Newcastle Olympic climbed to the top of the Reserve Grade ladder after defeating Broadmeadow Magic 4-2 in the Round 6 wash out fixture at Magic Park on Tuesday night. The hosts lead 2-0 before Olympic went into overdrive and in 31’ minutes scored 4 goals and hit the woodwork a further three times!
In wet and slippery conditions both teams began the game with Broadmeadow in control of possession and Olympic soaking up pressure and looking to strike on the counter. Partly the slippery conditions and partly the approach of both teams, the match was poor for the neutral observer. The first 45’ minutes produced few scoring opportunities for both teams and 0-0 summed up the game at the interval. The only talking point for spectators at the half time break was the poor refereeing on display for such a crucial match!
At the start of the second half the hosts stunned the visitors with a long-range effort in the 48th minute! With the 1-0 lead and the share of possession enjoyed by Broadmeadow, the 3 points looked like remaining at Magic Park! Matters got even worse for Olympic when ten minutes later their hosts scored a second goal from another long-range effort to make it 2-0! At this point the game looked to be lost and even the most die-hard Olympic supporters would not have guessed what they were about to witness.
Within two minutes Olympic were able to score and bring back the game to 2-1 and some hope that in the remaining half hour, they could perhaps achieve at least a draw! In the 67th minute Olympic struck again, brought the game level 2-2 and suddenly the belief that the game wasn’t over began to sink in!
The possession enjoyed by Broadmeadow now swapped sides with Olympic in total control, creating one goal scoring opportunity after another! The woodwork saved the locals three times but in the 78th minute a third goal by Max Cotton brought the match 3-2 in Olympics’ favour!
Olympic supporters were stunned with joy while the Magic faithful couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed! In the 85th minute a fourth goal by Charlie Halls increased the lead to 4-2 and the 3 points and first spot on the Reserve Grade ladder was now reality for the team in blue!
Another great derby between these two clubs was over with tears of joy and tears of despair drawn on the faces of the supporters who braved the conditions to watch such an exciting game.
The players of both teams should be commended for keeping their heads in such an important match despite the inconsistent refereeing!
This victory is the 6th consecutive win by the Olympic Reserve Grade team and a surprise given that they lost their opening two games of the season at Darling St Oval.
Source: Tom Tsamouras
George Tsamouras Football Journey 