Monthly Archives: April 2026

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade cemented their position at the top of the points table with a crushing victory over eternal rivals, Broadmeadow Magic, with the emphatic scoreline of 5-1. Unfortunately, First Grade were unable to emulate the youngsters of Reserve Grade and were defeated by 2-0.

Newcastle Olympic went into this match on 5 wins and 1 draw from 6 games while Broadmeadow Magic on 1 win 2 draws and 3 losses. Regardless of form and where they stand on the points table the derby between these two clubs ensures they compete on the field and Saturday’s match was no exception.

The match began with speed and intensity, but it was Olympic who forced Magic into committing a foul inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty. With only the goalkeeper to beat Jesse Fitgerald was brought crashing down by the Magic goal stopper and despite being the last man, he was not even shown a yellow card. Despite this, Fitzgerald had no problem converting the spot kick and sending Olympic into a 1-0 lead.

By the 31^st minute Olympic made it 2-0 after Fitzgerald received the ball inside the box from a free throw and after crossing the ball to River Petersen who unmarked, had no problem placing a shot into the Magic net.

A quickly taken free kick in the 36^th minute by an Olympic defender gave away the ball to Magic just outside the box and from the ensuing quick counter-attack, the score was brought back to 2-1. By the 40^th minute a great solo run by Kane Treble from the left sent Olympic with a 3-1 lead into the half time interval!

Three minutes into the 2^nd half a cross from the left was chested down by Jess Fitzgerald and a thunderous shot by Oliver Steinerts made the score 4-1 and beyond Magic’s reach! A clever steal in midfield by Oli Steinerts and a through ball to Lucas Walsh in the 60^th minute made the score 5-1.

In the last half hour two opportunities by George Tsamouras and one a piece by Lucas Walshe and Jesse Fitzgerald almost brought about Olympics’ sixth goal but it was not meant to be. The win by Olympic in conjunction with the 3-3 draw between Valentine and Kahibah has given the boys in blue a 4 point gap in first place of the points table.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade, despite playing better than in previous matches were unable to capitalize and were defeated by 2-0 by their eternal rivals.

With a strengthened midfield which exhibited speed and intensity, Olympic took the game to Magic and tested the visitor’s goalkeeper on numerous occasions in the first 20 minutes of the game. Then an unmarked Keanu Moore inside the Olympic box resulted in the visitors going 1-0 up.

Olympic pushed for an equalizer and was able to score in the 25^th minute through Kale Bradbery but the referee decided he was offside! The 1-0 scoreline remained until the half time break.

In the 2^nd half the game was played at an incredible speed with Olympic desperately trying to level the game and Magic trying to score another and putting it beyond reach. The introduction of Ezra Palombini into the game for the visitors proved decisive as he was able to pounce from a cross and make the score 2-0.

Despite Olympics’ effort the score remained until the end and after 7 rounds, we are 4 points from bottom on the points table!

source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic came away with two draws in the wash out Round 3 fixture of the 2026 Northern NSW NPL competition. Playing only their second home game of the season Reserve Grade dropped their first points after being forced to a 1-1 draw while First Grade were able to force a 2-2 draw at the end of the match!

Olympic Reserve Grade began their game with much promise after taking the lead in the 4^th minute of play when Steven Theacos put a well flighted ball to Kane Treble on the left flank. The Adamstown goalkeeper came charging out of his goal, Treble sidestepped him and tapped the ball into an empty net! This was a perfect start to the game and the Olympic faithful who filled the Darling St Oval grandstand began to rub their hands for the sixth consecutive victory of the season.

What no one knew was that by the end of the match the referee was going to hand out 7 yellow cards and 1 red to Olympic and another 3 yellow cards and 1 red to Adamstown Rosebud for a total of 10 yellows and 2 reds! Being a referee is not an easy job and sometimes they too can have a bad game! The fouls ratio by the end of the match was 17 to 14 Adamstown’s way, yet the cards 8 to 4 Olympics’ way!!!

 Olympic was very compact in defence and reduced Adamstown to only 5 shots on goal throughout the match with only 2 on target while Olympic took 18 shots on goal and only 3 on target! Olympic controlled the game and were never threatened but Adamstown had a physical presence that prevented Olympic from dictating play like they did in the 5 previous games.

Despite this, Olympic were cruising along and after a corner by Adamstown was cleared with a header by George Tsamouras, the ball fell into the path of left back Lewis Houston who chested a bounced ball to get it under control and while leading a speedy counter-attack, the referee blew his whistle to stop play. The decision was that Houston didn’t control the ball with his chest but with his elbow and Adamstown were awarded a penalty! Despite the protests the gift was then converted into a goal and 1-1 was the scoreline that the teams walked off for the half time interval.

In the second half Olympic continued to have the lion’s share of shots on the Adamstown goal but the physical presence of the Rosebuds kept the scoreline at 1-1. As the game wore on, both teams began to show evidence of fatigue given it was a midweek game and after a day’s work for most of the players. Olympic tried to freshen their play by brining in Lucas Walshe, Oliver Steinerts and First Grade player Brody Taylor, in the 60^th minute.

Taylor’s first touch on the ball resulted in a yellow card and given the referee’s appetite for cards on the night, he received another yellow and was shown the path to the dressing rooms with a red, 20 minutes later! The Olympic coaching staff also received 2 yellow cards for protesting and 4 minutes later, Adamstown received a red card to make the player number equal again until the end of the match.

Despite the draw, Olympic are 1^st on the points table, and after a rest over the Easter weekend, face Broadmeadow Magic on Saturday 11^th April at Darling St Oval.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade went into this game facing a team at the bottom of the points table without a win and having scored only 3 goals in 5 games! By the end of 90 minutes of play the shots on goal were only 2-1 to Olympic, Olympic scored 4 goals, and the result was 2-2!

