and 6^th place on the points table.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic was unable to collect the 3 points against Edgeworth Eagles in the Round 9 fixture of the 2026 Northern NSW NPL competition! Reserve Grade sustained their first defeat of the season, going down 1-0, and First Grade played out a 3-3 draw.

Olympic Reserve Grade began the match with a bench that was stronger than the starting 11 due to First Grade players “playing down” for yet another week! The 8-5 shots on goal ratio at half time is indicative of the way the game was played. Edgeworth set up to ensure they kept Olympic away from their goal mouth. In the 31st minute they won a penalty which they were successful in converting into a goal. From that moment they played with even more determination to simply keep Olympic out.

With 2/3 of Olympics’ midfield on the bench, the engine room of the team was absent and the front players were provided with only a mere 8 goal scoring opportunities to equalise. Despite the efforts of the First Grade players playing down, the domination in possession and the crispy passing we are used to seeing from this team was absent. Defensively, Olympic were not threatened but without dominating in the midfield, Edgeworth were not troubled with their game plan of keeping Olympic out.

In the second half, with the introduction of the Reserve Grade players who normally play, possession improved and the shots on goal ratio improved to 12-6, Olympics’ way. Olympic squeezed their opponent and created chances to equalise but Edgeworth were able to hold out. A single flash of brilliance from one of the front players could have brought about an Olympic goal which could have turned the game around but it was not meant to be.

This was Olympics’ first defeat of the season but coupled with the defeat of second placed Valentine at the hands of Charlestown Azzurri, they still maintain a 4 point lead in first place. Next week will be the game of the season so far when they meet Valentine away!

Olympic First Grade came to within a whisker of recording their 3rd win of the season but conceded an equalizer in stoppage time for yet another draw!

Both teams began the game at a very fast pace with Olympic drawing first blood after Jared Muller was fouled inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty kick. Kale Bradbery took the spot kick and despite an initial save from the Edgeworth goalkeeper the Olympic forward was able to score from the rebound.

The Eagles equalised in the 16th minute when Aaron Niyonkuru received the ball in a crowded Olympic box and had no problem tapping into an empty Olympic net! By the 22nd minute a piledriver from distance by Stefan Cordwell made the score 2-1 in favour of Edgeworth! At half time the shots on goal ratio was 8-7 in Edgeworth’s favour and this showed how close the game was being contested.

Olympic began the second half with greater intensity and hunger and they were rewarded with a long range effort by Lachlan West in the 61st minute who left the Edgeworth goalkeeper standing like a statue! By the 73rd minute Nathan Toby added Olympics’ third goal of the night and at 3-2, the Olympic faithful began to believe that they were in for a win over a great rival.

The arm wrestle between the two teams continued until the 90th minute but in stoppage time, the Olympic goalkeeper attempted to punch a crossed ball and simply pushed it into the path of an on coming Edgeworth forward who had no problem burying it into the net for a 3-3 draw!

The result puts Olympic on equal 7^th place, 5 points outside the top 5 and 4 points from bottom spot!

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic returned from Round 8 of the 2026 NPL competition in Belmont with a draw and a win. Reserve Grade won their 7^th game of the season to return with a 4-2 win while First Grade secured a 2-2 draw.

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade recorded it’s 7^th win from 8 games and has extended itself 4 points clear in first place on the table from it’s nearest rival! The difference in strength between the two teams was enormous and Olympic should have won by a higher scoreline.

Olympic were handicapped with three first grade players “playing down” in this match and this meant a line-up which was slightly different to the norm of previous games. Olympic began threatening but a harmless ball in the 3^rd minute of play was not cleared by Jye Rodway, who appeared to stumble over the ball and resulted in a Belmont forward collecting the ball and burying it into the visitor’s net!

Olympic dominated play and created chance after chance. In the 24^th minute Lucas Walshe received the ball outside the box and leaned back and sent a curling shot to the top left hand corner to bring the game back to 1-1! By the 37^th minute Jess Fitzgerald made it 2-1 with an unchallenged header from inside the six yard box! By the 44^th minute the same player made it 3-1 with a simple tap in from a Kane Treble cross.

At half time the domination of play by Olympic was such that it was hard to believe the teams were of the same division! The shot-on-goal ratio of 17-2 to Olympic gives an idea of just how dominant they were in the first 45 minutes of play.

