Monthly Archives: August 2015

On a near perfect Sunday afternoon at Arthur Eden Oval, Hamilton Olympic came from 0-2 behind, to record a 2-2 draw against Lambton Jaffas and march into the 2015 NPL Grand Final with an aggregate 4-3 score-line.

Both teams spent the opening quarter of the game with physical exchanges and few chances, as you would expect in a game of this level of importance.

The first sniff at a goal scoring opportunity came in the 17th minute with a header by Luke Remington which didn’t appear to trouble Danny Ireland. Ten minutes later, Michael Bridges followed this up with a long range effort which went well over the Olympic goal.

The first opportunity to Olympic didn’t come until the 34th minute when Kane Goodchild weaved his way through a number of bodies, passed to Pat Brown who sent a great shot crashing onto the cross bar with Brad Swancott well beaten.

Seconds before half time, Luke Remington was given too much space and time on the ball on the left and from what appeared a harmless position, he sent Lambton Jaffas with a 1-0 lead into the break!

The second half began with the Jaffas team putting pressure on the Olympic goal which culminated in a 2-0 lead from a volley by Riley McNaughton, after Danny Ireland failed to clear a cross. It could have been curtains for Olympic when a long range effort from outside the box rebounded off the crossbar!

Olympic replied with a great through ball to Pat Brown who forced a great save from an outstretched Brad Swancott.

The urgency on the Olympic bench becomes apparent when they bring into the game Mathew Swan in place of Simon Mooney and Jason Korotkich in place of Ben Koina, with the later partnering Jacob Bailey in the midfield and Reece Cooper moving further forward, just behind Kane Goodchild.

Mason Campbell chips a delightful ball from the back to Mathew Swan on the left who sends in a ball across the face of the Jaffa’s goal and eventually to the head of Pat Brown who buries it into the net for a 1-2 score-line!

Olympic are enjoying a good attacking spell with the Swan brothers combining well and forcing a great save from Brad Swancott while an effort by a Reece Cooper – Kane Goodchild combination results in the Jaffa’s goalie clearing with his feet.

Olympic continue to press for the equaliser which will avoid the game going into extra time with Jacob Baley forcing Brad Swancott to finger-tip the ball out and Jason Korotchich firing a shot onto the body of the Jaffa’s goalie.

Despite the efforts of the Olympic players the game goes into extra time.

During this period, Olympic continue their attacking momentum but Jaffas attack too! We have an extra half an hour of open ended football with goal mouth action at both ends.

During an Olympic counter attack, Reece Cooper gets behind the Jaffa’s defence and with the keeper to beat, pushes the ball through Brad Swancott’s legs to record a final 2-2 scoreline!

Hamilton Olympic win 4-3 on aggregate and join Edgeworth Eagles next week in 2015 EPL Grand Final.

Earlier in the day U19s lost 3-0 to Broadmeadow Magic and were eliminated with a 4-2 aggregate score while U22s crashed out to Emerging Jets 2-0 for an elimination and an 8-1 aggregate score.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

FIVE years after wining a premiership as a player for Edgeworth, Damian Zane has an opportunity win one in his first season as coach.

The Eagles survived a late scare to hold on for a scoreless draw against Broadmeadow Magic in the second leg of the Northern NSW National Premier

League qualifying semi-final at Jack McLaughlan Oval on Saturday.
The stalemate followed a 3-all draw in the opening leg at Magic Park.Edgeworth progress to the grand final on the ‘‘away-goals’’ rule.

Zane had the quick reflexes of keeper Jim Fogarty to thank for sealing a place in the decider. Magic were awarded a free-kick in injury time and Peter Hhaynes curled a superb effort which was headed for the top corner of the goal.

But Fogarty moved quickly and got enough on the ball to turn it around the post.
‘‘I aged about 10 years in five minutes,’’ a relieved Zane said.
‘‘All I know it was pretty close.’’

Zane, a striker, scored in the Eagles’ 4-2 win over Weston in the 2010 grand final, Edgeworth’s last premiership.

‘‘I won’t say I didn’t have expectations at the start of the year,’’ Zane said.
‘‘To make the grand final, and having won the minor premiership and pushing Melbourne City in the FFA Cup … it has been an unbelievable season.

‘‘Our under-22s and under-19s are also through to the grand final, which is another amazing effort.’’

