On a pitch still wearing the scars of recent rugby league matches, Belmore Sports Ground was treated to fancy foot work, strong challenges and vocal support which would rival that of some A-League sides.
Sydney Olympic took on Sydney United for a spot in the Grand Final of the NSW Premier League in the true Battle of Sydney.
There is no doubt that Sydney Olympic have been one of the best sides in the competition this season. The boys in blue have gone through a lot in the past few weeks – the department and subsequent arrival of Alex Smith, as well as the constant fighting for spots in the starting side on game day being prime examples.
They were also under pressure having been named the best state league side on numerous occasions by numerous The Football Sack writers.
Sydney United however have been a constant threat for Olympic, always just quietly sitting behind them on the ladder, waiting for Olympic to slip up.
With the likes of Ufuk Talay controlling the midfield and Ivo Bosnar being the brick wall stopping most teams from even thinking about having a shot on goal, head coach Jean-Paul DeMarigny has created a side who have an unpredictable factor to their play – which at the end of the day could prove the difference.
Both sides looked mentally and physically ready for battle during their warm ups and when the starting whistle was blown it was apparent this was not an average football match, this was war.
Olympic set out their side in a 4-4-2 shape with Chris Triantis and David Gullo dominating the wings and providing pin point accurate crosses for Robbie Mileski and Alex Smith who were left to do what they do best, take shots on goal.
United featured a 4-1-3-2 structure which saw Mitchell Speer and Michael Cindric in charge of keeping Olympic’s strikers quiet whilst Steve Hayes was deployed behind the strikers to provide the killer through-ball.
It didn’t take long for Olympic to have their first shot on goal, 30 seconds after kick off, Alex Smith had a great opportunity which he scuffed wide. The supporters were definitely pleased with the attempt and immediately let out their infamous “O-LYM-PIC! O-LYM-PIC!” war cry.
By the 20th minute of the match both sides had clocked up over five shots on goal, however Olympic still looked most likely to open the scoring with 2 shots on target forcing United ‘keeper Vedran Janjetovic into a number of quality saves.
With just 10 minutes left of the first half Olympic were awarded a corner. Chris Triantis jogged over, put his head down and launched the ball into the box, Richie Luksic who would normally be seen saving goals not scoring them, managed to out-jump everyone and knock the ball into the back of the net.
The cheer from not only the crowd but also the players just proved how important that goal was before the break.
As a new batch of Souvlaki was put on the BBQ the referee blew for half time, but not without giving Olympic ‘keeper Paul Henderson a yellow card for time wasting on a goal kick.
The second half kicked off with Olympic trying to tame the elements as Alex Smith’s shot was carried away in the wind well wide of the post. No one looked more disappointed with that shot than him. However the Olympic supporters weren’t left waiting long before there was something to cheer about.
In the 55th minute Olympic were awarded another corner, this time David Gullo lined up to send the ball in. It looked to be going out beyond the goal but was knocked back into play by Luksic and an unmarked Emmanuel Giannaros headed the ball into the net.
The cheers from the Olympic supporters was immense, and United’s players dropped their heads which was to ultimately be their demise.
As the second half continued Ufuk Talay looked off pace and mentally drained.
He was replaced by Peter Markovic who provided not only width for a United side who overall looked tired but also brought Ben Vidaic and Elsid Barhousir more into the game.
As the final whistle echoed around the stand at Belmore, Olympic’s supporters could be heard celebrating for miles. The change room was full of joy and celebration knowing they had just secured a place in the 2011 NSW Premier League Grand Final, defeating Sydney United 2-0 in front of just over 3500 spectators.
United coach Jean-Paul DeMarigny was upset that his side was beaten by two set pieces, however was impressed with the character his side showed during the game.
“I thought our passing game was very good, put a lot of pressure on them. They played very direct, and I thought we handled that very well.”
Despite losing today Sydney United are not out of the competition yet. They’ll play Blacktown City FC next weekend at a venue yet to be confirmed.
“Blacktown was always a dark horse of the competition. Defensively they are very strong, but we’re very much looking forward to next week” DeMarigny said.
There was no-one happier than Sydney Olympic head coach Peter Tsekenis.
“We stuck to our game plan. Conditions were ordinary with the wind in the first half but we scored a couple of good goals and that’s what matters.”
“We’ve done our job – all along it was to get into the Grand Final. I’m confident, the boys have done great all year. It’s up to the boys now to go ahead and win the competition.”
When asked who Olympic would prefer to go up against in the Final, Blacktown or United, Tsenkenis simply replied:
“I just want to play against the team thats going to lose against us in the final”.
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