George Tsamouras Football Journey

Newcastle Olympic was held to a scoreless 0-0 draw by Adamstown Rosebud at the LMRFF in Speers Point on Saturday night while First Grade lost 2-0 and is now flirting with relegation at the opposite end of the points table!

On a cold night at Speers Point, the few spectators who braved the conditions were treated to a high intensity match with few goal scoring opportunities at either end. Just like the Round 3 fixture at Darling St Oval, the match was physical and sometimes even brutal! Unlike the 10 yellow and 2 red cards that were shown by the referee in the first game, there was only one yellow shown in this match! This occurred in the 32^nd minute when Thomas Rooke of Adamstown took out Olympic midfielder George Tsamouras in a heavy tackle which should have been a straight red!

Olympic dominated possession throughout and threatened Adamstown but was unable to create any clear-cut goal scoring opportunities. The 9-1 corner count showed how much they dominated but Adamstown’s physical approach to the match meant that they also needed to be careful of quick counter attacks.

Adamstown had done their homework on the Olympic side. This was evident very early in the match when Olympics’ midfield distribution outlets were heavily marked by the opposition to contain their offensive play. This was successful perhaps due to the marking, the physical play, and possibly due to the fact the team had not played for a fortnight due to the washed-out match against Charlestown Azzurri.

Despite this, in the last 25 minutes Olympic had Adamstown playing in their final third of the field and were using the “high-press” to the point that the Rosebuds had difficulty playing out! Spectators were left biting their nails as the Olympic forwards and midfielders swarmed the Adamstown players trying to play out in an attempt to force the error that would enable them to score.

The error didn’t come and Olympic were held to a 0-0 draw, their second draw of the season, against the same opponent! This result moved them to within 1 point off league leaders Valentine FC whose match against Cooks Hill was washed out earlier in the day.

Two hours earlier and at the same venue Newcastle Olympic First Grade took on Adamstown Rosebud and were beaten 2-0, their third successive defeat by a team equal last on the points table, going into this match!

The boys in blue fell behind in the 14^th minute to a goal by Nicolas Gismero and another by Kayden Soper in the 37^th minute. Two yellow cards in the 28^th and 30^th minutes by Jared Muller didn’t help the team, having to play with one man short for one hour of the game! Adamstown missed many opportunities during the first half and were unlucky not to have been in the lead by a bigger goal margin.

The second half didn’t produce any goals but with a two-goal cushion Adamstown was able to keep Olympic at length from their goal. The final 13-3 shots on goal ratio to Adamstown tells the story of the night! Indeed, of the 3 shots on goal by Olympic, not one was on target!

This result brings Olympic to equal third last spot on the points table on 13 points, with the two teams bellow them, Valentine on 11 and Kahibah on 10, not having played on the weekend due to the weather!

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic face Adamstown Rosebud FC in Round 14 of the 2026 NPL competition of Northern NSW. After the wash out against Charlestown Azzurri in Round 13 and the expected heavy rain on Thursday-Friday the games for both the men’s Reserve Team and First Grade will be held at the LMRFF of Speers Point.

Olympic Reserve Grade have the opportunity to frog leap Valentine FC on the points table who face a tough away game at Cooks Hill. Olympic sit just 2 points behind in second spot and have recorded their first win against Weston after three consecutive defeats!

Adamstown is in 9^th place on the ladder and are winless in their past 6 matches! In the Round 3 fixture which was postponed and replayed on Wednesday April 1^st, the score between the two teams was a 1-1 draw. This was a physical match which will be remembered for the 10 yellow cards and two red handed out by the referee.

Both teams will have something to prove and both will want the 3 points.

Kick off is scheduled for 8:00pm on Saturday 30^th May, 2026 at LMRFF 2.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade face Adamstown Rosebud two hours earlier at the same venue! Both teams had washed out games last week against Charlestown Azzurri and Kahibah respectively. Olympic have won 3 games all season and occupy 8^th spot on the points table on 13 points while Adamstown have won just 2 games and are in last place on 10 points.

With only 3 points separating the teams a loss by Olympic could land them in last place on the table and a battle to escape relegation. A win for Adamstown will get them off last place and give them some breathing space to pull away from the danger zone.