Zane had special praise for the Eagles’ commitment especially in defence.
‘‘Magic only know one way and that is to go at you,’’ Zane said.

‘‘We are built fairly strong defensively.

‘‘I wouldn’t say we had intentions to sit deep.

‘‘But obviously we knew a clean sheet would get us through to the grand final.

‘Our stoppers, Pat Wheeler, Ayden Brice and Josh Evans were really good against the best strike force in the league.

‘‘It was an unbelievable effort to keep them scoreless.’’

The only down side was for the Eagles was a late second yellow card to Aaron Prichard, who will miss the grand final on suspension.

Magic also finished with 10 men after Jon Griffiths picked up a second yellow card midway through the second half.

In the meantime in the second semi-final, Hamilton Olympic take on Lambton Jaffas at Edden Oval in their 2nd Leg tomorrow. 1st Grade kick off 3pm. Olympic won the 1st Leg 2-1.

Under 22s Olympic vs Em. Jets 1pm kick off
1st Leg Olympic lost 1-6 at home

Under 19s Olympic vs Magic 11am kick off
1st Leg Olympic won 2-1 at home

source:theherald.com.au

Lambton Jaffas FC (2) vs. Hamilton Olympic FC (3)
Semi Final 2 Leg 2 (Hamilton lead 2-1 on aggregate)
Sun 30 August 2:30 PM
Arthur Edden Oval

The second of the two Semi Final second legs of the PS4 NPL will take place at Arthur Edden Oval on Sunday afternoon as Lambton Jaffas look to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Hamilton Olympic.

After finishing third Olympic hosted last weekend’s match against the second placed Jaffas, and in that match gained a slight advantage as a Jacob Bailey first half header sent them into the break ahead 1-0, then a Kane Goodchild header on the hour mark made it 2-0.

Peter McPherson salvaged a late but possibly crucial goal on the back of a brilliant one-two with John Majurovski to make the score 2-1.

Despite picking up a head wound in the match on Sunday, Hamilton attacker Pat Brown who scored a hat trick at the start of the month against Weston will be available for this weekend’s match.

The away goal for the Jaffas means that a 1-0 win on Sunday would see them progress, so if they grab an early goal it is well and truly game on.

This is a factor that Hamilton coach Mick Bolch is unmoved by, suggesting his side will be preparing to, and will turn up Sunday ready to play for a win.

‘We won’t be thinking about the lead and the away goal rule at all this week,’ he said.

‘We will go into the next leg as if it is 0-0 and play to win that match’.

A 2-1 win for the Jaffas would send the match into extra time and possibly penalty shootouts which both of these sides know a lot about, after playing two finals matches in 2013 against each other, both of which went to shootouts.

Bolch and David Tanchevski were in charge of Hamilton and Lambton that year respectively, and joked prior to the first leg about how they are sick of coming up against one another in finals.

Both keepers were involved in those two matches, however Danny Ireland was part of the winning side on both occasions, the Lambton Jaffas. Swancott who was at Olympic in that season will be hoping that if it comes to a shootout that his new club, the Jaffas reign supreme.

Both keepers however, and the ten players in front of them, will be desperate to ensure that it does not come to that stage, and that their team progresses to the Grand Final in the ninety-minutes of normal time.

It will be an entertaining affair between two of the heavyweights of 2015, and is a must-see game heading into the conclusion of the 2015 season.

Edgeworth Eagles FC (1) vs. Broadmeadow Magic FC (4)
Semi Final 1 Leg 2 (3-3 on aggregate)
Sat 29 August 2:30 PM
Jack McLaughlan Oval

The first of the two Northern NSW PlayStation® 4 National Premier Leagues (PS4 NPL) Semi Final second legs takes place at Jack McLaughlan Oval as the fourth ranked Broadmeadow host Premiers Edgeworth in the second of their two-leg tie.

Edgeworth enters the match with a narrow advantage. Whilst the sides are currently locked 3-3 on aggregate, the Eagles are slightly better off considering they have three away goals to their name.

That 3-3 aggregate score came out of a highly entertaining clash between these two sides last Saturday at Magic Park.

