Category Archives: Uncategorized

Newcastle Olympic returned victorious from their Round 22 fixture against Belmont Swansea with Reserve Grade winning 3-1 and First Grade, 3-2. Reserve Grade have won the Premiership and First Grade will contest a place in the top five of the competition during the final game of the season against New Lambton!

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade were crowned 2025 NPL Reserve Grade Premiers of Northern NSW when on Saturday night, second placed Cooks Hill were beaten by Broadmeadow Magic. This defeat meant that Olympic could not be caught on the points table regardless of their results in the final two games of the season.

Having claimed the first title of the season, Olympic began the match against Belmont at an intensity level that reminded a training session than a competitive game. Belmont, having been beaten 5-0 at the same venue four weeks earlier played compact and with every player behind the ball.

The celebration tempo of the game was disturbed in the 19^th minute when Belmont fired a shot from outside the box which rebounded off the goalpost and into the Olympic net! Six minutes later a teasing corner by George Tsamouras found the head of Jed Hornery at the near post who taking advantage of the power and bend in the ball, flicked it on and buried the ball at the back of the net of the far post! The score remained 1-1 until half time despite the pressure of Olympic and the opportunities created.

In the second half Olympic continued to press and Belmont refused to come out of their shell. In the 69^th minute a corner by Oliver Steinerts found midfielder George Tsamouras on the edge of the box who unleashed a thunderbolt to put Olympic 2-1 in the lead. Celebrations over the goal were not over before a cross by Lucas Walshe from the right found Jesse Fitzgerald inside the six-yard box who had little difficulty increasing the scoreline to 3-1.

The score remained 3-1 until the end and Olympic can have a rest until the finals. The scheduled wash out game against New Lambton on Tuesday night will not go ahead as it has no bearing on the points table for either team.

The First Grade fixture between Newcastle Olympic and Belmont Swansea had a similar start as that of Reserve Grade. Belmont opened the score in the 13 minute with a penalty when Olympic defender Luke Rutledge was judged to have fouled an opponent. Olympic tried to equalise but the stalemate lasted until the 60^th minute when Ben Hay scored from a free kick from a very narrow angle.

Olympic bombarded the Belmont goal continuously but it wasn’t until the 68^th minute that Marcus Duncan rose higher than any other player to send a header into the net from a Ben Hay corner. By the 76^th minute a sustained attack by Olympic resulted in Kale Bradbery receiving the ball from a rebound off the cross bar by a Roy Donovan header and a shot that gave the keeper no chance.

With the cushion of a 3-1 lead Olympic continued to pressure Belmont. A late consolation goal by Belmont four minutes from the end was too little, too late! Olympic now face New Lambton again, in the wash out fixture of a previous wash out fixture at the LMRFF at 8.00pm on Wednesday night.

For Olympic to make it in the top five, they need to win against relegated New Lambton and for Belmont to defeat Maitland!

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic have won the 2025 NPL Reserve Grade Premiership of Northern NSW two games before the end of the season!

Newcastle Olympic are on top of the table on 46 points, 5 points ahead of 2^nd placed Cooks Hill United and 10 points ahead of 4^th placed Broadmeadow Magic. Newcastle Olympic are scheduled to play their second last game of the season on Sunday night at the LMRFF in Speers Point but tonight Cooks Hill took on Broadmeadow Magic and were defeated by 4-0.

Mathematically, Newcastle Olympic can’t be caught on the points table regardless of the results in their final two matches against Belmont and New Lambton!

Congratulations to the players, coaching staff, supporters, administrators and sponsors. Newcastle Olympic led the competition from Round 7 and deserve winning the 2025 NPL Reserve Grade Premiership of Northern NSW. One title won, one to go!

Good luck in the semi-finals.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic take on Belmont Swansea FC at the LMRFF on Sunday night. A win for Reserve Grade crowns them 2025 Reserve Grade NPL Premiers of Northern NSW! First Grade need to win this game as well as the last game against New Lambton and hope that Lambton Jaffas lose their last remaining game to capture 5^th place!

