George Tsamouras Football Journey

Newcastle Olympic host Edgeworth Eagles in Round 20 of the 2025 NPL season of Northern NSW Football. This will also be the last home game for the two senior men’s teams with Reserve Grade, having secured a top 5 birth, will be playing to secure the Premiership while First Grade will be trying to claw its way back into the top 5.

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade will be taking on bottom of the table Edgeworth Eagles in the last home game of the season at Darling St Oval. Olympic boast 13 wins from 17 games and are the league leaders with 40 points while Edgeworth have won just 3 games and have 13 points!

The difference between the two teams is enormous on paper and Olympic need to win this match against the Eagles and then their next game against Cooks Hill in ten days time to secure the Premiership! Olympics’ biggest opponent isn’t the Edgeworth team but their own availability of players. Last week they faced Adamstown with a depleted line up but managed to win without dominating play. This week they need a competitive line up to secure the 3 points.

If they win against Edgeworth they have 10 days to prepare for the Wednesday night clash against 2^nd placed Cooks Hill on the 30^th July at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field. Cooks Hill is the only team which can challenge for the Premiership and a win on that evening gives the boys in blue the title!

Kick off at 12:00pm on Sunday 20th July at Darling St Oval.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade have won 5 times in 17 games and are in 7^th place on 22 points while Edgeworth have won 15 times, are in equal first place and have 47 points. The difference in strength between the two teams is enormous on paper and the encounter with Olympic comes after Edgeworth’s first defeat of the season against Weston at home on Wednesday night!

Another defeat by Olympic will make it very hard for them to claw their way back into the top 5 in the remaining 4 away games of the season. Edgeworth have not had it all their way since the departure of their star player Ryan Feutz who scored 24 goals in 13 games before joining Sydney Olympic. Despite this, after dropping 3 points to Weston midweek they will be itching to get back to their winning ways to try and edge out Broadmeadow Magic for the title.

Can Olympic create another upset on Sunday and become the second team to take away a point or points against Edgeworth in one week or will the later steamroll their way past Darling St Oval?

Kick off at 2:00pm on Sunday 20th July at Darling St Oval.

The remaining five games for Newcastle Olympic are:

No 5 vs Edgeworth on Sunday 20^th July at Darling St Oval

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

Round 19 of the 2025 Northern NSW NPL competition is one that should quickly be forgotten by Newcastle Olympic! Apart from the points secured by both Reserve Grade and First Grade, it had little to offer as a football spectacle.

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade faced Adamstown Rosebud with a depleted line-up reminiscent of the game with Broadmeadow Magic! The difference however, in the game against Magic, we dominated the shots on target by 12-7 whereas in this games, Adamstown dominated by 7-5!

 The first half was so poor as a spectacle, a stark contrast to the first half of the wash out game against Belmont on Tuesday night, that spectators were treated to two shots on goal by Olympic, to Adamstown’s one!

The only incident of note in the first half was a simple tap in goal by Nikolai Zervas that gave us the lead until the 55^th minute when Adamstown equalized with a header from a free kick outside the box! Indeed, the score remained 1-1 until the 68^th minute when Oliver Steinerts finished off a good move with a shot to the far post which the Adamstown goalie could not reach.

Charlie Halls won a penalty in the 79^th minute which he converted to a goal to bring the score to 3-1 in Olympics’ favour while youngster Ibrahim Kamara scored a great goal in the second last minute of the game to make it 4-1.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade entered this game trying to secure the three points against an Adamstown team second from bottom with the second worse defence in the league! The end of the first half produced only one shot on target by each team and naturally a 0-0 scoreline! The same 0-0 scoreline stayed until the end with Adamstown having five shots on target to Olympics’ 3!

This result means that Newcastle Olympic drop into 6^th spot on the ladder, frog leaped by Lambton Jaffas, ahead of next week’s clash with undefeated league leaders Edgeworth Eagles.

The remaining five games for Newcastle Olympic are:

No 5 vs Edgeworth on Sunday 20^th July at Darling St Oval

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

Newcastle Olympic travel to Adamstown Rosebud for Round 19 of the 2025 NPL competition of Northern NSW Football. Reserve Grade will be seeking to win 3 points in their march to the 2025 Premiership while First Grade to ensure they finish the season in the top 5.

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade have had a busy week with two games in three days as well as training! After defeating Lambton Jaffas 3-1 on Sunday and Belmont Swansea 5-0 on Tuesday night, they take on Adamstown Rosebud on Saturday!