In the Round 3 fixture earlier in the season the teams played out a 2-2 draw at Darling St Oval.

Kick off is scheduled for 6:00pm on Saturday 30^th May, 2026 at LMRFF 2.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Round 13 of the 2026 NPL Northern NSW competition between Newcastle Olympic and Charlestown Azzurri scheduled for Saturday 23rd May 2026 at Darling St Oval has been postponed due to the wet weather.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic take on Charlestown Azzurri in Round 13 of the 2026 Northern NSW NPL competition.

Reserve Grade will be looking to record their 9^th win of the season in order to reclaim 1^st position on the points Table while First Grade their 4^th win of the season in an attempt to move away from the relegation zone.

After winning seven games and drawing one from eight matches, Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade experienced a horror three weeks in which they sustained a 1-0 defeat by Edgeworth Eagles, a 2-1 defeat by Valentine FC and a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Lambton Jaffas!

All this came to an end last week with a 3-1 home victory over Weston Bears in a match which they had to work hard to win. They sit in 2^nd spot two points behind Valentine FC!

Charlestown Azzurri sit in 11^th position on the table on 3 wins, 5 defeats and 3 draws. In the second-round fixture Olympic had no problem defeating Azzurri by 3-0 and should be favourites to collect the 3 points at Darling St Oval on Saturday. Kick off is scheduled for 12:00am.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade have won once in their last eight outings and sit 3 points off bottom of the table! Although there are 10 games remaining they are in desperate need of points to move away from the bottom end of the points table!

They have won a total of three games all season and one of those was a 2-1 win over Azzurri at Lisle Carr Oval. Azzurri have won one game more but sit on the same points but with a game in hand.

They are a team which is either hot or cold. On their day they can beat the league leaders away (4-2 over Weston) and on a bad day they can lose at home to the bottom team of the league (1-2 by Valentine). This indifference in form was the cause of their coach James Pascoe to walk away from the club and focus on his family.

Hopefully Azzurri can be in the lesser mood on Saturday and Olympic can secure 3 points. Kick off is scheduled for 2:00am but a lot will depend on the amount of rain between now and Saturday.

GAMES ARE WASHED OUT.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade returned to their winning ways against Weston defeating the Bears 3-1. Olympic First Grade however lost again by 2-1 against the same opponent.

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade put smiles on everyone’s faces with a gutsy 3-1 win over Weston after three successive losses which cost them first place on the points table. Playing in front of their fans at Darling St Oval for the second successive game the boys in blue took control of the match and dictated play.

Without the handicap of players from first grade “playing down”, the midfield trio of Goble-Lote, Harvey and Tsamouras were controlling proceedings in the middle while Zervas, Fitzgerald and Butler were a constant threat up front.

In the 19^th minute a through ball by Blake Clifton in midfield to George Tsamouras and a quick one-two with Fitzgerald resulted in a wide pass to Zervas who laid the ball perfectly for Butler to strike it home and open the score for Olympic, 1-0!

A few minutes later Jye King of Weston was allowed to advance unchallenged until outside the box and from there he unleashed a long range shot which the Olympic goalkeeper wasn’t able to even get a hand for a 1-1 scoreline!

In the remaining 20 minutes until half time, an injury to Rhys Butler which caused a reshuffle of players as well as the natural confidence from the equaliser resulted in Weston getting the upper hand.

At half time Olympic swapped both centre halves who were filling in for Phillips and Paksec who were recovering from injury. The team regained control of the game and began to dictate play. With strength and composure at the back, crispy one touch passing in the middle and threatening strikes by their forward line, they were a delight to watch.

As early as the 46^th minute a quickly taken short corner by Walshe and Tsamouras resulted in a beautiful cross into the box and with a glancing header by Fitzgerald the score became 2-1. A little while later a magnificent move and a through ball by Tsamouras to Fitzgerald resulted in another goal but this was disallowed as offside!

With the introduction of Steinerts and Petersen Olympic were in complete control and it was only a matter of time before they scored again to secure the result. This came in the 82^nd minute when a pass from Fitzgerald found Steinerts on the edge of the box who had little trouble burying the ball at the back of the net with a smashing left drive.