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade put in a gutsy performance at Weston midweek and came away with a 2-0 victory. They lead the competition by 5 points from second placed Cooks Hill United on 46 points. With a win against Belmont on Sunday night they win the Premiership. The round 11 fixture between the two teams was washed out and played four weeks ago also at the LMRFF. On that evening Olympic won 5-0. On paper Olympic are too strong and should prevail with the 3 points.

There is a possibility they may be crowned Premiers on Saturday night depending on the result between Cooks Hill United and Broadmeadow Magic which is also being held at the LMRFF. If Cooks Hill draw or lose to Broadmeadow Magic, Newcastle Olympic win the Premiership regardless of the results in their final two games against Belmont and New Lambton.

Kick off 8:00pm at the LMRFF Speers Point on Sunday 10 August 2025.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade are in 6^th place, 5 points behind Lambton Jaffas who occupy 5^th spot. To frog leap the Jaffas, Olympic need to win both games against Belmont and New Lambton and hope Jaffas lose against Maitland.

On paper Olympic have a stronger squad than both Belmont and New Lambton but this hasn’t always translated on the field this season! In both matches played at Darling St Oval both Belmont and New Lambton were able to come away with draws!

Olympics’ biggest problem is being disciplined in their play and avoiding gifting goals to opponents. If they overcome this part of their game they are capable of securing 6 points from their last two games and then it’s up to the result between Lambton Jaffas and Maitland.

Kick off 6:00pm at the LMRFF Speers Point on Sunday 10 August 2025.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade put on a great performance to come away with a 2-0 victory at Weston and be a whisker away from the 2025 Reserve Grade Premiership. First Grade did not have the same luck and were convincingly beaten by 5-1 in the Round 13 wash out fixture at the Rockell Automation Park.

On a slippery pitch Weston Bears and Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade played out a high intensity match that kept the small number of spectators who braved the evening cold on the edge of their seats! Weston needed to win to secure 5^th spot on the ladder from Lambton Jaffas and having claimed the scalp of Cooks Hill recently, were in the mood to do the same to the league leaders, Newcastle Olympic.

Olympic who themselves surrendered a 2-0 half time lead the previous week to Cooks Hill had different ideas. They opened the score as early as the 4^th minute through a penalty which was converted by Jed Hornery after a Weston player handled the ball inside the area. Weston took the game to Olympic and had 13 shots on goal to Olympics’ 5! The statistic which told the story about what spectators were watching is that the shots on target were 5-4 Olympics’ way! Weston were laborious and unproductive while Olympic precise and full of substance.

With the start of the second half Olympic scored again in the 46^th minute through Jed Hornery and fought tooth and nail to keep Weston out until the end of the game. Weston had a total of 18 shots on goal but only 5 on target compared to Olympics’ 9 shots on goal but 7 on target! Caylan Law the leading goal-scorer of both Weston and all of Reserve Grade hit the woodwork from a free kick but didn’t even get a sniff of goal from open play. Olympic dug in and were in no mood to present gifts like they did in the second half to Cooks Hill a week before!

After turning a 2-0 half time deficit in Maitland to a 3-2 full time victory, Cooks Hill retain 2^nd spot on 41 points with two games to go (Broadmeadow Magic and Charlestown Azzurri) and Olympic move to 46 points with also two games to go (Belmont and New Lambton)! Cooks Hill take on Broadmeadow Magic on Saturday night at the LMRFF while Olympic do the same to Belmont on Sunday night at the same venue! If Cooks Hill draw or lose against Magic, Olympic win the Premiership! If Olympic win against Belmont on Sunday, they win the Premiership, regardless of what happens in the Cooks Hill vs Broadmeadow Magic game.

The level of intensity between Weston and Newcastle Olympic First Grade was less than then their Reserve Grade counterparts but the slippery surface prevented both teams from being able to play free flowing football. Weston opened the score within 30 seconds as the Olympic defense were caught napping with a solo run by Musa Kamara! By the 13^th minute Zach Thomas was judged to have slapped an opponent during a challenge inside the box and the ensuing penalty was converted by Chris Hatfield. Both goals were gifts and not the result of constructive moves by the home team.