The last time these sides met at Darling St Oval Olympic won 6-2! After 10 consecutive wins and then a shock loss to Maitland and draw with Broadmeadow Magic, Olympic have returned to their winning ways and are just six games away from the 2025 Premiership! They lead the Reserve Grade table by 9 points and hope to collect another 3 points against an Adamstown that sits in 7^th spot! Adamstown have managed 6 wins to Olympics’ 12, but in the past five matches they have only managed one win and one draw!

The match is there for Olympic to win but they need to work for it. In the past two games they have shown an incredible hunger, having won and scored all their goals in the first 30 minutes of the game. They need to show similar qualities on Saturday if they are to maintain the consistency they have demonstrated for most of the season.

Kick off 12:00pm at Adamstown Oval on Saturday 12^th July 2025.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade are back in the top five after their win against Lambton Jaffas on Sunday but need to secure the 3 points against Adamstown as there are five teams fighting for two spots in the top 5. The first three positions on the ladder are filled by Edgeworth, Broadmeadow and Weston. The only two remaining spots for a chance to participate in the finals are being contested by Charlestown, Olympic, Lambton Jaffas, Maitland and Cooks Hill. The remaining six matches will determine which two teams secure 4^th and 5^th spot!

Whilst Olympic have waited for a long time to record their 5^th win of the season, the match against Adamstown is the first of five away fixtures until the end of the season! They certainly have the strength to defeat Adamstown on Saturday but the Rosebuds will be battling to secure 3 points to distance themselves from the bottom end of the table.

Whilst the wooden spoon looks like ending up with New Lambton who are on 6 points, Adamstown and Valentine share second last spot on 13 points, with Belmont Swansea just above them on 15! In the remaining 6 matches they need to be in front of either Valentine or Belmont to remain in the division next year.

 Kick off 2:00pm at Adamstown Oval on Saturday 12^th July 2025.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade march towards the 2025 Premiership with an emphatic 5-0 crushing of Belmont Swansea in a Round 11 deferred fixture at the LMRFF in Speers Point on Tuesday night! This comes only a day after disposing Lambton Jaffas 3-1 at Darling St Oval in Round 18 of the competition.

Any notion of underestimating their opponent was wiped out on Tuesday night when a minute into the game Olympic were 1-0 up through a thunderbolt from outside the box from midfield ace George Tsamouras! No sooner had celebrations settled it was the turn of winger Charlie Halls to make it 2-0 within the second minute of the game!

The artificial surface of Speers Point was ideal for the slick one touch and two touch passing by the Olympic team which at times made their Belmont counter parts appear to be chasing shadows into the night! In the 17^th minute a well taken free kick from outside the box by George Tsamouras served the ball perfectly to Jed Hornery who scored the third goal for Olympic and put the result beyond doubt!

Hornery added another two goals in the 22^nd  and 31^st  minutes to record his hat trick for the night and send Olympic 5-0 up at the half time break! To the credit of the Belmont Swansea team, their players did not throw in the towel and in the second half they threw everything at Olympic to try and get a consolation goal, but it was not meant to be! Having secured the result, Olympic spent the second half giving playing time to players normally on the bench.

This result gives Olympic 37 points on the table and 12 wins and one draw from 16 games! They are 9 points in front of second placed Maitland. Instead of looking behind, all they need is to win their remaining 6 games against Adamstown (a), Edgeworth (h), Cook Hill (a), New Lambton (a) Belmont (a) and Weston (a) and they collect the 2025 Premiership!

Given that they have led the competition for most of the season, all they need is to focus on each game at a time.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade, fresh from their 3-1 win over Lambton Jaffas on Sunday afternoon take on Belmont Swansea United FC in a Round 11 catch up game that was deferred due to poor weather. The fixture resembles a David and Goliath affair and hopefully for the boys in blue, David isn’t successful on this occasion!

Olympic are cruising in first place on the points table with 34 points while Belmont are in 11^th spot on 13 points! The difference in strength between the two teams is enormous and Olympic are favourites to collect the 3 points and advance further on the points table in their quest of conquering the Premiership.

Belmont have only won four games all season and were able to salvage a 1-1 away draw on Saturday against Weston. Olympic played on Sunday and will have had one day less to prepare for the Tuesday night fixture at Speers Point.

Despite the obvious difference in strength between the two teams a lot will depend on player availability for this midweek fixture and on mental preparation. Underestimating your opponent is something that Olympic will need to avoid if they are to collect another 3 points.