Olympic continued to dominate play in the second half but also not finish off the moves created to add to the scoreline! A lobbed ball from deep by Belmont resulted in a winger receiving the pass and outpacing an Olympic defender, reduced the score to 2-3! Olympic continued to control the game but the 4^th goal that would kill off the game just wouldn’t come.

In the last 10 minutes Olympic dropped, Belmont picked up and in the second last minute of play, the team which had dominated play so much were wrestling in the corner flag with the ball to chew up the clock! Jason Goble-Lote tapped in the 4^th goal of Olympic in the last minute of play to secure the 3 points and the 7^th win of the season.

Olympic had 32 shots on goal to Belmont’s 7 for the duration of the match. Such was the domination but because the substitutions weren’t made based on the needs of the match but on the minutes required by the first grade players, Reserve Grade almost paid the price!

Despite this, they are 4 points ahead from second placed Valentine FC and an incredible 8 points in front of 3^rd placed Edgeworth Eagles who we play at Darling St Oval in Round 9 of the competition.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade played better against Belmont than they have in recent weeks but it wasn’t enough to secure the 3 points, coming away with a 2-2 draw. Olympic were balanced all over the park but what let them down was poor finishing.

Jared Muller opened the score in 2^nd minute when he tapped in from a Kale Bradbery cross. This settled the nerves and Olympic had good movement of the ball and more opportunities to score from point blank positions. In the 37^th minute Jared Muller put Olympic 2-0 ahead after a free kick from Kierry James wasn’t cleared by the Belmont defense and the later fired a shot into an empty net. That was the scoreline at half time and a 9-8 shot on goal ratio in favor of Belmont sums up how balanced the game was in terms of possession and construction of play.

In the 51^st minute a sustained attack by Belmont resulted in a ball bouncing off an Olympic defender and landing into the path of Marco Gueli who had no problem reducing the deficit to 1-2. The remainder of the game was an arm wrestle by both teams creating and missing chances to win the game.

In the 89^th minute a terrible goal kick by Olympic goalkeeper Adam Pearce gave the ball to a Belmont attacker who was brought down from behind by Steven Theacos to prevent him from scoring. Theacos was shown the red card for his professional foul and a minute later a sustained attack inside the Olympic box brought about Belmont’s 2-2 equalizer.

The draw keeps Olympic in 8^th spot, 5 points outside the top 5 and 4 points from bottom spot! Despite going 5 games without a win, the team showed good qualities in this match and hopefully they can secure 3 points against Edgeworth at Darling St Oval on Saturday.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade cemented their position at the top of the points table with a crushing victory over eternal rivals, Broadmeadow Magic, with the emphatic scoreline of 5-1. Unfortunately, First Grade were unable to emulate the youngsters of Reserve Grade and were defeated by 2-0.

Newcastle Olympic went into this match on 5 wins and 1 draw from 6 games while Broadmeadow Magic on 1 win 2 draws and 3 losses. Regardless of form and where they stand on the points table the derby between these two clubs ensures they compete on the field and Saturday’s match was no exception.

The match began with speed and intensity, but it was Olympic who forced Magic into committing a foul inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty. With only the goalkeeper to beat Jesse Fitgerald was brought crashing down by the Magic goal stopper and despite being the last man, he was not even shown a yellow card. Despite this, Fitzgerald had no problem converting the spot kick and sending Olympic into a 1-0 lead.

By the 31^st minute Olympic made it 2-0 after Fitzgerald received the ball inside the box from a free throw and after crossing the ball to River Petersen who unmarked, had no problem placing a shot into the Magic net.

A quickly taken free kick in the 36^th minute by an Olympic defender gave away the ball to Magic just outside the box and from the ensuing quick counter-attack, the score was brought back to 2-1. By the 40^th minute a great solo run by Kane Treble from the left sent Olympic with a 3-1 lead into the half time interval!

Three minutes into the 2^nd half a cross from the left was chested down by Jess Fitzgerald and a thunderous shot by Oliver Steinerts made the score 4-1 and beyond Magic’s reach! A clever steal in midfield by Oli Steinerts and a through ball to Lucas Walsh in the 60^th minute made the score 5-1.

In the last half hour two opportunities by George Tsamouras and one a piece by Lucas Walshe and Jesse Fitzgerald almost brought about Olympics’ sixth goal but it was not meant to be. The win by Olympic in conjunction with the 3-3 draw between Valentine and Kahibah has given the boys in blue a 4 point gap in first place of the points table.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade, despite playing better than in previous matches were unable to capitalize and were defeated by 2-0 by their eternal rivals.