Olympic not only returned to their winning ways but this was done against a strong opponent who fought and competed throughout the match. Despite the win Olympic remain 2 points behind Valentine on the points table but with 10 games remaining, there is plenty of time for them to return to 1^st spot.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade misfortunes continued against Weston, going down by 2-1 despite putting up a fight. The boys in blue began well but found themselves behind as early as the 24^th minute when Brock Beveridge opened the score for Weston with a long range shot from outside the box!

This lead was short lived as four minutes later a quick counter-attack produced a fine cross from Kale Bradbery and Ben Hays pounced to level the score 1-1. The arm wrestle continued between the two sides and just before half time a routine attack by Weston resulted in Chris Hatfield wrong footing the Olympic goal-keeper to send his side 2-1 into the half time interval.

In the second half Weston tried to score the goal that would secure the three points for them but Olympic fought all the way to try and equalise. The excellent performance by the Weston goalkeeper played a big role at keeping Olympic at bay!

Despite a gusty effort this was Olympics’ second successive defeat at home and it leaves them 14 points from the top and a mere 3 points off bottom spot. Next week they host Charlestown Azzurri and they are in desperate need of the two points to avoid a battle at the wrong end of the points table.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic take on Weston Bears at Darling St Oval in Round 12 of the 2026 Northern NSW NPL Men’s competition. Reserve Grade kick off at 1:00pm on Sunday 17^th May 2026 while First Grade kick off at 3:00pm.

Reserve Grade go into the second half of the season having won 7 games, drawn 1 and lost 3 and sitting in second spot on the table, 2 points behind Valentine FC. Although this is an envious position to be, given they have lost their past three games in succession, they could have been in a lot better position!

Although they have no problem in attack, having scored 26 goals in 11 matches, their otherwise rock-solid defence has leaked in 7 goals in the past three matches for a total of 13 for the season!

The team seamed to be going from strength to strength having won all their games and dropping only two points in a midweek catch up game to Adamstown Rosebud in a match during which the match officials dished out 10 yellow cards and 1 red!

The momentum of the team appeared to change when first grade players were sent to “play down” in reserve grade to gain some playing minutes. This sometimes created a situation where the players on the bench were stronger than those in the starting the line-up!

The three losses were by 1 goal difference and while it’s not the end of the world, particularly at the halfway mark of the season, a return to their winning ways will be a welcomed sight on Sunday.

Weston is in 6^th place on the table with 5 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses. They didn’t begin the season well losing 1-0 to Olympic but managed 4 wins in their past 5 games. They were completely dominated by league leaders Valentine FC by 3-0 and will not be coming to Darling St to repeat their loss.

Given that Olympic also are coming from 3 consecutive losses both teams will have something to prove on Sunday afternoon.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade have not had a good first half of the season having won only 3 matches, drawn 4 and lost 4! They are in 7^th spot on the table 2 points outside the top five but also 3 points from second last spot!

Apart from a 6-1 triumph at Valentine FC two weeks ago they have had little to be happy about for some time! Inconsistency and better finishing in front of goal are the ingredients required in the second half of the season.

A few consecutive wins could turn an ordinary season to a promising season with the team within reach of making the finals. Alternatively, if they continue being unable to win for a little longer, they could find themselves battling at the wrong end of the points table.

Weston arrive at Darling St Oval in second place on the points table after leading the competition for most of the season! A 2-2 home draw at the hands of Edgeworth and a shock 2-0 loss at the hands of Valentine have knocked them off their perch and they will want to secure the 3 points on Sunday to return to their winning ways.

Will Olympic find a way to score against Weston and record their first win in the second half of the season and fourth overall or will Weston put the disappointing results of the past two weeks behind them by Olympic to the sword?

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic crash out to Lambton Jaffas in the last game of the first half of the 2026 NPL season of Northern NSW! Reserve Grade lost their third successive game of the season 4-3 while First Grade were defeated 2-0 at Darling St Oval.

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade made it a trifecta in losses and dropped from first spot on the table to second after a 4-3 loss in front of a full house at Darling St Oval! Olympic began the match in almost a hypnotic pace conceding in the 3^rd minute and the 22^nd minute before kicking into gear.