Olympic began the game well but were too slow in winning the ball in midfield and without the ball, could not provide service to the front line or give their defence time to catch their breath! Despite this, they took the lead in the 32^nd minute when Ben Hay lobbed the ball from the centre circle to Kale Brabery who in turn lobbed a poorly positioned Adamstown goalkeeper. Rosebuds appealed for an offside, the linesman’s flag didn’t go up and Olympic were 1-0 in the lead.

Two minutes later an incorrect pass in midfield by Sean Pratt resulted in Adamstown launching a quick counter-attack, the ball is fired at the Olympic goal, Adam Pearce saves but the ball hits an Olympic defender and deflects into the net for a 1-1 scoreline!

At half time, the score is 1-1 and according to the statistics board supplied by Northern NSW, the crowd were treated to only 1 shot on goal a piece by both teams in 45 minutes of football!

In the 2^nd half the introduction of Lachlan West and Wil Harvey on the hour mark gave the midfield spark and speed but not before another set back! A routine cross from the right by Adamstown resulted in the ball being chested into the Olympic goal by a defender for a 1-2 scoreline!

Adamstown sensed the possibility of an upset and retreated to hold the score while Olympic took control of the game and pressed their opponent all over the field. By the 83^rd minute across from the left by Kierry James resulted in the Rosebud defence clearing the ball into the path of Marcus Duncan who unleashed a powerful volley to level the score 2-2.

Despite covering every blade of grass until the 90^th minute Olympic were unable to find another goal and the 2-2 scoreline remained. After two successive draws against Cooks Hill and Adamstown, Olympic are in 7^th place.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic returned from their Round 6 outing at Cooks Hill undefeated! Reserve Grade put on their best performance of the season to win 3-0 while First Grade secured a valuable 1-1 draw.

Olympic Reserve Grade put on a performance against a Cooks Hill side, which had beaten them last season three times, that made them look like a mid-table First Grade team than a Reserve Grade! Cooks Hill were not bad, they were simply made to look not good! The Cookers threw everything at Olympic! They tried to play through the middle, they attempted to come through the flanks and they even tried to come over the top, using the long ball. Olympic were simply too strong in every department and prevented their opposition of even coming within a sniff of a goal!

The early signs of a great afternoon for Olympic came in the 16^th minute when a nice through ball from Rhys Butler resulted in Jess Fitzgerald hitting the woodwork! A minute later a careless challenge by the Cooks Hill keeper on Fitzgerald on the edge of the box resulted in the referee correctly awarding a penalty kick! Fitzgerlad was out of luck again when his shot was saved by Patrick Innes, the Cooks Hill goalkeeper. By the 28^th minute a great interception by Rhys Butler and pass to Jess Fitzgerlad resulted in the later putting through Blake Clifton who had no problem registering Cooks Hill – Newcastle Olympic 0-1!

In the second half, a bench with the quality of Tsamouras, Steinerts, Walshe, Middleton and Zervas were slowly introduced to make Olympics’ domination absolute. Such was the pressure that a cross by Kane Treble from the left resulted in an own goal by the home team! Cooks Hill tried everything to find a way through but Olympic kept the door to their goal shut. In the 87^th minute an interception in the middle of the field by Tsamouras and a quick pass to Fitzgerald resulted in a through ball to Walshe who side stepped the Cooks Hill goalkeeper to record a 3-0 scoreline.

This result was the fifth win in as many matches and obviously first spot on the points table. What is more important is that this team is now settling into a rhythm and with maximum points so far, they look like they will be favourites to win the Premiership yet again!

On Wednesday night at 6:00pm they take on undefeated Adamstown Rosebud at Darling St Oval, as part of Round 3 which was washed out three weeks ago. Another win will have them 4 points clear at the top from their nearest rival and a great position to welcome the eternal foe, Broadmeadow Magic, at Darling St Oval on Saturday week!

Newcastle Olympic First Grade secured a 1-1 draw in a match they should have dominated and secured all 3 points. Olympic were strong and composed at the back, dangerous up front but lacked the ability to win the ball in the midfield and dictate play! As a result, their opponent was free to test themselves against Olympics’ defence while our attacking players didn’t receive the service from which they could hurt Cooks Hill!

With few clear goal scoring opportunities the ball was being leisurely knocked around in the middle of the park with neither team being able to take control and dictate terms. During a routine attack on the left flank by Cooks Hill in the 23^rd minute an Olympic defender misjudged the bounce of the ball and this allowed Daniel Yaxley to pick his spot and curl a shot into the top corner of the Olympic goal!

Olympics’ reply came in the 30^th minute when during a quick counterattack a number of one touch passes put Kale Bradbery in a great position to pull the trigger, only to see his shot come off the woodwork! Five minutes later Kanata Furutani tested the Cooks Hill goalie with a thunderous shot, only to see the ball tipped over the crossbar for a corner. By the 40^th minute Olympic struck the woodwork again with a header from a well struck corner kick.

Despite this, it was Cooks Hill who almost went into the half time break with a 2-0 lead when one of their forwards missed an absolute sitter with only the keeper to beat!

The second half was a mirror of the first. A pass to Jared Muller who had just come on by Kale Brabery resulted in him drawing out the Cooks Hill goalie and slipping the ball through his legs to level the score 1-1 in the 61^st minute!

The rest of the half continued without any incident of note and with spectators treated only to some individual flashes of good play.

This draw leaves Olympic in 7^th place and hopefully with a win against bottom of the table Adamstown Rosebud on Wednesday night, they may be able to improve their position on the table.

Source:

Tom Tsamouras