With a strengthened midfield which exhibited speed and intensity, Olympic took the game to Magic and tested the visitor’s goalkeeper on numerous occasions in the first 20 minutes of the game. Then an unmarked Keanu Moore inside the Olympic box resulted in the visitors going 1-0 up.

Olympic pushed for an equalizer and was able to score in the 25^th minute through Kale Bradbery but the referee decided he was offside! The 1-0 scoreline remained until the half time break.

In the 2^nd half the game was played at an incredible speed with Olympic desperately trying to level the game and Magic trying to score another and putting it beyond reach. The introduction of Ezra Palombini into the game for the visitors proved decisive as he was able to pounce from a cross and make the score 2-0.

Despite Olympics’ effort the score remained until the end and after 7 rounds, we are 4 points from bottom on the points table!

source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic came away with two draws in the wash out Round 3 fixture of the 2026 Northern NSW NPL competition. Playing only their second home game of the season Reserve Grade dropped their first points after being forced to a 1-1 draw while First Grade were able to force a 2-2 draw at the end of the match!

Olympic Reserve Grade began their game with much promise after taking the lead in the 4^th minute of play when Steven Theacos put a well flighted ball to Kane Treble on the left flank. The Adamstown goalkeeper came charging out of his goal, Treble sidestepped him and tapped the ball into an empty net! This was a perfect start to the game and the Olympic faithful who filled the Darling St Oval grandstand began to rub their hands for the sixth consecutive victory of the season.

What no one knew was that by the end of the match the referee was going to hand out 7 yellow cards and 1 red to Olympic and another 3 yellow cards and 1 red to Adamstown Rosebud for a total of 10 yellows and 2 reds! Being a referee is not an easy job and sometimes they too can have a bad game! The fouls ratio by the end of the match was 17 to 14 Adamstown’s way, yet the cards 8 to 4 Olympics’ way!!!

 Olympic was very compact in defence and reduced Adamstown to only 5 shots on goal throughout the match with only 2 on target while Olympic took 18 shots on goal and only 3 on target! Olympic controlled the game and were never threatened but Adamstown had a physical presence that prevented Olympic from dictating play like they did in the 5 previous games.

Despite this, Olympic were cruising along and after a corner by Adamstown was cleared with a header by George Tsamouras, the ball fell into the path of left back Lewis Houston who chested a bounced ball to get it under control and while leading a speedy counter-attack, the referee blew his whistle to stop play. The decision was that Houston didn’t control the ball with his chest but with his elbow and Adamstown were awarded a penalty! Despite the protests the gift was then converted into a goal and 1-1 was the scoreline that the teams walked off for the half time interval.

In the second half Olympic continued to have the lion’s share of shots on the Adamstown goal but the physical presence of the Rosebuds kept the scoreline at 1-1. As the game wore on, both teams began to show evidence of fatigue given it was a midweek game and after a day’s work for most of the players. Olympic tried to freshen their play by brining in Lucas Walshe, Oliver Steinerts and First Grade player Brody Taylor, in the 60^th minute.

Taylor’s first touch on the ball resulted in a yellow card and given the referee’s appetite for cards on the night, he received another yellow and was shown the path to the dressing rooms with a red, 20 minutes later! The Olympic coaching staff also received 2 yellow cards for protesting and 4 minutes later, Adamstown received a red card to make the player number equal again until the end of the match.

Despite the draw, Olympic are 1^st on the points table, and after a rest over the Easter weekend, face Broadmeadow Magic on Saturday 11^th April at Darling St Oval.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade went into this game facing a team at the bottom of the points table without a win and having scored only 3 goals in 5 games! By the end of 90 minutes of play the shots on goal were only 2-1 to Olympic, Olympic scored 4 goals, and the result was 2-2!

Olympic began the game well but were too slow in winning the ball in midfield and without the ball, could not provide service to the front line or give their defence time to catch their breath! Despite this, they took the lead in the 32^nd minute when Ben Hay lobbed the ball from the centre circle to Kale Brabery who in turn lobbed a poorly positioned Adamstown goalkeeper. Rosebuds appealed for an offside, the linesman’s flag didn’t go up and Olympic were 1-0 in the lead.

Two minutes later an incorrect pass in midfield by Sean Pratt resulted in Adamstown launching a quick counter-attack, the ball is fired at the Olympic goal, Adam Pearce saves but the ball hits an Olympic defender and deflects into the net for a 1-1 scoreline!