Edgeworth’s Bren Hammel put his side ahead from the penalty spot in the first half, but Kale Bradbury sent the sides into the break at one apiece. Two quick fire goals from Brenton Olzomer and Dylan Holz put the Eagles in the driver’s seat early in the second half, however they were cancelled out by a Peter Haynes penalty and Bradbury’s second of his brace.

There were several key players missing from that match, as Magic were without Chris Berlin, Scott Petit and Daniel Casciaroli, and Edgeworth were without Pat Wheeler.

Petit, Casciaroli and Wheeler will all return this weekend, however Chris Berlin will not return in 2015 due to a rib injury.

Magic’s midfield and defence will be on the alert for the Eagles quick transition play, an area where Coach Rob Virgili thought Edgeworth did well in the first leg.

‘They’ve got quality where they break really early and they punished us twice in the space of (two) minutes. We have to be aware of their quick break and be a little more organized in that area.’

‘There won’t be much to change,’ he added.

The 3-3 score, with Edgeworth having three away goals does not worry Virgili, who suggested that his side now only need a one goal victory after their courageous fight back.

‘It’s going to come down to whoever takes their chances. We aren’t worried about them and I’m sure they won’t be worried about us’.

The draw leaves Magic undefeated in their last four matches and Edgeworth in their last five. Both of these sides know how to win games, and more importantly how not to lose.

Both will be looking for a repeat performance of their attack last Saturday whilst attempting to improve defensively.

This will be another highly intriguing Semi Final leg, between two of the hottest sides in 2015, both more than worthy of playing off in the biggest game of the year; the Grand Final.

 Source: http://northernnswfootball.com.au/

I DON’T KNOW BUT I’VE BEEN TOLD.

OLYMPIC WARRIORS ARE MADE OF GOLD

WE PLAY THE GAME WITH SKILL AND SPEED

WE HELP EACH OVER WHEN IN NEED

WE ARE THE BOYS IN BLUE AND WHITE

OLYMPIC WARRIORS ARE DYNAMITE,

WE DON’T CARE WHAT (THE OPPOSITION) SAY.

OLYMPIC WARRIORS ARE HERE TO STAY

”OLYMPIC”  ”OLYMPIC”  ”OLYMPIC”

Hamilton Olympic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Hamilton a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales.

The club competes in the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW, the second tier of football in Australia.

The club was established by Greek immigrants in the New South Wales city of Newcastle in 1976. It is one of the most successful football clubs in Newcastle.

Club History
The Story So Far ……

1976- 2011

Football in Australia, received a major boost in this country with the post war economic boom that saw thousands of migrants from throughout Europe settle in the far away “Southern Land” called Australia.

Hundreds of Greeks chose Newcastle as their new home with BHP and various other industries offering these “New Australians” a chance to make a new life far from their home land. Of course Soccer is a great way to keep ties with your family and community, and that’s how Hamilton Olympic was first established.

During the 60’s and 70’s, the Newcastle Greek Community supported a very strong Football Club called “Pan Hellenic”. Due to a combination of reasons, this proud ethnic based club sadly folded.

This in fact was a catalyst for the creation of a new Soccer Club for the Newcastle Greek community to support, led by Jim Kapalos, the Nicholas brothers, Stavros Ioannou, Chris and Andrew Tagaroulias and yes, still heavily involved with the club at present, Con Gounis. This group of gentlemen were adamant that Newcastle had a Greek based Soccer Club present in this town, and went on to form a new Soccer club. In 1976 they rallied the troops and entered three grades into the Northern NSW Soccer Federation 4th Division competition and were to be known as “Newcastle Olympic Soccer Club”.

The newly formed club played their first competition game against South Wallsend in April 1976 at Walker Field, South Wallsend. Ironically, for the new club their home ground was Darling St Oval, before a move in 1977 the following year to Austral Park – Birmingham Gardens.

Newcastle Olympic began to climb through the divisions and then saw the signing of Australian Hall of Fame recipient and 1956 Australian Soccer team Olympian, Bruce Morrow, whom captain coached Newcastle Olympic. Bruce Morrow’s charges went on to win the club’s first title in 1978, crowned minor and major premiers in the NSW Soccer Federation 4th Division competition with their first Grand Final victory 1-0 over the more fancied Garden Suburb club. Names of that era include Karamaniolos, Chatziconstantinos. Nicolas, Chourtos, Caimakamis, Rendina, Gounis, Thodas, Bachus, Pappas and Papadimitrious just to name a few.

