By Peter Kambounias

Sydney Olympic scored a thumping 4-2 win against a very formidable Marconi Stallions outfit at Seymour Shaw Park in Round Three of the Johnny Warren Cup.

In a very entertaining match played under oppressive humidity, it was Olympic's first half performance that glowed on the synthetic pitch.

Olympic were just too fast and far more effective than their counterparts and the two Marconi goals came totally against the run of play.

New Olympic coach Milan Blagojevic praised his side after the match.

"We dominated the first half hour.  The boys responded quite well and proved that they have not only the playing ability but also character," Milan commented.

"I wasn't happy with the two goals that we conceded but it's a learning curve for us.  The work ethic and the football was pleasing to the eye and we got the result in the end."

Olympic rested Emmanuel Zunino and Peter Zorbas from Saturday night's game against Wollongong, while Matthew Mayora (ex Bonnyrigg White Eagles) and Anthony Hartshorn (ex APIA Leichhardt) were out due to injuries suffered in the Wollongong game.

The pulsating action all started as early as the second minute when Michael Cindric slipped a delicate through ball to powerhouse striker Paul Wither (ex Blacktown) who had plenty of time to shoot but sprayed wide.

In the 6th minute Shannon Cole pumped in a cross from the left behind the defence and in front of Marconi keeper James Chronopoulos, but Wither just missed intercepting the ball and the Marconi keeper grasped it from the air.

Olympic attacked again in the 8th thanks to a jinking run from Marino Musumeci.  He put a through ball for Wither who was adjudged to be offside just as he pulled the trigger.

Chronopoulos was in the thick of the action again in the 14th when he was forced to pull of a tricky save to deny Musumeci's low sturdy shot from the top of the penalty area.

Despite the bombardment Olympic found itself one goal down in the 17th.  Marconi earned a somewhat debatable free kick when a foul was committed just outside the box.  Many Marconi players argued that the referee should have played the advantage but the play was halted.  Up stepped Nahuel Arrarte and he sent the direct free kick beyond the reach of Michael Herbet and the Stallions took an underserved lead.

Eight minutes later it was Cole's turn from a set piece.  Everyone was expecting him to lob his free kick into the box from around 20 metres out, but he caught everyone by surprise when he shot direct at goal and narrowly missed the right goal post.

One of the features of Olympic's play was the speed on the ball and the speed of their attacks.  New recruit Iain Ramsay (ex Cowdenbeath, Scotland) worked superbly and tirelessly all game.  It was a very good performance on the back of a similar outing at Cringila last Saturday night.  Ramsay's overlapping runs and the accuracy of his crosses will no doubt be a deadly weapon in Olympic's 2008 campaign. 

One such cross in the 27th nearly connected with Wither amidst the constant wave of Olympic pressure.

The deserved equaliser came in the 29th minute.  Chris Triantis on the right side dropped in an accurate cross for the smallest player on the field, Anthony Doumanis (ex Sydney United), to header past Chronopoulos from close range.

Doumanis played like a teenager full of energy and pace, and Olympic Club President James Kospetas revealed after the game that Doumanis is out to have a bumper year ahead.

Olympic went 2-1 up only two minutes later.  A pinpoint corner was looking for the height of Wither and his header flew into the top left corner of the goal leaving Chronopoulos with no chance whatsoever.

And it could have easily been 3-1 another two minutes later.  Stylish defender Mirko Jurilj (ex Blacktown) was trying to get to a through ball ahead of the Marconi keeper but Chronopoulos got to it first and brought down Jurilj in the process.  Chronopoulos fumbled the ball but Jurilj couldn't get up in time to knock in the loose ball before the Stallions keeper regathered.

Sydney Olympic's scoreboard advantage was gone in the 34th.  A silly combination of errors from Herbert and the defence allowed Marconi's Chris Gomez to fire the ball into a near-empty net to make it 2-2.

That second let-down didn't deter Sydney Olympic.  Four minutes later Ramsay showed his class when he volleyed a rocket that Chronopoulos was lucky to tip over the bar, and in the 41st he latched onto a loose ball just outside the area and shot low and hard but just to the left of the target.

At half time the vocal crowd gave a warm round of applause in response to the entertainment provided on the field.

After the break Olympic resumed the pressure.  Ramsay delivered another deadly cross for Wither who's downward header forced another reflex save from the Marconi keeper.

In the 52nd minute Olympic experienced a moment of de-ja-vu.  Ramsay sent another delightful cross from the left and Wither rose above all to power his header off the underside of the crossbar and the linesman signalled that the ball had crossed the line.  It was the exact same goal as Manny Giannaros' (ex Sydney United) effort against Wollongong on Saturday night.

The Olympic onslaught continued with an unrelenting pace.  The pressure bore more fruit in the 58th minute.  Doumanis set sail on a direct run and played a one-two but was cut down before getting the ball back.  Up stepped Cole to blast another 20 metre free kick at goal.  The Marconi custodian got a hand on the ball but his attempt to tip the ball over the bar failed as the ball looped towards the goal and it was the grandstand linesman who again signalled that the ball had crossed the line.  Olympic were now 4-2 up.

Both sides then started wringing in the changes, and the complexion of the game changed invariably with ten new players entering the fray.  Jordanian international Siraj Al-Tall (ex Al-Faisaly, Jordan), Milorad Simonovic (ex Blacktown) who replaced Roger Galayini (ex Blacktown), Daniel King (from Sydney Olympic youth), James Raiti (ex Sydney United) and Phillip Pyliotis (ex Granville Rage) all came on in the space of 14 minutes, with Al-Tall enjoying several moments of action with the ball.

Al-Tall just missed connecting with a Doumanis chip in the 64th with only the keeper to beat.

Doumanis went on another solo run through the defence just two minutes later but his low shot was well covered by Chronopoulos.  Doumanis was initially set up by Al-Tali who held up the ball quite well.

Even the introduction of prolific scorer Tolgay Ozbey didn't help Marconi out of it's quagmire and the game petered out as both sides relaxed the pace due to the humidity and early season fitness shortcomings.

Blagojevic appears to have the problems that every coach would like - too many good players but not enough spots.

"We have a lot of young boys that are making their positions their own at the moment.  They have the hunger and the desire, so it's just a matter of smoothing the edges.  The most impressive youngster for me tonight was Manny Giannaros.  Chris Triantis isn't far behind him.  All in all it's very pleasing," Blagojevic reflected.

SYDNEY OLYMPIC 4 (Doumanis 29', Wither 31' 52', Cole 58') defeated MARCONI STALLIONS 2 (Arrarte 17', Gomez 34') at Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda.

SYDNEY OLYMPIC: Michael Herbet, Mirko Jurilj, Michael Cindric (73' Daniel King), Emmanuel Giannaros, Roger Galayini (71' Milorad Simonovic), Marino Musumeci (62' Siraj Al-Tall), Shannon Cole, Chris Triantis, Anthony Doumanis (76' Phillip Pyliotis), Iain Ramsay, Paul Wither (75' James Raiti)