At half time, the score is 1-1 and according to the statistics board supplied by Northern NSW, the crowd were treated to only 1 shot on goal a piece by both teams in 45 minutes of football!

In the 2^nd half the introduction of Lachlan West and Wil Harvey on the hour mark gave the midfield spark and speed but not before another set back! A routine cross from the right by Adamstown resulted in the ball being chested into the Olympic goal by a defender for a 1-2 scoreline!

Adamstown sensed the possibility of an upset and retreated to hold the score while Olympic took control of the game and pressed their opponent all over the field. By the 83^rd minute across from the left by Kierry James resulted in the Rosebud defence clearing the ball into the path of Marcus Duncan who unleashed a powerful volley to level the score 2-2.

Despite covering every blade of grass until the 90^th minute Olympic were unable to find another goal and the 2-2 scoreline remained. After two successive draws against Cooks Hill and Adamstown, Olympic are in 7^th place.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic returned from their Round 6 outing at Cooks Hill undefeated! Reserve Grade put on their best performance of the season to win 3-0 while First Grade secured a valuable 1-1 draw.

Olympic Reserve Grade put on a performance against a Cooks Hill side, which had beaten them last season three times, that made them look like a mid-table First Grade team than a Reserve Grade! Cooks Hill were not bad, they were simply made to look not good! The Cookers threw everything at Olympic! They tried to play through the middle, they attempted to come through the flanks and they even tried to come over the top, using the long ball. Olympic were simply too strong in every department and prevented their opposition of even coming within a sniff of a goal!

The early signs of a great afternoon for Olympic came in the 16^th minute when a nice through ball from Rhys Butler resulted in Jess Fitzgerald hitting the woodwork! A minute later a careless challenge by the Cooks Hill keeper on Fitzgerald on the edge of the box resulted in the referee correctly awarding a penalty kick! Fitzgerlad was out of luck again when his shot was saved by Patrick Innes, the Cooks Hill goalkeeper. By the 28^th minute a great interception by Rhys Butler and pass to Jess Fitzgerlad resulted in the later putting through Blake Clifton who had no problem registering Cooks Hill – Newcastle Olympic 0-1!

In the second half, a bench with the quality of Tsamouras, Steinerts, Walshe, Middleton and Zervas were slowly introduced to make Olympics’ domination absolute. Such was the pressure that a cross by Kane Treble from the left resulted in an own goal by the home team! Cooks Hill tried everything to find a way through but Olympic kept the door to their goal shut. In the 87^th minute an interception in the middle of the field by Tsamouras and a quick pass to Fitzgerald resulted in a through ball to Walshe who side stepped the Cooks Hill goalkeeper to record a 3-0 scoreline.

This result was the fifth win in as many matches and obviously first spot on the points table. What is more important is that this team is now settling into a rhythm and with maximum points so far, they look like they will be favourites to win the Premiership yet again!

On Wednesday night at 6:00pm they take on undefeated Adamstown Rosebud at Darling St Oval, as part of Round 3 which was washed out three weeks ago. Another win will have them 4 points clear at the top from their nearest rival and a great position to welcome the eternal foe, Broadmeadow Magic, at Darling St Oval on Saturday week!

Newcastle Olympic First Grade secured a 1-1 draw in a match they should have dominated and secured all 3 points. Olympic were strong and composed at the back, dangerous up front but lacked the ability to win the ball in the midfield and dictate play! As a result, their opponent was free to test themselves against Olympics’ defence while our attacking players didn’t receive the service from which they could hurt Cooks Hill!

With few clear goal scoring opportunities the ball was being leisurely knocked around in the middle of the park with neither team being able to take control and dictate terms. During a routine attack on the left flank by Cooks Hill in the 23^rd minute an Olympic defender misjudged the bounce of the ball and this allowed Daniel Yaxley to pick his spot and curl a shot into the top corner of the Olympic goal!

Olympics’ reply came in the 30^th minute when during a quick counterattack a number of one touch passes put Kale Bradbery in a great position to pull the trigger, only to see his shot come off the woodwork! Five minutes later Kanata Furutani tested the Cooks Hill goalie with a thunderous shot, only to see the ball tipped over the crossbar for a corner. By the 40^th minute Olympic struck the woodwork again with a header from a well struck corner kick.

Despite this, it was Cooks Hill who almost went into the half time break with a 2-0 lead when one of their forwards missed an absolute sitter with only the keeper to beat!