The Clubs success continued in 1980, when they were promoted to 2nd division after finishing as runners up in 3rd division in 1979 and then promoted to 2nd division in 1981. The club competed successfully in 2nd division for a couple of years before the NSW Soccer Federation re-structure of divisions and relegated the club back to 4th division in 1983.

Now came the difficult the years. Between 1983 and 1989, the club was forced to leave Austral Park as their home base when the rent for this venue was quadrupled. The Club found themselves a new home ground being Myer Park, Adamstown, which had little infrastructure, and the club had very few dedicated committee members. Again a band of dedicated people refused to see this proud club lie down, and rallied together to install new life into the club. Tribute must be made to a few of the faithful committee of the time such as Nick Thodas, Jim Papadimitriou, Con Gounis and also to the players who kept the club functioning at this low point in the club’s history, which included the Karamaniolos brothers, Chris, John, Mick and Neil, the Asvestas brothers Harry, Nick and Jim, Mark Simpson, Leo Magnisalis, Con Xenakis and many others. Those days saw the club travel to play matches in multi-cultural deprived areas such as Kearsley, Greta-Branxton, Muswellbrook, Cardiff Railway, Beresfield and Thornton where the action off the park was often just as interesting as it was on the park.

The watershed for the Club was no doubt the acquisition of Terry Robson as player coach from the start of the 1988 season. After just missing automatic promotion in 1988, Terry led the team to the minor premiership in 1989, which saw the club back in 3rd division in 1990, the first time in almost a decade. An astute coach, Terry brought in some inspiring signings to the club, Brett McDonald, Steve
Foteados, Rod Arthur and Bob Mountford, who with the existing squad, were ready to take on the challenge of 3rd division. An added bonus for the 1990 season was the recruitment of ex-KB United and Australian International Player, Joe Senkalski. Newcastle Olympic easily won the Minor & Major Premierships with a 4-1 Grand Final victory over arch rivals, Cooks Hill. The club was on the move with 2nd division beckoning in 1991. The recruitment of 2 youngsters, strikers Lincoln Latunin and goal keeper Craig Tselembis coupled with the conversion of striker Con Safouris to sweeper alongside skilful players like Zervas, Magnisalis, Karamaniolos, Primmer and Simpson saw the club win the 2nd division title by a record 13 points, as well as a dramatic Grand Final win in a penalty shootout against the Lambton Jaffas. Again, tribute must also be given to the hard working committee of that era with Manuel Tserepas as Club President and his band of dedicated committee members Con Gounis, Chris Christo, Jim Papadimitriou, Kerry James, Nick Thodas, Con Pappas, Nick Nicholas and others who kept the club on the path to its ultimate goal.

The Early Years in First Division

1992

1st Division Soccer for the blue and white was finally reached after 16 years in the lower divisions. Hamilton Olympic were the only team to have won 3 automatic promotion movements from 4th division to 1st division in three years. After drifting around in the lower divisions the Club was building momentum and recruited Merv Duff as their 1st Grade Coach. This looked to be an encouraging season with an influx of experienced players coming to the club such as the Dorman brothers, Steve and Scott, Mark Ryan, Glen Chapman mixed with young blood Costa Caimakamis, Harry James, Con Sakavaras and Con Safouris saw the clubs early years in the NBN State League competition as it has become known.

Phil Ridley was appointed as 1st grade coach in 1993 and was in charge until the 1995 season, a three year reign at the helm.

The club began winning its first titles in the State League Competition, with the Under 18’s in 1994 and second grade in 1995 which were promising signs for the future. By this time the club had moved back to Darling Street Oval as their home base, and finalising the ground development was the clubs priority due to the fact that in order to compete in the NBN State League 1st division competition, the clubs ground facilities had to fall in line with a certain criteria set out by the Federation. With the completion of a 400 seat grandstand in 1993, in 1995 the club installed 4 galvanised steel light poles and 20 new lights, The redevelopment of Darling Street Oval came at a cost to the club of over $100,000.00, much to the delight of the Newcastle City Council. Today sees Darling Street Oval facilities up there with the best in the North and is the envy of other clubs that play in the 1st division competition. At the end of the 1995 season the club parted company with their second, 1st division Coach Phil Ridley, and was on the scout for a new coach for the 1996 season. The Smith era was about to begin.

