Sydney Olympic FC secured the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Premiership with a sensational 2-0 defeat of Blacktown City at Belmore Sportground on Sunday evening.
The high press of Sydney Olympic at the start of the match never allowed Blacktown to settle in the early stages with a high-tempo approach and the realisation of what was on the line.
Roy O’Donovan opened the scoring on the day, his twentieth goal of the season for Sydney Olympic, with a towering header from a Parkhouse cross in the 23rd minute.
City coach, Mark Crittenden, rang the changes for the second half bringing on Charles Mendy and Mitch Mallia for Carlos De Oliviera and Jordan Smylie respectively.
In the 58th minute, a defensive mix-up between Campbell and Robinson allowed O’Donovan to nip in and net his second goal of the match and, perhaps, earn him the Golden Boot outright for his 21st of the campaign.
A raft of yellow cards for the visitors including two to Daniel Collins ensured Blacktown wouldn’t finish the match with a full compliment on the pitch and the points going to Olympic in an epic battle for the top spot.
Crittenden was gracious in defeat at the whistle and said “at the end of the day we simply weren’t good enough.”
An obviously jubilant Sydney Olympic coach, Ante Juric, was delighted with the result.
“We dominated at home, which is nice, and is something we obviously wanted to do,” he said.
“It was important we did that with so many fans here but it was very tense out on the pitch and I’m super proud of how they played and the passion and commitment was plain to see.
“The guys didn’t want to concede any goals and the way they defended showed that clearly but I can’t praise this group of lads highly enough. To go down to the wire and become Premiers on the final day is special and we’ll enjoy the moment before we get our heads together for the finals games.”
Source: Football NSW.