Kick off 6:15pm at LMRFF Speers Point on Tuesday 8^th July 2025.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic defeated Lambton Jaffas 3-1 in both Grades at Darling St Oval to cement Reserve Grade’s lead and resurrect First Grade’s chances for a top 5 finish! Olympic dominated both games and deserved the 3 points attained.

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade, at full strength, had little problem dominating a quality Lambton Jaffas and securing 3 points on Sunday afternoon! With a ratio of 10 to 3 of shots on target and a 10-2 corner count, the hunger and domination of Olympic was obvious. They completed the demolition of Jaffas within 30 minutes through goals from Charlie Halls 13’, Lucas Walshe 23’ and Jed Hornery 30’.

They then spent the rest of the game ensuring their opponents couldn’t get back into the game by being compact and seeking to catch them on the counterattack. Jaffas played a high press game and were able to secure a consolation goal through Joshua Culjak in the 50^th minute but they never even looked like threatening to get a result.

This was the 11^th win of the season for Olympic, after a loss and draw over the past two games against Maitland and Broadmeadow Magic. It was a match they had to win to ensure they could lead the table into the final 7 games of the season. The reason why it is important is because it was achieved against a Jaffas side which entered the game following a 5-game winning streak.

Olympic now have a recovery day on Monday and on Tuesday night take on Belmont Swansea United FC at Speers Point in a wash out fixture from Round 11.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade recorded their 5^th win of the season and their first since Round 8, 14^th April! Although their game with Jaffas was a lot more even, proceedings began with a stunning shot from distance from young Adam Zervas in 17^th minute. Jaffas replied in the 28^th minute with an equally impressive goal by ex-Olympic player Lachlan Griffiths.

Roy O’Donovan put Olympic 2-1 ahead in the first minute of the second half and an own goal in the 58^th minute by Jaffas gave the home side the cushion they needed to see out the long-awaited win.

This brings Olympic back into 5^th spot on 21 points with Charlestown in 4^th spot on 24. Several teams with games in hand just outside the top 5 could still claim 5^th spot but from now until the end of the season 4^th and 5^th are the only positions up for grabs given that the first three belong to Edgeworth, Broadmeadow Magic and Weston!

Hopefully this win can propel Olympic to a burst of winning form on the final 6 First Grade games of the season.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic are scheduled to host Lambton Jaffas in Round 18 of the Northern NSW NPL competition. Given the poor weather during the week there is no guarantee the match will go ahead! If it does, both Reserve Grade and First Grade are in desperate need of the 3 points against a tough Lambton Jaffas opponent.

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade boasted an incredible 10 game winning streak until two weeks ago and were ahead in first place by as many as 9 points! A defeat and a draw later and although still in first place, Olympic can feel the breath of Cooks Hill in 2^nd place!

Lambton Jaffas are in great form winning the past five consecutive games and will be seeking revenge for the 3-0 defeat they suffered at Arthur Eden Oval earlier in the year. The problem that Olympic are experiencing is poor finishing by their front line. Although there are no absences due to suspensions, injury and the possibility of players being drafted to help in First Grade may continue to affect the team in this game as well.

Kick off 2:30pm at Darling St Oval on Sunday 6^th July, 2025

Newcastle Olympic First Grade have dropped out of the top five and if they don’t secure the 3 points against Lambton Jaffas could find themselves at the bottom half of the points table! Whilst Lambton Jaffas boast one win, one draw and three losses in their last five games, Newcastle Olympic have not won a game since Round 8 on the 11^th April!

Olympic sit in 6^th position on 18 points and Lambton Jaffas is in 7^th, one point behind. There is little difference between the two sides but Olympic was very competitive during their 1-0 loss to Broadmeadow Magic last week. Could this be the game in which they can return to their winning ways?

Kick off 2:30pm at Darling St Oval on Sunday 6^th July, 2025

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic played out a 2-2 draw in Reserve Grade against Broadmeadow Magic and were narrowly defeated 1-0 in First Grade. Both games were closely contested affairs with luck not being on the side of the boys in blue.

A depleted Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade took the field against their arch-rivals and found themselves behind within the opening 3 minutes from a great header by Angus Mcleod! By the 26^th minute the same player scored again with a stunning shot from distance! At this point in the game, the result looked like a forgone conclusion and the only question was by how many goals!