The Golden Years – The “ Smithy “ Era

1996 – 2005

After interviewing a number of applicants for the ‘Head’ coaching position at Olympic, it was obvious that Greg Smith was the man to lead the club to the upper echelon of the NBN State League competition. A highly successful coach with Belmont/Swansea and Adamstown, Greg had a distinguished playing career for nearly two decades. A resident of Hamilton, Greg agreed to terms with Hamilton Olympic and was appointed head coach, the start of an era, unrivalled within Northern NSW Soccer circles.

A coach whom gained loyalty and 100% commitment from his players, Greg nearly had instant success with the 1st Grade losing a marathon penalty shootout to Highfields Azzurri, 11-10, in the 1996 final. Success was not far away, when on a wet September Sunday, Olympic won the first of their four consecutive Premiership titles with a 2-1 victory over arch rivals Broadmeadow Magic in the 1998 1st division Grand Final. Greg always believed in encouraging youth players from within the club whom came through the ranks from our under 18’s team. Players such as Michael Allan, Aaron Thompson, Mathew Austin, Evis Heath and Trent Austin, all would play a major role in the future success of the club.

1999 was probably the clubs most comprehensive Premiership victory with a 4-0 thrashing of Adamstown Rosebuds, at Breakers Stadium, Birmingham Gardens. Captain Benn Lane alongside talented players such as Mat Austin, Adam Sanderson, Craig Wallwork, Peter McGuiness, Doug West, Corey Filipcevic and Craig Harris saw the side play outstanding football.

The Millennium year 2000, witnessed Hamilton Olympic win another Premiership against arch rivals Edgeworth Eagles. Greg Smith prepared his charges to perfection for the 3-0 Grand Final Victory courtesy of goals from Wallwork, Filipcevic and McAteer.

The Premiership Victory in 2001 against Highfields Azzuri, a comfortable 2-0 win saw Hamilton Olympic equal the record held by Weston, by winning 4 consecutive premierships, only the second time in the Federation’s 100 history has this feat been achieved.

During the ten Golden Years “Smithy” was head coach, the club also won numerous 2nd grade and Youth Grade Titles, Club Championships and pre season competitions. Greg had the ability to bring out the best in his players by sharing his vast knowledge of the game with his players and coaching staff, and has no doubt taken the profile of the club to be known as one of the “Heavy Weights of the NBN State League competitions.”

The Last Five Years

2006 – 2011

Since our 30th Anniversary Ball held in 2006, the club has been successful in gaining two further Premiership Titles, one in 2007 and the other one in 2009. Both were gained with the 1st Grade team coming from fourth spot to be victorious in the Grand Final. In 2007, under Head Coach and club stalwart, Alex Tagaroulias, a Trent Austin goal saw the team defeat Edgeworth Eagles by One goal to Nil to take out the 2007 title. Featuring in that team was former Socceroo Matthew Bingley, as well as Captain Mathew Austin, his brother Trent Austin, Corey Filipcevic, Aaron Thompson and Doug West who had all gained numerous Premierships in the “Smithy Era”. That season the club also took out the Club Championship.

2009 saw the club take out the Premiership decider with a Two Goals to One Victory over Valentine Phoenix. Under Head Coach Bobby Naumov, a double to Murray Fletcher saw Olympic keep up its perfect record of never losing in a Premiership decider, winning all six that the club have featured in, which also allowed First Grade Captain Mathew Austin to keep up his perfect record of playing in five winning Grand Finals.

The Future – Passion Holds the Key

As we enter the second half of the 2011 season, Head Coach Michael Bolch and assistant Phil Koina have their charges primed for a genuine attempt to gain our seventh title this year.

Our Juniors are amongst the strongest in the North, while our new team under our umbrella playing in the Inter District Competition are also having a successful season

Our Committee, with a mix of youth providing vitality and energy, plus the experienced stalwarts of wisdom and guidance, has never looked stronger.

Our Proud Club has been successful due to the hard working Committee, Coaching Staff and players who pull on the “ Blue and White “ . Critical also is the tremendous support we have from the loyal sponsors who we have listed in this Souvenir Booklet.

