On a sunny afternoon at Darling St Oval Newcastle Olympic FC was able to come away with a 3-2 win and a 2-2 draw in the Round 15 NPL fixture against Valentine FC. Olympic Reserve Grade achieved an incredible 10 consecutive wins to be 9 points clear at the top of the table while Olympic First Grade were unlucky not to win, missing a penalty 8 minutes before the end of the match.
Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade reached an incredible 10th consecutive win against Valentine FC which has brought them 9 points clear at the top of the table! Despite a number of regulars playing up in First Grade, Olympic opened the score as early as the 6th minute through midfield ace River Petersen. Valentine replied 10 minutes later through a debatable penalty to bring the score 1-1.
The game was even possession wise but Olympic created 6 goal scoring opportunities to Valentine’s 2. Just before half time a clumsy challenge inside the Valentine box on Jesse Fitzgerald resulted in a penalty being awarded and converted to a 2-1 scoreline by the same player.
By the 52nd minute a poorly defended corner by Olympic resulted in Tom Davies executing a free header and the score being pegged back to 2-2! Some physical play ensued as the players of both teams began to show signs of fatigue after having played midweek as well. Valentine collected three yellow cards during this period while the Olympic bench tried to freshen up the team by using their substitutions.
During one of these substitutions Andrew Paksec come on and took up the right back position, releasing Blake Clifton to play further forward. Within 7 minutes, a great clearance kick by goalkeeper Issac Quinn resulted in the ball bouncing once in front of Blake Clifton and a delicate lob over the Valentine keeper made the score 3-2!
The boys in blue then dug deep to hold on to their 10th consecutive win of the season, a job made easier by a Valentine player receiving his second yellow card and receiving his marching orders from the field!
A great achievement from players and coaching staff, winning 10 consecutive games after losing the first two. 10 more games remain and consistency and remaining injury free will be the keys to success.
Newcastle Olympic First Grade began their game against Valentine FC with a change in their structure, playing with two strikers, three midfielders, one holding midfielder and four in defence! The match was even with many physical battles between players and with three shots on goal each. The first goal came in the 31st minute when Kyle Bradbery received the ball on the left, cut it back to create space and time to shoot and then he neatly tucked the ball in the far corner to make the score 1-0 for Olympic.
The second half began with Olympic controlling the game and creating the chances but being unable to finish them. In the 52nd minute Valentine won a free kick on the edge of the box and despite 8 Olympic players inside the box to 4 from the opposition, a Valentine player was able to execute a free header and send the ball to the far post for a 1-1 equalizer!
Olympic continued to pressure the Valentine goal and again the final touch appeared to elude them until the 64th minute when Adam Zervas received the ball just inside the box and unleashed a thunderous shot to make the score 2-1 for Olympic. Olympic continued to control the ball but in a harmless run by a Valentine forward on the edge of the box in the 72 minute, the Olympic goalkeeper charged at him, causing the referee to point to the penalty box! The initial penalty was saved but the rebound was fired back in for the game to be level at 2-2!
Following this, chances went begging for both teams. Both lacked the finishing touch to put the ball at the back of the net. In the 81st minute Roy O’Donovan was tripped inside the box and the referee awarded Olympic a penalty. Despite beating the goalkeeper, O’Donovan fired the ball onto the woodwork and the 2-2 score line remained until the end!
Source: Tom Tsamouras
George Tsamouras Football Journey 