Due to injury, suspension and players being drafted to play in First Grade, the Olympic team fielded three players who had never started before and some playing in positions they had never played before! Despite this, the end of the first half found Magic going to the dressing room with a 2-0 lead and the shots on goal, 4 a piece! The obvious area for concern for Olympic being the attack!

In the second half Olympic settled their nerves and despite their poor finishing were able to peg a goal back through a penalty. A free kick won by George Tsamouras in the 58^th minute and taken by the same player caused so much panic inside the Magic box that Charlie Halls was wrestled to the ground! The ensuing penalty was executed by Oliver Steinerts who scored by sending the keeper the wrong way.

By the 65^th minute a sustained attack by Olympic resulted in a number of players shooting from inside the box and when the ball fell nicely to midfielder George Tsamouras, he placed it in the top right-hand corner to bring the game back to 2-2. Chances were created by both teams to win the game but the score remained at 2-2.

The most revealing statistic of the game were the 12-7 shots on target in favour of Olympic. This showed how much they dominated, especially in the second half, but also how poor their finishing was up front! To the credit of the players of both teams, not a single card was shown by the referee throughout the game!

If the 12-7 shots on target demonstrated the domination of Olympic in Reserve Grade, the same could not be said about the action in First Grade! Despite the 16 point gap on the points table between the two teams, the game was so close that at the end of the first half, the shots at goal were merely 3 a piece with two on target for Magic to 0 for Olympic.

Indeed, the only highlights of the first half were a yellow card to Luke Ruttledge in the 32^nd minute and a very well executed cross and goal for Magic in the 43^rd minute! Jack Simmons received a pass out wide on the left, he was able to beat Jye Rodway to the bye line and after a perfectly whipped ball across the face of the Olympic goal, James Cresnar tapped the ball into the net!

Olympic came close to levelling the score in the 55^th minute when Kyle Bradbery struck the Magic woodwork but disaster struck for the blues when in the 58^th minute they were reduced to 10 men after Luke Ruttledge received a second yellow card and had to exit the game! Despite this Olympic continued to hunt for an equalizer until the very end but to no avail! The only good opportunity for a goal in the second half was a long range shot by Magic which was saved by the Olympic goalkeeper, Adam Pearce.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Round 17 of the Northern NSW NPL brings together Newcastle Olympic and Broadmeadow Magic at Darling St Oval. The Reserve Grade of both teams are sulking over defeats from the previous round while in First Grade Broadmeadow Magic appear stronger on paper.

Newcastle Olympic and Broadmeadow Magic have played 13 games and in Reserve Grade the boys in blue are in 1^st spot on 30 points while the visitors in 3^rd place on 23 points. Olympic witnessed a 10 game winning streak come to an end when they were narrowly defeated in the previous round 1-0 by Maitland. Magic went down 1-0 to Lambton Jaffas midweek and have only 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses in their past five games.

The break caused by 3-4 weeks of wash out fixtures due to the weather has certainly affected the momentum of both teams. Despite where they sit on the table when these two teams meet any result is possible as the matches are a local derby!

In the fixture at Magic Park earlier in the season Magic dominated play in the first half and pulled away to a 2-0 lead before Olympic reversed the domination and won the match 4-2! Both teams are similar in attack but in defence Magic have leaked in 7 more goals than Olympic!

Given that it is a derby and given that both lost last week, both teams will be out to restore their pride! Will Olympic return to their winning ways and make it a double against their arch-rival or will Magic avenge the 4-2 loss on home soil from earlier in the year?

Kick off at 12:00pm on Sunday 29^th June 2025 at Darling St Oval

Newcastle Olympic and Broadmeadow Magic First Grade appear to have some difference between them on paper! Newcastle Olympic are in 5^th spot on the table with 18 points while Broadmeadow Magic are in 2^nd spot on 34 points! An incredible 16 point gap exists between the two teams and while Magic have had only one loss and one draw all season, winning all the rest, Olympic have not won since Round 8 on the 11^th April!

In the fixture between the two teams earlier in the year Olympic lost 2-1 at Magic Park despite dominating play! Since then Magic have continued to show a level of consistency that has made the competition a two horse race with Edgeworth. Olympic on the other hand have found scoring difficult of late resulting in them accumulating 6 draws, the equal highest of the competition!

Regardless of position on the table and statistics all games between these two teams are a derby and any result is possible.

Will Olympic break the ice and win their first game since April or will Magic continue their journey at the top by defeating their rival at Darling St Oval?