There is nothing more powerful in sport than a team of volunteers. Volunteers carry out their tasks with a burning desire for success and with an invaluable passion for their cause. The future of our great club looks excitedly strong, and it is up to each and every one of us to maintain this passion, as passion for our club holds the key to the future dominance of our cause.

“ 35 Years On and Forever We’ll Be Strong “

Club Honours

NORTHERN NSW FIRST DIVSION (NPL & STATE LEAGUE)

CLUB CHAMPIONS: 6 – (1998, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2012, 2014)
FIRST GRADE

Major Premiers: 6 – (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2009)

Minor Premiers: 1 – (2012)

Presidents Cup: 2 – (2001, 2004)

Arctic Cup: 1 – (1998)

Charity Shield 1 – (2009)
SECOND GRADE – UNDER 22/23

Major Premiers: 6 – (1994, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2012, 2014)

Minor Premiers: 6 – (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2014)
YOUTH GRADE – UNDER 18/19

Major Premiers: 4 – (2002, 2005, 2006, 2009)

Minor Premiers: 5 – (1994, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2009)
COLTS GRADE – UNDER 17

Major Premiers: 2 – (2012, 2014)

Minor Premiers: 2 – (2011, 2014)
NPL UNDER 14

Major Premiers:

Minor Premiers: 1 – (2014)

BEFORE Hamilton had a chance to celebrate their first victory over Lambton Jaffas, the 2014 major premiers were quick to remind their rivals the job was far from done on Sunday.

Olympic scored twice from set pieces at Darling Street Oval to take a 2-1 lead into the second leg of the Northern NSW National Premier League semi-finals.

Goals from Jacob Bailey and Kane Goodchild helped break a frustrating run for Hamilton, who lost their previous two finals to Lambton, in 2013, in penalty shootouts.

Several draws have helped build a healthy rivalry between the clubs since Lambton gained promotion three seasons ago, and Jaffas coach David Tanchevski was quick to remind Hamilton counterpart Michael Bolch his side were not finished yet.

“Are you sure you’re going to sing the song, mate?” Tanchevski quipped to Bolch after the game.

“It’s only half-time.”

But Hamilton did sing and deserved to celebrate after dominating at set pieces and restricting the Jaffas to only a handful of chances.

The Jaffas started brightly but it was Hamilton who went ahead when Bailey nodded in a Simon Mooney free kick in the 35th minute.

Goodchild extended the lead in the 60th minute when he climbed high to head in a Pat Brown corner.

Peter McPherson finished a one-two passing move with John Majurovski in the 75th minute to give the Jaffas a vital away goal but Olympic held firm to maintain their advantage.

Bolch was pleased to break their hoodoo against the Jaffas and praised his side’s resilience late in the match.

“The first 20 minutes they were the better side, until we got a foot in the game, but I thought we were doing really well the second part of the half,” Bolch said.

“The last 20 minutes we scrambled well. They put us under a lot of pressure.

“But I think if we conceded a second it would have been an injustice. We didn’t, and I’ll take a one-goal lead any day of the week.”

Tanchevski was relieved to grab the away goal in the second half and believed his side deserved to take more from the game.

“That goal makes all the difference,” Tanchevski said.

“Essentially it’s half-time and we only have to get a 1-0 win next week to get through.

“Most of the game we had possession. We won the midfield battle but we just didn’t do a lot with it in the final third.

“We had two really good chances with Maj at far-post headers, which are normally his bread and butter. Remo went close with the header at the end.

“I thought we had the majority of the game and we’re fairly comfortable we can get something out of the game next week and get through. We didn’t deserve to lose and we’ll take some confidence into next week.”

Jaffas defender Kevin Davison (groin strain) was substituted at half-time and Hamilton forward Pat Brown (head wound) were the only casualties out of the game. The teams will play the return leg at Edden Oval on Sunday.

In the other semi-final, Broadmeadow came back from a 3-1 deficit to draw 3-3 with minor premiers Edgeworth at Magic Park on Saturday.

Magic, who snuck into fourth place, were looking down the barrel when Bren Hammel scored a brilliant individual goal for the Eagles on 59 minutes. Hammel flicked the ball over a defender before hitting a left-foot volley to make it 3-1.

Magic skipper Peter Haynes converted from the penalty spot in the 71st minute after Edgeworth keeper Jim Fogarty fouled Kale Bradbery on the edge of the area.