By the 31^st minute Kyle Bradburry was able to pull a goal back from a shot from close range after a nice through ball out wide by Ben Hay. Olympic enjoyed a lot of ball possession from this moment until the end of the half. On the 45th minute Olympic gave away a free header from a corner which the goalkeeper was able to get a hand but as soon as the ball dropped to the ground Connor Evans was able to tap over the line! Just seconds before this header Chris Hurley from Weston pushed over Jesse Fitzgerald with both hands and knocked him to the ground as the corner was being defended but nothing was given by the linesman or the referee!

Despite the 3-1 scoreline the game was not one sided. The shots on goal at half time were only 8-5 in favour of Weston and shots on target only 3-2 in favour of Weston.

The second half began in similar style to the first with both teams involved in a midfield battle. In the 58^th minute the Olympic defence was stretched wide with Adam Pierce coming off his line to close-down a winger and then running back to his line. The ball was then crossed to an unmarked Chris Hatfield just outside the six-yard box who had no problem sticking it to the back of the Olympic net for a 4-1 scoreline!

In the 72^nd minute Kyle Bradbery was tripped inside the box and was awarded a penalty. The spot kick was taken by Roy O’Donovan but the Weston goalkeeper saved the shot! This summed up the luck of Olympic all night! In the 81^st minute a well worked move between Chris Hatfield and Aaron Niyonkuru enabled the latter to score the fifth goal for Weston and end a night of misery for Olympic.

The final 10 shots on target to Olympics’ 6 is proof that a 5-1 scoreline is unjustifiable and many of the goals were gifts by the team in blue and white.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic cross swords with Weston Bears in the third last game of the season. Reserve Grade need a win to embrace the Premiership and First Grade need a win to secure a top 5 finish to the season.

After an unlucky midweek result against Cooks Hill, Reserve Grade need to muster all their effort for their away fixture against Weston which could land them the Premiership two rounds before the end of the season. A win for Olympic brings them to 46 points and the only two teams that can reach this figure in their remaining three matches are Cooks Hill and Maitland!

Cooks Hill are on 38 points and face Maitland, Broadmeadow Magic and Charlestown Azzurri away! Maitland have Cooks Hill and Belmont at home and Lambton Jaffas away. Olympic have Weston, Belmont and New Lambton away. If Olympic win at Weston and Maitland defeat Cooks Hill, Olympic win the Premiership! Weston could reach the 46 points if they win all three remaining games and if Olympic lose their last two but are -18 goals on Olympic.

If Olympic are unsuccessful against Weston, they can still pick up 3 points in their remaining two fixtures against Belmont and New Lambton.

As a team, Weston play well against strong opposition. In their past five fixtures they have defeated Broadmeadow Magic 3-1 at home and Cooks Hill 2-1 away but drew against lowly placed Edgeworth, Adamstown and Charlestown Azzurri! Olympic have been the most consistent team in the competition and apart from the glitch against Cooks Hill midweek, have the capacity to put Weston to the sword on Wednesday night and be crowned Premiers for 2025!

Kick off 6:00pm at Rockwell Automation Park on Wednesday 6^th August 2025.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade will have their hands full against a Weston side that has inflicted two defeats on Edgeworth Eagles in the past 5 weeks to ensure that Broadmeadow Magic win the First Grade Premiership for 2025! The team Olympic are chasing is Maitland who are in 5^th spot and just 3 points in front of them. On the same night Maitland will be hosting Cooks Hill United and are favourites to secure the 3 points.

The golden rule in football is never say never! Despite the odds against them, Olympic need to try and secure a result against Weston and hope they get maximum points against Belmont and New Lambton.

Kick off 8:00pm at Rockwell Automation Park on Wednesday 6^th August 2025.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic take on New Lambton in Round 21 of the Northern NSW NPL at the same venue and at the same time as Maitland take on Belmont Swansea United FC. Reserve Grade will be contesting this fixture on the 12^th August!

