Newcastle Olympic return to Darling St Oval to contest Round 15 of the 2026 NPL competition against lowly placed Kahibah FC. In both matches, Reserve and First Grade, securing 3 points is of the utmost importance for different reasons.
Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade return from a bye over the long weekend and probably needed to recover from the brutal encounter with Adamstown Rosebud in the previous round. Olympic have one win in their last five outings and occupy 2nd place on the ladder, 2 points behind Valentine FC.
Kahibah on the other hand recorded their first win of the season but occupy last spot on the table, 6 points behind second last, Charlestown Azzurri! In the previous round they were on the receiving end of a 11-1 thumping at the hands of Cooks Hill and have conceded 41 goals in 12 matches!
The difference in strength between the two teams is enormous and with a defence that leaks 3.5 goals on average, it will be difficult to see how Kahibah can avoid defeat. Olympic had a brilliant start to the season with 7 wins and 1 draw before they lost three games in a row! They recorded a hard-fought win against Weston since then and a brutal 0-0 draw against Adamstown prior to this game. A win in this match is of paramount importance to keep the pressure on Valentine and reclaim their throne on the points table.
The match kicks off very early, 9:00am on Sunday 14th June at Darling St Oval.
Newcastle Olympic First Grade have undergone some changes since their match against Adamstown in Round 15 of the competition. Their coach Michael Bolch has left the club and been replaced by interim coach Alex Tagaroulias.
Kahibah are at the bottom of the table on 10 points while Olympic are just 3 points above them! Indeed, there are six clubs with only 4 points between them and all six will be battling to move away from the relegation zone!
Olympic will have worked very hard over the past two weeks to put the poor results behind them and make a fresh start on Sunday. A win will give them confidence and 3 points to move mid table and away from the danger zone.
Belief in their ability to fight and win will be the objective at Darling St Oval on Sunday.
The match kicks off at the very early time of 11:00am on Sunday 14th June at Darling St Oval.
Source: Tom Tsamouras
George Tsamouras Football Journey 