Sydney Olympic withstood a late surge to come out on top in an important battle with St George City with a 2-1 win at Jubilee Stadium on Saturday evening to give their finals push a vital boost.

It is a crucial victory for Olympic in their fight for a top six finish, especially as they prepare for an incredibly challenging run of games that will see them face three top four teams as well as rivals Sydney United 58.

The Blues seized the lead in the 11^th minute after defender Nathan Grimaldi missed the ball in an attempted header back to his keeper, with Ryan Feutz pouncing on the ball and slotting it into the bottom right corner.

Olympic pushed for a second and nearly found it in the 17^th minute after Zac Zoricich found some space on the left-hand side of the box, with the right back releasing a shot on his left that forced a strong save out of goalkeeper Jack Kenny.

The hosts eventually found their second in the 21^st minute through a penalty that was won by Ziggy Gordon, with Teng Kuol stepping up to the spot and drilling it down the middle.

St George came agonisingly close to halving the deficit in the 40^th minute following a well-worked counter-attack that saw Levi Sciuriaga release a strong strike on goal, with the ball hitting Olympic shot stopper Jack Gibson’s outstretched hand and deflecting onto the post.

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Sciuriaga had another chance quickly after in the 45^th minute when he managed to dribble find some space down the right side of the box, though Gibson again prevailed as he rushed off his line and got his feet in the way of the winger’s shot.

Olympic’s Dylan Ruiz-Diaz looked to make it three in the 54^th minute with a solid effort towards the right side of the net, though Kenny kept it out with a strong diving save.

Ruiz-Diaz had the chance to make up for it in the 59^th minute, this time releasing a shot towards the left side of the goal only for Kenny to intervene once more with another committed diving save.

The visitors breathed life into the clash in the 81^st minute after a corner kick saw the ball fall to Noah Ovens, who managed to guide it over Gibson to get his team back into the game.

Despite City’s late push, the Blues held on strong to seal maximum points.

Olympic coach Labinot Haliti could not contain his pride in his players following the game.

“The people who are not watching games are missing out on something,” a jubilant Haliti told Football NSW.

“This is the youngest team that has been at the club. Come support and watch how they play and see how much effort they are putting in. The boys are brilliant, and I just want them to be supported.”

The highly anticipated Greek derby in the National Premier League Victoria between Heidelberg United (Alexander) and South Melbourne (Hellas Melbourne) ended in a 1–1 draw on Saturday afternoon at Olympic Village in Round 24.

In what was a high-tempo and fiercely contested encounter, both sides created several goal-scoring opportunities, but were ultimately let down by wasteful finishing and superb goalkeeping at both ends.

Despite missing seven key players, South Melbourne struck first through Charlie Leech in the 25th minute. However, the hosts responded in the second half, with Sabit Ngor James levelling the scores in the 65th minute.

The result sees Heidelberg United maintain their position at the top of the table with 55 points, narrowly ahead of Avondale (52 points), who face a tough away fixture next Saturday.

Football Australia has confirmed the completion of another milestone for the Australian Championship, with the conclusion of a third National Second Tier (NST) Request for Proposal (RFP) Application Process on Monday 21 July 2025.

Following the announcement on 31 October 2024, that the NST competition would commence in 2025, Football Australia also committed to a third NST Request for Proposal (RFP) process to select additional clubs to participate in the Australian Championship.

This third NST RFP process was expanded to target clubs outside of the initial Expression of Interest process and predominantly from underrepresented States and Territories.

At the conclusion of this process, Football Australia did not receive any fully compliant bid proposals but was encouraged with the prospect that additional clubs may be in a stronger position to join in the future.

The outcome of this NST RFP process reinforces Football Australia’s commitment to ensuring the competition is set up to succeed with strong clubs and an appropriate format and structure to provide a commercially appealing model for the NST, operating under the Australian Championship brand, to grow sustainably in the future.

Over the past two years, Football Australia has actively engaged and evaluated as many as 25 clubs against the NST RFP framework providing us with a deep understanding as to the capacity of these clubs to meet technical and financial benchmarks resulting in eight Foundation Clubs.

With the competition launching on Friday, 10 October 2025, Football Australia will continue to monitor club standards and performance within the confines of the Australian Championship to evaluate club development both on and off the field before determining any further NST RFP processes.