Bradbery then equalised in the 86th minute when his strike beat Fogarty at the near post.

Magic co-coach Bobby Naumov praised the fighting spirit of his side.

“You have to give the boys credit,” Naumov said.

“To be 3-1 down against Edgeworth and come back to 3-3, and we could have snatched it at the end.

“The last month the boys have been really strong.

“We have had a lot of setbacks with injuries. Even today we had Scott Pettit (knee), Jayden Barber has been crook all week and only played off the bench, Chris Berlin has injured ribs . . . we had to shuffle things around until the last minute.”

Hammel opened the scoring for the Eagles with a penalty after Magic keeper Nathan Archbold brought down Brenton Olzomer. Bradbery equalised with a tap-in in the 36th minute after Fogarty spilled Matt Hoole’s shot. Olzomer then struck in the 57th minute to put the Eagles up 2-1.

Despite letting the lead slip, Edgeworth coach Damian Zane was pleased to get a draw after three of his players battled illness in the match.

“It’s tough to take when you lead 3-1, but we were far from our best and got the draw, so I’m not complaining,” Zane said.

The second leg will be held at Jack McLaughlan Oval on Saturday.

source: theherald.com.au

On a waterlogged pitch at Darling St Oval, Hamilton Olympic drew first blood, beating Lambton Jaffas 2-1 in the second semi-final of the 2015 NPL competition.

Jaffas almost opened their account in the first minute when Luke Remington made a darting run into the Olympic box and despite being forced wide by Mason Campbell, fired a shot narrowly wide of the post.

Fifteen minutes later, Simon Mooney sent in a floating ball to the head of Kane Goodchild from a free kick who screwed his header slightly wide of Brad Swancott’s goal.

The opening 20 minutes of play are even but Jobe Wheelhouse, parked in front of Jaffas’ back four, is seeing a lot of the ball and is distributing passes unchallenged!

The first threat from Olympic comes from a long range blast by Ben Koina who forces the outstretched Swanson to fingertip the ball out.

In the 35th minute Simon Mooney curls in a ball to Jacob Bailey from a free kick who sends a powerful glancing header crashing onto the bar and into the Jaffas net! Olympic are up 1-0!

Only seconds before half time another well taken free kick by Simon Mooney forces a great save by Brad Swanson to keep the score at 1-0 by the half time interval!

The game is tough and in keeping with the previous two during the season in which both teams cancelled each other out and which both ended in draws.

Ten minutes into the second half Reece Cooper puts Simon Mooney through wide on the right, who side-steppes past a defender, only to fire over the post.

The warning signs are there and the smell of a second goal is imminent!

On the hour mark, Pat Brown executes a corner from the right and the towering figure of Kane Goodchild sends in another powerful header which ends up into the Jaffas net!

With the score at 0-2, Jaffas push forward in search for a goal which will keep them in the tie. Olympic are pushed back inside their half and behind the ball. It’s a cat and mouse game with Jaffas needing to score and Olympic relishing the prospect of catching them on the counter and scoring a third!

This is exactly what almost happened in the 68th minute when Ben Koina and Matthew Swan counter attacked and with only two defenders in front of them back-peddling, the former unleashed a powerful drive from outside the box which beat the goalkeeper but which cannoned off the bar and back into play instead of ending up at the back of the net!

Jaffas continue to push forward in search of the goal that will keep them in the tie and are unable to create a clear goal scoring chance.

Luke Remington receives the ball on the right but fires wide.

Fifteen minutes from time, a one-two combination between John Majurovski and Peter Macpherson, enables the later to create enough time and space to unleash a shot which ends up at the back of Danny Ireland’s net!

Two further opportunities present themselves through Reece Cooper for Olympic and Luke Remington for Jaffas before the referees final whistle finds Olympic 2-1 victors.

Olympic have drawn first blood but the tie is by no means over for either team. There is plenty of work for both sides next Sunday afternoon at Arthur Eden Oval.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

The Semi Final sees second placed Lambton Jaffas travel to Darling Street on Sunday to challenge third placed Hamilton Olympic, in the first of their two-leg tie.

Hamilton blew the chance to finish second, last week going down to Maitland 2-0 at home. It was just their second loss of the season, a competition best. Combined with ten wins and six draws they recorded a tally of 36 points to finish third.