Kick off at 2:00pm on Sunday 29^th June 2025 at Darling St Oval

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Newcastle Olympic struggled against Maitland FC losing 1-0 in Reserve Grade and drawing 1-1 in First Grade. Reserve Grade lost in the 87^th minute a match which they should have won while First Grade drew a game during which the referee dished out eight yellow cards and one red!

Newcastle Olympic Reserve Grade saw their 10 consecutive game winning streak come to an end when they conceded a goal in the 87^th minute despite having many chances to score throughout the game. The two highlights of the game were poor finishing by both teams and inconsistent refereeing!

Olympic began the game well with an appeal for a penalty coming within the first minute of the game when midfielder George Tsamouras was brought down inside the box! This was followed by two further incidents involving Jed Hornery who was brought down twice in the box and the referee waved on play before the disbelieving eyes of the Olympic faithful!

What followed were some physical challenges that were waved on by the referee while others were pulled up! Olympic had the chance to open the score with two well struck shots by Walshe in the 30^th and Steinerts in the 34^th minute that were saved by the Maitland keeper and a volley by Tsamouras in the 41^st minute that shaded the wrong side of the post! Olympic had 11 shots on goal to Maitland’s 4 by the end of the half.

With the start of the second half Jed Hornery charged towards goal and after side stepping a Maitland defender and lining up a shot with only the goalkeeper to beat, he was pulled down from behind by the defender with both arms stretched over his shoulders! This was a classic case of a “professional foul” but the referee only gave the defender a yellow card!

Olympic continued to pressure the Maitland goal and came close 5 minutes later through a header by Lucas Walshe which grazed the post! In the 64^th minute a good combination between Townsend and Walshe resulted in a cross which deflected off a Maitland player and came off the post! Maitland also had some shots on goal but also to no avail.

In the 79^th minute the most controversial incident of the game occurred. During a physical challenge in the middle of the field Louis Townsend was shown a yellow card and a foul was given to Maitland. While the Maitland team prepared to take the free kick the referee consulted his linesman, returned and showed the Olympic player a straight red!

As soon as play resumed a Maitland cross from the right found the hand of an Olympic defender and the referee pointed to the penalty spot! Suddenly, a game which Olympic was dominating but was unable to score looked like it was about to be lost! Maitland took the penalty and the Olympic goalkeeper, Issac Quinn, pulled off a double save to keep the ball out of his net!

The golden rule in football, if you fail to capitalize when you dominate you get punished in the end, applied to this game too. A through ball by Maitland in the 87^th minute found an attacking player who had enough time to shoot and despite a great effort by Issac Quinn, the Olympic keeper was unable to stop the ball from bouncing into his net.

Maitland players were over the moon with the goal and result while the ten game winning streak by Olympic came to an end.

Newcastle Olympic First Grade continued with a 4-4-2 formation, the same as in the match with Valentine, in the Round 16 NPL match with Maitland FC.  In the first 15 minutes the game was even with neither team being able to find openings and looking to maintain possession.     

In the 16^th minute the Maitland goalkeeper failed to come off his line to collect the ball and a number of headers inside the box resulted in the ball falling at the feet of Roy O’Donovan who scored from a position harder to miss! By the half hour mark, little had changed with both teams trying to exploit the flanks but with very little goal mouth action at either end.

Slowly the tempo of the game began to rise with play being switched from right to left and vice versa. Maitland had a goal disallowed for offside in the 40^th minute but despite the quick movement of the ball neither side was able to open each other’s defense with a clear goal scoring opportunity. Just before half time it was Olympics’ turn to score from an offside position. By half time, Olympic had recorded only 3 shots at goal to Maitland’s 2!

The second half was a mirror of the first with quick movement of the ball by both teams but little goal mouth action. Maitland’s equalizer came in the 59^th minute when the Olympic goalkeeper failed to hold a long rang effort and the rebound landed at the feet of a Magpie forward who had no difficulty guiding the ball to the back of the net.

The half continued with individual flashes of brilliance by players in front of goal but due to the numbers in defense by both teams, no breach could be made to the stalemate. As the game wore on fatigue began to set in and yellow cards began to take their toll. The culmination occurred in the 85^th minute when a two footed tackle from behind resulted in Roy O’Donovan seeing a red card and Olympic being reduced to 10 players until the end of the match. The game ended 1-1 which is a fair result based on the efforts of both teams.

Source: Tom Tsamouras