Monthly Archives: March 2026

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