By Peter Kambounias

Sydney Olympic scored an emphatic 4-3 win over APIA Leichhardt Tigers in their re-scheduled Round 21 TeleChoice Premier League game at a soft-under-foot Lambert Park.  Three of Olympic's goals were absolute delights while the other came from the penalty spot.

Siraj Al Tall's brilliant header, Roger Galayini's ripper and Peter Zorbas' rocket were all worth the price of normal admission but because of the events of last Sunday the game was free for all to attend.  The spectators that braved the cold certainly got their just rewards as they saw one of the games of the season.

Some fans were mildly dissapointed after the game considering the goal of reaching second place was not made significantly easier.  Before the game Olympic had to win both against APIA on the night and Sydney United in the last round and hope Sutherland defeat Wollongong in the last round as well - and Olympic had to bridge a six goal advantage that the Wolves hold over the Blues.

Now the equation has been reduced to five goals and a depleted Sydney United outfit may represent a few goals value there but the picture should have been very different after Olympic were dominant against the Tigers, particularly in the second half.

There were some key changes to the starting personnel in APIA v Olympic 'take two'.  Referee Kris Griffith Jones was replaced by Atila Stibinger.  In goals Michael Herbet was replaced by Sam Emmanouil.  On the bench Milan Blagojevic was replaced by Technical Director Manny Spanoudakis.  Blagojevic was serving a one match touchline ban issued by Football NSW following the Tiger Turf Quarter Final tie against Marconi Stallions.

Olympic may have more problems as penalty scorer Matthew Mayora revealed that he came off early in the second half due to a groin injury and he believes he may miss Sunday's match against Sydney United and possibly the Tiger Turf Cup Final against Bankstown City.

On Sunday the Lambert Park surface looked like a tractor had run a plough over it.  Last night it appeared that a heavy roller had done a few laps on it.  Though the field looked flat it also had more brown than green, and the grandstand side referee's assistant had some 'interesting times' negotiating the mud on the sideline.  The muddy surface proved to be the undoing of a few players during the game with some slip-and-slide action, but overall the players rose above the poor surface to put on a great Premier League game.

Olympic was first to pounce with a goal in the 6th minute.  A corner from the right by Shannon Cole was aimed into the mixer and Siraj Al Tall rose above all to direct a powerful header past Matthew Nash's right arm and into the net.

The goal was just what the Olympic fans ordered but their joy was short lived.  Robert Younis' lob over Sam Emmanouil in the next minute put both sides level.  It was a preview of things to come.

Cole sent a great free kick at goal from way out but Nash was able to gather with ease and Al Tall came close in the 14th when his near post poke managed to go just wide right with Nash beaten.

With the game settling down and both sides adapting to the sloshy conditions, it was Olympic that regained the lead out of nowhere in the 27th minute.  Roger Galayini was already having a big game with uncompromising tackles and brave runs through the midfield, so when the ball came to him several metres outside the box he decided to hit it first time and the shot had too much dip and curl for Nash.  It was a wonder goal.

As ws the case with Olympic's first, the fans only enjoyed the lead for a short stint.  Five minutes later APIA equalised again, this time through an accurately directed header from Joseph Bruni was left unmarked at the near post and beat Emmanouil at the near post too.  APIA came ever so close to going 3-2 up in the 37th however

Matthew Jurman cleared the ball off the goal line following an APIA corner that was met with a goal-bound chip that had Emmanouil beat but not Jurman on the line.

With minutes left of the first half it was Olympic that would take the lead for a third time.  Shannon Cole's 43rd minute corner was sent into a crowded penalty area.  Younis' attempt to clear the ball was a clear case of handball - every Olympic supporter yelled it out.  Referee Stibinger was unsighted but his assistant had a much better view and he advised Stibinger who duly pointed to the penalty spot.  Mayora took the responsibility and hit a hard unstoppable penalty strike to send Olympic into the break in front.