Newcastle Olympic are in 6^th place on the ladder, 3 points behind Maitland who are in 5^th position! Olympic play a New Lambton team which has won one game all season, are bottom of the table and who are favourites to be demoted. They have conceded 51 goals and only scored 19! On paper Olympic are favourites to collect the 3 points but this doesn’t always work out this way. They were also favourites in Round 10 of the competition but this didn’t stop New Lambton from securing a 2-2 draw at Darling St Oval! The game is held at the LMRFF because of the torrential rain the Hunter Valley has experienced in the past week and the prediction for Saturday is more rain.

Fifth position on the ladder is all Olympic can hope for in the three remaining games of the season. On Wednesday we travel to Weston and the following Sunday we play our last match at Belmont Swansea.

Maitland will be playing Belmont Swansea on the Synthetic field No2 at the LMRFF and although they are much stronger than their opponents, the need to avoid getting too close to the relegation zone by the later might cause a surprise result!  

Newcastle Olympic play their last card on Saturday if they are to make the top 5.

Kick off at 4:00pm at LMRFF at Speers Point on Saturday 2nd August 2025.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic returned from the LMRFF in Speers point on Wednesday night with a mixture of emotions. Reserve Grade lost the chance of being crowned Premiers three games before the end after losing 3-2 while First Grade are back in the hunt for a top 5 place following a 4-1 thumping of the region’s Australia cup representatives.

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade began the match well opening the score in the 21st minute through a header by Nikolai Zervas from a well taken corner by River Petersen! Olympic controlled the game and a 7-0 shot on target ratio by the end of the first half indicates the extent of the domination against second placed Cooks Hill United! One minute before the end of the half Jed Hornery was tripped inside the box in front of the referee and he had no problem sending Olympic 2-0 up at the interval from the penalty spot.

At half time the thought amongst the brave spectators who withstood the cold and rain to watch the game was one more goal from Olympic and the game would be over! Cooks Hill did not have a single shot on target. The closest they came was hitting the woodwork from distance early in the first half.

Within five minutes of play in the second half an unfortunate clearance by the Olympic defence resulted in the ball landing at the feet of a Cooks Hill player who had no problem sticking it in the back of the net to reduce the score to 2-1. Ten minutes later a shot from outside the box from a very tight angle resulted in the Olympic goalkeeper to misjudge the ball in the rain and palm it into the head of an oncoming Cooks Hill player for the score to be drawn 2-2!

At this point, the domination enjoyed by Olympic in the first half had evaporated! Cooks Hill were playing more compact, the rain was bucketing down and fatigue from a mid-week working day for most players began to take it’s toll.

In the 69th minute a corner from Cooks Hill resulted in an unmarked player to unleash a volley from inside the Olympic box which almost blew the back of the Olympic net off! The Cooks Hill players were over the moon while the boys in blue stepped up a gear and fought tooth and nail to the very end but without result.

Cooks Hill is the only team to have beaten Olympic twice this season and while the later will have to wait to be crowned Premiers, it sets up a great match between the two in the semi finals that will follow the end of the NPL Premiership competition.

Olympic have three away games remaining against Weston (Wednesday 6th August), Belmont (Sunday 10th August and New Lambton (Tuesday 12th August) and depending on other results may require as few as 4 points to win the Premiership.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade began their battle in the cold and rain with a thunderbolt by Adam Zervas in the 3rd minute to settle their nerves and record their 6th win of the season! By the 11th minute a misjudged bounce of the ball in the rain allowed a Cooks Hill player a 1v1 with the Olympic goalkeeper and he didn’t have a problem bringing the game back to 1-1.

Despite this Olympic were in firm control and dictated play and it was only a mater of time before they would strike again. In the 29th minute young Jesse Fitzgerald who started for First Grade for the first time won a glancing header from a corner to score his first First Grade goal and Olympics’ second on the night. Despite the domination Olympic went into half time with only a 2-1 lead.

In the second half Olympic continued to dominate and dictate play. Kyle Bradbery put the game beyond reach with a goal in the 77th minute and Jye Rodway placed the icing on the cake in the 86th minute!

