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 11th 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 17th 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 21st 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 40th 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.
Sciuriaga had another chance quickly after in the 45th 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 54th 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 59th 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 81st 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.”