The second half kicked off and so too did Olympic's desire to rack up a goal difference.  Three minutes in and Milorad Simonovic let go of a volley from long range that went wide right.  Simonovic had a poor game by his standards, probably due to the playing surface that was not condusive to his intricate style of play.

Galayini burst with another run straight upfield in the 50th and he slid to a free Al Tall to his right and only with Nash in front of him.  Al Tall looked set to score Olympic's foruth but he went too close to Nash who managed to smother the chance at Al Tall's feet.

In the 56th Younis had the ball in the Olympic penalty area and was about to shoot but Jurman shuffled him off the ball in what looked like a case of a penalty for the home side but Stibinger waved APIA's claims away.  At the other end Shannon Cole, encouraged by the Olympic fans in the stands, beat his marker with ease on the right flank and fired in a low cross that Al Tall connected but just off target.  Olympic were really pressing for more goals.

Galayini, Olympic's best on field, thought he might try another audacious attempt from distance in the 68th after another big run saw him pass to Cole on the right and then he got the ball back and volleyed over the bar.

Simonovic was replaced by Peter Zorbas just a minute before Galayini's strike and a minute after it Zorby lit up the night sky with a rocket.  He picked up the ball and scampered towards the penalty area.  Before he got there he unleashed a sizzler reminiscent of his super goal against Bankstown City at Belmore Sports Ground.  Nash had no chance at all.  Zorby was immediately set upon by his team mates and a pile of players in the mud had Zorby at the bottom of it.

Substitute Anthony Doumanis added the spices to the drive to get more goals and his low shot inthe 73rd had Nash working overtime.  It was clear that everyone wanted to be a scorer.  Zorby fancied his chances of glory again in the 75th.  He received the ball from Doumanis lay up and ran towards the 'D' where he let go of another powerful shot that was too hot for Nash to catch forcing him to punch the ball clear.

In the 77th Cole dazzled the crowd with a magic run past three APIA defenders and then slipped a nice pass for substitute James Kovas who ran into a yawning gap in the middle of the APIA defence and found himself onside with only Nash to beat but Kovas ended up too close to Nash and by that time was too late to pull the trigger.

Al Tall was next on the list of suitors for goal number five.  He too found himself all alone behind the APIA defence in similar fashion to Kovas earlier.  This time it was Zorbas and Nathan Sherlock that combined to put the Jordanian international in front of goal.  Al Tall got to the ball first and chipped Nash.  Al Tall followed the ball and the Olympic fans were ready to cheer Olympic's fifth goal but the ball shaved the right upright and had missed. 

Al Tall again came oh so close in the 89th when his shot beat Nash but not the last APIA defender who cleared the danger. 

The final piece of action fell to the home side who pegged the score back to 4-3 through a neat poke by Daniel Clifford who was left unmarked in the penalty area and had little difficulty in converting his opportunity.  The goal may play a vital part in Olympic's quest for the coveted second spot and the avoidance of a trip to Miranda or Cringila in week one of the semi finals.

Despite the close margin on the scoreboard it just has to be said that Sydney Olympic is producing some exceptional play and the team is oozing with confidence, something that is putting big smiles on Olympic's success starved supporters.   How APIA escaped with a 4-3 loss is still bemusing.  Olympic could have made it 7 or 8 goals especially in the second half.

All roads lead to Belmore Sports Ground for Olympic's final round game against the desperate Sydney United side. 

APIA LEICHHARDT TIGERS 3 (Younis 7' Bruni 32' Clifford 90') defeated by SYDNEY OLYMPIC 4 (Al Tall 6' Galayini 27' Mayora (pen) 44' Zorbas 69') at Lambert Park, Leichhardt

SYDNEY OLYMPIC: Sam Emmanouil, Emmanuel Zunino, Mirko Jurilj, Nathan Sherlock, Matthew Jurman, Shannon Cole, Milorad Simonovic (67' Peter Zorbas), Roger Galayini, Matthew Mayora (51' Anthony Doumanis), Anthony Hartshorn (77' James Kovas), Siraj Al Tall