The three points gained enabled Olympic to frog leap Charlestown Azzurri and claim 6th place on the ladder, just 3 behind Maitland who sit in 5th spot.  With three games remaining against New Lambton (2nd August), Weston (6th August) and Belmont (10th August), securing a spot in the top 5 is very possible.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade are one win away from the 2025 Northern NSW Premiership going into the wash out Round 12 fixture against Cooks Hill United FC on Wednesday night at the LMRFF Speers Point. Newcastle Olympic First Grade, whilst 7^th on the table, are still with a chance of making the top five with a win over Cooks Hill on the same night.

After losing their opening two games of the season, Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade have played 16 games during which they have won 14, drew 1 and lost 1 to be first on the table and clear favourites to collect the 2025 Northern NSW Reserve Grade Premiership! They have four games left and with a win over Cooks Hill United they are guaranteed first place!

After having a bye on the weekend, the boys in blue are ready for the game of the season on Wednesday night against a Cooks Hill side that sustained a shock 2-1 home defeat on Saturday at the hands of Weston! Olympic are on 43 points while Cooks Hill on 34 and with a game in hand. The task will not be easy given that Cooks Hill defeated Olympic at Darling St Oval 2-0 in the opening game of the season! Also, Cooks Hill are too good a team to sustain a second successive loss at home!

Despite this, Olympics’ recent form makes them favourite to win and claim the 2025 Premiership crown! They have led the competition since Round 7 and apart from the two losses in the opening two rounds of the season and a loss and draw midway through the season they have won every game. In their past four matches they have scored 16 goals and conceded 3!

The clash on Wednesday night will not be easy but the prize at stake is too big to miss out. In the event of an Olympic victory, they require a further 1 point from the last three games to mathematically secure the title or for Cooks Hill and Maitland to drop 1 point from their remaining 4 and 3 games respectively! In the worst scenario, if Olympic win on Wednesday night and lose all remaining games and Cooks Hill and Maitland win all their remaining games, they will come equal first but will have a superior goal difference!

Kick off at 6:00pm on Wednesday 230th July at LMRFF Speers Point. (The match will be played at Speers Point due to the predicted deterioration in the weather).

Newcastle Olympic First Grade are in 7^th place on the ladder and a win against Cooks Hill on Wednesday night would enable them to frog leap Charlestown Azzurri in 6^th place, 3 points behind Maitland who occupy 5^th spot.

Olympic have lost 6 games all season but have only won 5! They are the draw specialists together with Belmont Swansea. With four games remaining they can still steal 4^th or 5^th spot on the ladder to make the top five. Equally, so can Cooks Hill, Charlestown Azzurri, Maitland FC and Lambton Jaffas. The season is not over and five teams will contest the two remaining positions until the final game of the season.

Kick off at 8:00pm on Wednesday 230th July at LMRFF Speers Point. (The match will be played at Speers Point due to the predicted deterioration in the weather).

The remaining games of the season are:

No 4 vs Cooks Hill on Wednesday 30^th July at LMRFF Speers Point.

No 3 vs New Lambton on Saturday 2^nd August at Alder Park

No 2 vs Weston on Wednesday 6^th August at Rockwell Automation Park

No 1 vs Belmont on Sunday 10^th August at Blacksmiths Oval

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade are 4 points away from the 2025 Northern NSW Premiership! With four away games against Cooks Hill, New Lambton, Weston and Belmont, Olympic can only be challenged by Cooks Hill and Maitland!

Olympic sit at the top of the Reserve Grade table on 43 points from 18 matches while Cooks Hill and Maitland on 34 points from 16 and 18 matches respectively! Our next game is against Cooks Hill on Wednesday 30^th July at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field. Cooks Hill play Weston on Saturday, another top 5 contender and Maitland play Valentine on Sunday. If either of these two teams drop points, then the title could be determined at Cooks Hill on Wednesday night!

Newcastle Olympic have lost three games in 18 matches, and the probability of picking up another win and draw in their final four games is very high. If both Cooks Hill and Maitland win on the weekend and Olympic defeat Cooks Hill next Wednesday night, they will only need 1 point in their remaining 3 games regardless of the results by the other two!

