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 1st 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 62nd 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 66th 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 87th 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 43rd 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 58th 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 90th 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
George Tsamouras Football Journey 