The second half was a mirror of the first. A pass to Jared Muller who had just come on by Kale Brabery resulted in him drawing out the Cooks Hill goalie and slipping the ball through his legs to level the score 1-1 in the 61^st minute!

The rest of the half continued without any incident of note and with spectators treated only to some individual flashes of good play.

This draw leaves Olympic in 7^th place and hopefully with a win against bottom of the table Adamstown Rosebud on Wednesday night, they may be able to improve their position on the table.

Source:

Tom Tsamouras

The senior men’s teams of Newcastle Olympic finally appeared before their supporters at home in Round 5 of the 2026 Northern NSW NPL competition! Although the Reserve Grade team put a smile on everyone’s face by climbing into first place on the table with an emphatic 3-1 win over Maitland, the same could not be said for First Grade who lost 3-2.

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade entered the match with 3 wins from as many games knowing that another win in front of their home supporters would guarantee them 1^st place on the points table. The match was tight with both teams eager to possess the ball and not give it away. There weren’t as many goal-scoring opportunities and because of this insistence on possession it lacked speed and intensity.

At half time the score was 0-0 with only a 7-2 goal attempt ratio to Olympic and from those only 3-0 ratio on target! In the second half the deadlock was broken in the opening minute with a long range shot by Yuhei Sato from outside the box which the Maitland goalkeeper failed to get a touch! In the 62^nd minute a lazy pass across the face of the Maitland goal resulted in the same player intercepting, side stepping an opponent and firing Olympic 2-0 in the lead!

Olympic looked comfortable and with a 2-0 lead, another routine win looked to be on the cards. In the 66^th minute however a routine corner by Maitland resulted in the Olympic goalkeeper failing to connect with the ball and the head of Ethan Vidler ensured the score was reduced to 2-1!

The game continued in the same tempo and despite both teams using their reserve players it wasn’t until the 87^th minute when the result was put beyond doubt. In this minute a poor clearance from a high ball by a Maitland defender resulted in the ball falling into the path of Steven Theacos who had no problem firing the ball into the back of the Maitland net.

A great win for Olympic Reserve Grade and first place on the table in their first home game of the season!

The first home game was not as sweet for Newcastle Olympic First Grade who were defeated 3-2 by Maitland FC.

The game began with Maitland controlling possession and dominating the movement of the ball as the game wore on. Despite the possession neither team made clear cut goal scoring opportunities. The first goal came on the half hour mark and can best be described as soft penalty by the referee who judged a Maitland player to have been tripped inside the area. Braedyn Crowley executed the penalty and sent the Olympic keeper the wrong way.

With a 1-0 advantage Maitland continued to dominate possession and attempted to open up a compact Olympic defence with through balls. In the 43^rd minute the Olympic defence was breached with a defence splitting pass which ended up at the feet of Braedyn Crowley who had no problem making the scoreline 2-0.

In the second half Olympic game out with more aggression and greater intensity in the middle of the field and were able to stop the free-flowing passing of Maitland. During a free kick in the 58^th minute, Ben Hay sent in a well weighted cross which Wil Southcombe was able to head into the back of the Maitland goal to reduce to the score to 1-2.

This goal changed the momentum of the game with Olympic able to win more of the ball in the middle of the field and able to pose a threat to Maitland’s goal. During an attack from the right Nathan Toby was able to cross the ball across the face of the Maitland goal and left back Kierry James was able to blast the ball into the back of the Magpie net to bring the game back to 2-2!

An arm wrestle ensured between the two teams until the 90^th minute when the visitors won a corner. The corner was not cleared by the Olympic defence, the ball landed in the six yard box and from the subsequent scramble, it ended in the net of the home team. Maitland were able to win 3-2 and Olympic we denied a draw, which would have been a fairer result, in their first home game of the season.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic cruised past Kahibah FC in round 4 of the 2026 Northern NSW NPL competition after recording victories by 2-1 in Reserve Grade and 2-0 in First Grade!

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade faced newly promoted Kahibah FC with a 3-4-3 formation and the 10-1 shots on goal in favour of Olympic, by the end of the first half, is a good indicator of how the game was played. Olympic dominated play but their poor finishing in front of goal kept the scoreline at 2-1.

Proceedings began with a well curled shot by Wil Harvey from outside the box in the 15^th minute! Olympic dominated play in defence and midfield and Kahibah countered this with physical play and numbers in defence!

During the execution of one of the many fouls won by Olympic, Wil Harvey sent a careless pass across the face of the Olympic defence, only to see it intercepted by Joe Cutfield and buried into the back of the net! This was the first goal conceded by Olympic in the new season!