In total, there are six teams fighting for five spots in the play-offs for the 2025 Northern NSW Grand Final. Newcastle Olympic have led the competition since Round 7 and most likely will win it and occupy first place. Cooks Hill and Maitland will contest 2^nd and 3^rd place with Broadmeadow Magic, Weston Bears and Lambton Jaffas all with the same chance of securing 4^th and 5^th place.

No action this weekend for Newcastle Olympics’ Men’s teams but next Wednesday night could be a title deciding evening for at least one of our teams at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field against Cooks Hill United FC.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade opened a 9 point lead at the top of the table four games before the end of the season while First Grade were narrowly defeated by Edgeworth Eagles in a game they deserved at least a draw!

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade delivered a vintage performance in their last home game of the season defeating an Edgeworth Eagles side by only 4-1! Despite regular players missing, their u18s replacements slotted in perfectly to produce an outstanding performance which deserved a scoreline much higher than the 4-1.

With First Grade regulars Mason King and Joey Smith, Edgeworth Eagles did not resemble a team at the bottom of the table in the first half of the game. Indeed, a deflected shot by Mason King enabled the ball to fall perfectly at the feet of Brodie Slattery in the 10^th minute of the game to put the visitors 1-0 ahead.

By the 16^th minute and after a teasing corner by George Tsamouras and sustained pressure inside the Edgeworth box, Callum Priestley came into possession of the ball and had no problem slotting it in the back of the net to bring the game level at 1-1. In the 35^th minute another teasing corner by George Tsamouras resulted in Blake Clifton having his header rebound off the crossbar and when it landed on the ground, Callum Priestley was there to poke it into the back of the net for a 2-1 lead! The shots on target at the end of the first half only had Olympic 4-1 in front but the 17-4 shots on goal is indicative of the domination from the home side!

The second half was all Olympic with an incredible 29-6 shot-on-goal ratio demonstrating the dominance of the home side! Proceedings on the scoreboard had to wait until the 64^th minute when midfielder George Tsamouras was given enough time and space outside the box to unleash a thunderbolt that increased the score to 3-1. Jesse Fitzgerald who returned from injury and entered the game at half time made it 4-1 in the 70^th minute with a curling shot from just inside the box.

Olympic continued to threaten the Edgeworth goal and the scoreline should have been a lot higher had it not been for the outstanding performance of Ethan Lewis in goals for the visitors and the poor finishing by the Olympic attack.

The win gives Olympic 14 wins from 18 games and 9 points clear from second placed Cooks Hill and Maitland with four games remaining!

Newcastle Olympic First Grade began the match against Edgeworth in 7^th place on the ladder, 25 points behind the visiting league leaders! Despite this, the performance by the home side had their supporters rubbing their eyes in disbelief! Olympic dominated play, led 1-0 from the 30^th minute through a goal by midfielder Lachlan West and finished the half with a 5-1 shot on target ratio!

The start of the second half was no different and spectators sensed that perhaps an upset was on the cards against a team which had recorded 15 wins in 18 games! It wasn’t until the 64^th minute when the visiting team was able to equalize from a superb Aaron Oppedisano cross and a volley on the far post by Jose Atayde!

In the 71^st minute a corner by Edgeworth resulted in players rising up for a header and despite no player connecting with the ball, the referee awarded the visitors a very soft penalty! An Edgeworth player who went up for a header but did not connect with the ball and who fell to the ground was judged to have been impeded!

In the 86^th minute a ball was cleared off the line by Olympic, the linesman did not see the ball cross the line but the referee who was 20 metres away awarded a goal. Olympic players protested and pointed to the linesman who was in a better position to determine if the ball had crossed the line but the referee was not interested!

In the 90^th minute Jye Rodway fired a thunderbolt at the Edgeworth keeper who, despite being able to get a hand to the ball, was unable to keep it out. The game finished 3-2 in favour of the visitors but Olympic gave a good account of themselves and deserved at least a draw.

The remaining games of the season are:

No 4 vs Cooks Hill on Wednesday 30^th July at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field

No 3 vs New Lambton on Saturday 2^nd August at Alder Park

No 2 vs Weston on Wednesday 6^th August at Rockwell Automation Park

No 1 vs Belmont on Sunday 10^th August at Blacksmiths Oval

Source: Tom Tsamouras