The eight Foundation Clubs of APIA Leichhardt FC, Avondale FC, Marconi Stallions FC, Preston Lions FC, South Melbourne FC, Sydney Olympic FC, Sydney United 58 FC, and Wollongong Wolves FC have been granted automatic access to play in the Australian Championship for a period of up to 5 years conditional upon continuing to meet key licensing standards.

The inaugural Australian Championship will launch with two blockbuster opening round fixtures set to launch a bold new chapter for Australian football. 

Opening Fixtures

• Friday, 10 October – South Melbourne FC v Sydney Olympic FC at Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne
• Saturday, 11 October – Preston Lions FC v NPL Premier (NSW)* at BT Connor Reserve, Melbourne

Following six rounds of group stage matches, the top two teams from each group will advance to a knockout Finals Series, culminating in the Championship Final on 6 December. This structure has been designed to ensure the competition model is sustainable while maintaining a high degree of competitive integrity and commercial appeal.

Football Australia Interim Chief Executive Officer, Heather Garriock, said, “The Australian Championship is a priority for Football Australia and an exciting new addition to our domestic football calendar which brings together historic Foundation Clubs and NPL champions to celebrate the very best of domestic club football in Australia.”

“This is another important milestone we have completed as part of a rigorous due-diligence process to ensure the long-term success of the Australian Championship,” Mr Garriock added.

“This RFP process has been an invaluable exercise in terms of providing a clear picture as to the current state of readiness across the domestic club eco system in Australia, and we will continue to monitor the progress of potential clubs.

“I want to thank all the Foundation Clubs and Member Associations who are working very hard to establish this new competition and make sure that it is set up for continued long-term success.”

CommBank Junior Matildas Head Coach Michael Cooper has confirmed a 33-player extended squad ahead of the ASEAN U16 Girls’ Championships 2025™ to be held in Indonesia from Monday, 18 August to Friday, 29 August.

The squad, which will be cut to 23 prior to the competition, were drawn in Group C earlier this week alongside Singapore and Thailand, with Group A featuring the host nation Indonesia, Malaysia, and Timor-Leste, and Group B made up of Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

The ASEAN U16 Girls’ Championships 2025™ will be the first time this group of CommBank Junior Matildas represent Australia, as well as their first international competition.

Michael Cooper said that every player in the squad has earnt their place and he is excited to lead the team in their first international competition.

“It is exciting for us to begin to lay the foundations for the next generation of CommBank Junior Matildas,” Cooper said.

“Over the last few months, the team and I have been watching and assessing emerging talent from across a range of Australia’s elite youth development pathways and the extended squad is a reflection of this.

“We’ve worked closely with Member Federations and clubs to ensure we’re casting the net wide and giving players the opportunity to show what they can bring to the national team setup. This has included talent identification at the CommBank Emerging Matildas Championships last week.

“With that said, the door is open for individuals not named in this extended squad to be part of the future of the Junior Matildas training camps and tournaments.

“What is key to me is that we have players and staff that buy into our culture where development, performance and growth is just as important off the pitch as on.

“We are keen to create a challenging and supportive environment within the CommBank Junior Matildas that inspires young players to dream big and to take ownership of their journey. It is important that every member of the team buys into this as well.

“Our role is to introduce the CommBank Junior Matildas to international competition, guide them through their first experience of representing Australia, while also preparing the team for the Qualifiers later this year.

“The ASEAN U16 Girls’ Championships 2025™ is the first crucial step in preparing for the upcoming AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup 2026™ and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2026™, and it will help us identify the strengths of the group and how to best support them as we enter other international competitions.”

The ASEAN U-16 Women’s Championship is an international women’s youth football tournament organised by ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and this is its fifth edition.

Returning after a five-year hiatus, the 2025 AFF U16 Women’s Championship features nine participating teams, maintaining the number from previous editions held in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

A notable change this year is the group format: instead of two groups, the teams are now divided into three groups of three, playing in a single round-robin format. The top team from each group and the best-performing second-placed team will advance to the semi-finals.

COMMBANK JUNIOR MATILDAS | ASEAN U16 2025™ EXTENDED SQUAD | JULY 2025