The Jaffas finished one point in front of Olympic, on 37 points, having won eleven, drawn four, and lost three games this season.

Both of these sides finished on a points total that would have seen them finish as Premiers in 2014, however Edgeworth were simply near-perfect this season.

Despite the Eagles finishing first both the Jaffas (three) and Hamilton (two) recorded less losses then Edgeworth (four). As Hamilton coach Mick Bolch suggested mid-season it was the draws that were letting his side down, which ended as the case for both Olympic and the Jaffas.

Lambton go into the first leg of their Semi Final at full strength, which is a positive for Coach David Tanchevski.

The injured Grant Brown was rested last weekend in the 2-1 win over South Cardiff, and midfielders Riley McNaughton and Jobe Wheelhouse only played 45 minutes each, so both will be refreshed.

Tanchevski joked that he and Olympic coach Mick Bolch are sick of playing each other in Semi Finals matches after meeting twice in 2013, both of which Lambton won in shootouts, but is looking forward to the match.

‘Hamilton are a very good team. We always have tight games with them and there’s usually only a goal in it at full time’.

‘Since coming up from the NEWFM comp we have had a good record against them. Like us they have only lost one at the back end of the season though so they will be tough’ Tancheski said.

Tanchevski went on to label their second place finish as ‘exciting’ suggesting that their goal is to make the top four, however since promotion they have finished as a top three side three times in three seasons.

Lambton and Hamilton have met twice this season, producing two low scoring draws. In Round 4 Jobe Wheelhouse opened the scoring before Kane Goodchild leveled, and the match finished 1-1. In Round 13 they then played out a scoreless stalemate.

The Jaffas go into the match with superior recent form, winning four of their last five compared to Olympic’s three. In fact they have won nine of their last eleven matches in which they have kept four clean sheets and scored 30 goals. Hamilton have won six of their last eleven, scoring 31 goals.

Although the sides produced two low scoring affairs in their two matches this season, expect goals this Sunday. With both sides averaging three goals a game in the last three months, and desperate to go into the second leg of the Semi Final with a clear advantage, this match should be an intriguing affair.

In the first semi final played today at Broadmeadow, Broadmeadow Magic – Edgeworth Eagles 3-3.

SEMI FINAL 2

FIRST GRADE

HAMILTON v LAMBTON @ Darling Street, 2:30pm

UNDER 22’s

HAMILTON v EMERGING JETS @ Darling Street, 12:45pm

UNDER 19’s

HAMILTON v BROADMEADOW @ Darling Street, 11:00am

source: sportshunter.com.au

Hamilton Olympic FC is again asking for EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST for teams that wish to compete in the 3rd ANNUAL OLYMPIC SUPER SERIES, 6- a- Side competition during the 2015 off season.

Prize Money: TBA- Subject to the number of applications.

When: Tuesday Nights starting 6th October, and continuing through November & December 2015

Where: Darling St Oval, Hamilton
Closing date: Friday, 14 September, 2015

Grades: Seniors- Premier, Competitive & Social (Subject to the number of team registered)

Fees: Player Registration-
Senior Player Registered with FFA 2015- $65.00
Junior Player (U 18) Registered with FFA 2015- $35.00
Senior Player Not Registered with FFA 2015 – $75.00
Junior Player (U 18) Not Registered with FFA 2015- $45.00

Games Fees: Game fees each week will be $50.00 per team, per game, to be paid each MATCH NIGHT at the canteen PRIOR to the game starting. A bond of 2 weeks game fees ( 2 X $50= $100) will also be required to be paid in advance prior to the start of the season and will be returned as payment for game fees for the last 2 rounds. This is to alleviate forfeits, and worked well in 2014.
TEAMS CAN PAY THE FULL AMOUNT, INCLUDING MATCH FEES AND REGISTRATION UP FRONT IF PREFERRED.
Contact: To register your interest, please email your contact details to: registrar@hamiltonolympic.com.au or secretary@hamiltonolympic.com.au for further details or information please contact; Heath Stewart- Registrar on 0437776650 or Con Gounis on 0423221352
Full Canteen facilities will be available on the nights.
• Further details will be given as the Competition approaches.

Click here for application form

source: Con Gounis