Steven Theacos restored Olympics’ lead four minutes later through a header from a well taken corner and the 2-1 lead was taken in at half time.

The second half was similar in terms of domination of play but the opportunities in front of goal were fewer for both teams. Kahibah had one shot on goal all game to Olympics’ total of 12, of which only 5 were on target!

Kahibah did not threaten Olympic during the match but were able to contain them and prevent them from making the result a formality until the very end. Olympic dominated all over the field yet again but showed their weakness in finishing, once again.

Despite this, they recorded their 3^rd victory in three matches and occupy 2^nd spot on the table with a game in hand.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade went into this game against an opponent who had defeated Adamstown Rosebud away and drew against the almighty Edgeworth Eagles! Despite this, Olympic were able to score early through an unchallenged header by Marcus Duncan!

Throughout the half Olympic were too strong and were able to control the game. Although they were unable to add to the score, they had 11 shots on goal of which 8 were on target to Kahibah’s 7 of which only 2 were on target!

The second half followed a similar pattern with Olympic controlling the game but not being able to put it out of reach until the 88^th minute when Kyle Bradbery took advantage of a stretched Kahibah defence and made it 2-0 with a well curled shot.

The end of the game had Olympic with a total of 23 shots on the Kahibah goal compared to 14 of the local team. This was Olympics’ second win of the season and a great confidence booster for the remainder of the season.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic returned with 6 points from Lisle Carr Oval! Reserve Grade defeated Azzurri by 3-0 and First Grade by 2-1.

Maximum points after Round 2 and equal first on the ladder for last season’s Premiers Newcastle Olympic after goals by Walshe (24’, 67’) and Fitzgerald (56’). This is in stark contrast to the two home defeats in the opening two rounds of last season’s competition!

Olympic Reserve Grade defeated their opponents in auto-pilot, dominating possession and having an incredible 24 shots at goal to 7 from their counter parts! The Olympic goalie was rarely tested and had it not been for our poor finishing, the score line should have been much higher.

The two teams which appear will battle it out for the Premiership this season are Olympic and Cooks Hill and both already occupy equal 1^st spot on the Reserve Grade table.

Newcastle Olympic 1^st Grade were rewarded with their first 3 points of the season with goals from Southcombe (12) and Yuhei Sato (75). After conceding 4 goals in round 1 at Weston, Olympic kept a clean sheet until the 82^nd minute when Azzurri were able to score a consolation goal. The strength of the side was it’s ability to close down spaces and to stop the opposition from threatening their goal.

Next week Newcastle Olympic face Adamstown at Darling St Oval in their first home fixture of the season.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

NNSW 2025 NPL Reserve Garde Premiers began the new season with a 1-0 win away to Weston on Saturday afternoon.

The match was played in cool conditions after a downpour of rain prior to the game. It had all the characteristics of a Round 1 match at the start of a new season. Both teams played at a slow pace and despite the game not rating very high as a spectacle, it is obvious that both teams will play with greater intensity as fitness and momentum develops over the next few weeks.

Olympic had strength all over the field but lacked the ability to shoot on target and put away the opportunities created. Shots by Fitzgerald, Tsamouras and Steinerts which would normally end in the back of the net, didn’t in this game. The boys in blue had a total of 23 attempts on goal but only five of these were on target compared to 8 from Weston and only 2 on target.

The goal that decided the game came 9 minutes from the end when the Weston goalie decided to save a shot with a two-fisted punch several metres outside his box! The referee showed him a red card and from the ensuing free kick, Fitzgerald fired a shot which deflected into the top left-hand corner.

Olympic spent the remaining minutes in complete control of possession to secure 3 away points. Although they didn’t dominate and pressure the opponent like we were accustomed last season, they were never threatened throughout the game.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade crash 4-1 at Weston

Olympic and Weston played out a physical and high intensity game which was even until the end of the first half. In the 41^st minute Beveridge opened the score for the home team.

With the start of the 2^nd half Olympic found themselves 2-0 down from a goal by Hatfield in the 46^th minute and by the 53^rd 3-0 through a goal by Buettner. In the 68^th minute Beveridge increased the score to 4-0 and the game was effectively over. Ten minutes from time Bradbery scored a consolation goal for Olympic but it was too little too late.

This was not the start everyone was expecting but next week the team will have an opportunity to make amends away to Charlestown Azzurri.

Source: Tom Tsamouras