Without regular centre halves Andrew Paksec and William Phillips and goalkeeper Ryan Reid the Olympic defence conceded goals they normally avoid. The first came from poor marking and not being on the goal side of the opponent after a sustained attack by Jaffas and the second from an inability to be first to the ball and clearing a cross!

At 2-0 down the team kicked into gear from their trance like tempo and began to press their opponent. The boys in blue began to play with greater intensity and aggression and by the 36^th minute brought the score back to 1-2 through a nice goal by midfielder George Tsamouras.

Half time found them trailing 1-2 and with a shots-on-goal ratio of 7-5 to Olympic.

The second half belonged to Olympic with the team dominating possession and dictating play. The warning signs of what was about to happen came as early as the 49^th minute when a well drilled and curling shot by George Tsamouras from the edge of the box went slightly over the bar.

In the 52^nd minute an interception by Nikolai Zervas on the edge of the box to a suicidal pass across the face of goal by Lambton Jaffas resulted in a great shot and a 2-2 scoreline! The smiles returned and the momentum in the team indicated that this game was certainly not over yet.

In the 55^th minute a defence splitting ball by George Tsamouras into Jess Fitzgerald inside the box resulted in Nikolai Zervas finding himself facing an empty goal but he shot over the post!

In the 59^th minute a well worked move on the right by Lucas Walshe and George Tsamouras and a cross by the later found Nikolai Zervas in the far post who had no problem firing the ball into the net for a 3-2 lead! Although the goal was allowed to stand, the linesman signalled a foul on a Jaffas defender by Lucas Walshe in the lead up and the goal was disallowed. The decision was probably correct but given the number of heavy tackles that were waved as “play on” during the game, this was against the grain of play!

In exactly 1 minute latter the outstanding Jaffas goalkeeper, Ethan Lewis, was tested again by Olympic when a nice through ball by George Tsamouras to Lucas Walshe resulted in a stinging curling shot which was tipped around the post for a corner. A well flighted deep corner by George Tsamouras to the far post which was headed down by Blake Clifford and into the path of Lucas Walshe resulted in an unstoppable shot and 3-2 was now on the scoreboard. In 40 minutes Olympic turned a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 lead!

Olympic continued to dominate play and looked very comfortable on the ball and with their lead. During a routine attack by Jaffas and a cross from the left, not marking the opponent goal side, resulted in a lone Jaffas attacker connecting with the ball and despite being surrounded by five Olympic players, bringing the game to 3-3!

In the remaining 18 minutes Olympic peppered the Jaffas goal for the winner but without success. In the 90^th minute the decision of the Olympic goalkeeper to come off his line to intercept an opponent who was being shadowed by an Olympic defender resulted in the later to fire from distance, catch the keeper out and instead of a 3-3 draw, enabled Lambton Jaffas to walk away with a 4-3 win!

The calamitous errors in defence and poor finishing up front are the main characteristics of this game. The “engine room” – midfield contributed to a 23 to 11 shots on goal ratio for Olympic but of these 23 shots, only 9 were on target!

The end of the first half of the season finds Olympic in 2^nd spot on the table, 2 points behind league leaders Valentine FC. This is disappointing given that they have led the competition for most of the season! Despite this, they are certainly in contention for the Premiership and with a little more consistency should return to their winning ways.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade were hoping for a winning result after their 5-1 triumph at Valentine the previous week but it wasn’t to be against a very disciplined Lambton Jaffas.

Both teams began the match evenly with both trying to find ways to open the scoreline but it wasn’t until the 27^th minute when Drew Patterson from Jaffas side stepped his opponent inside the Olympic box and sent in an unstoppable curling shot into the Olympic net.

At half time Jaffas were 1-0 up and were narrowly ahead 8-7 on the shots on goal ratio.

In the second half the arm wrestle continued until the 57^th minute when a move by Archie Finn and Jospeh Langlois resulted in Sam Donnellan finding himself with only the keeper to beat and having no problem raising the score to 2-0.

Olympic continued to go forward but after 15 shots on goal, of which only 3 were on target, and 6 corners, they were unable to break the Jaffas defence.

This defeat leaves Olympic 2 points off 5^th spot on the points table and 3 points from second last spot at the halfway mark of the season. Their next opponent is Weston Bears who sustained a 2-0 humiliating home defeat, as league leaders, at the hands of Valentine FC.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

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