By Peter Kambounias

Matthew Mayora scored a first half hat-trick as Sydney Olympic went on another first half rampage to take another three points in the TeleChoice Premier League.

The uncompromising terrier for Olympic turned villain when a silly two footed tackle from behind in the Marconi penalty area saw him rightfully sent off by referee Kristian Griffith-Jones.  At that stage the score was 3-1 in favour of the blue-and-whites but the incident compelled Olympic to batton down the hatches and withstand the resultant Marconi offensive to try and get something from the game.

Had Marconi obtained a result it would have been a pity for the Olympic fans who saw their side storm out of the blocks with three first half goals to complement the four scored in the first half only one week earlier.

Mayora's hat-trick and send off were the talking points after the game.

"He will learn from experience.. it was a bit of a brain explosion.. but he's working wonders for us at the moment", Olympic captain Peter Zorbas said after the game.

Well the plans got off to a flying start with a goal to punish those who arrived late to the ground.  Paul Wither pushed towards the Marconi defensive line near the penalty area and opened up space for Mayora to storm onto the loose ball and he slammed low and hard past Marconi keeper James Chronopoulos.  The goal came with one minute and two seconds on the clock.

Before the Olympic fans were able to fully digest the entree, Mayora served up the main course in the 7th.  A long ball upfield aimed and found Wither who chested the ball down into the path of Mayora again and again he slammed a first time shot that bounced wickedly past Chronopoulos to make it 2-0.

Goal scorer Matthew Mayora is congratulated by Anthony Hartshorn, Anthony Doumanis and Paul Wither. (photo courtesy of FNSW)

The Mayora-Wither show continued in the 13th minute.  Mayora placed a ball seemingly too far ahead of Wither but the latter managed to not only get to the ball but cross it just before it crossed the by-line, with the low cross finding Mayora who somehow managed to blast over the bar from close range.  He had ruined his chance for a hat-trick, but he soon redeemed himself.

On the quarter hour Olympic got a free kick from 25 metres out.  Olympic fans started chanting "Shannon, Shannon".  It was time for Shannon Cole to take a free kick.  The anticipation was very evident, even from the Marconi players, as they expected to see Cole at his deadly best, just like at Seymour Shaw Park in the pre-season cup.  So up stepped Cole and sure enough he sent his free kick crashing off the top of the crossbar and out.

It was another Cole free kick just eleven minutes later that played a part in setting up goal number three for Mayora and Olympic.  From the right side of the field Cole delivered a free kick that swerved in front of Chronopoulos who had to pull off a full stretch save to stop any danger but the ball eventually made it back into the penalty area and Mayora was on hand to header the ball into the roof of the net.  Olympic were cruising at 3-0 with just under half of the first half remaining.

Mayora completes his hat-trick with only 26 minutes gone.  (photo courtesy of FNSW)

Marconi pulled one back in the 34th in a move that dissapointed Olympic coach Milan Blagojevic and experienced defender Mirko Jurilj.  Jurilj was too casual at the back with the ball and was caught out by Marconi's Tolgay Ozbey with Ante Deur slotting from close rang after a cross from the left.

In addition to the four goals scored, the fans witnessed a multitude of yellow cards brandished by referee Griffith-Jones.  Some cards were justified, some were dubious.  In the end they didn't affect the result but the cards will play a role later in the season.

The first half demolition was certainly part of Olympic's plans for the night.

"We aimed to kill the game off in the first half so we can come out in the second half and play a bit easier.  As we get fitter we'll slow it down a bit and control longer parts of the game", Zorbas added.

Mayora turned provider after the break when he dispossessed Ozbey and set off upfield. He passed to Wither on the left who then bore down on goal but he took too long and his shot was blocked by the Marconi defence.

Mayora's moment of madness struck in the 60th minute.  He went in with a two footed tackle from behind against a Marconi defender in his own box.  The move left everyone connected to Sydney Olympic stunned as to why he did such an unnecessary thing.  Griffith-Jones correctly showed the red card and Mayora trudged off the field knowing that he would be there to see the fruits of his earlier labours.

With a man advantage it was obvious that Marconi would assume control of the game but they merely enjoyed more possession but were bravely held out by a resilient Sydney Olympic team that knows how to fight for eachother, similar to the Cup Final win over Sutherland who also had a man advantage that night.

Olympic did have some half chances with the best falling to substitute James Kovas seven minutes before full time.  Kovas scuffed his shot wide of goal from a decent position.

Mayora was very dissapointed after the game especially knowing that the send off took all the gloss away from his three goal haul in the first half.  He apologised to his team mates, coaching staff and club directors in the dressing room after the game and put it down to a silly brain snap.

Mayora was the long odds-on favourite to claim man-of-the-match billing but his send off dented his prospects.  One player who had a solid game throughout was Emmanuel Zunino.  Zunino's return to the first grade outfit has made a massive difference in the rear line with his consistency and reliability.  Other special mentions go to Anthony Hartshorn who racked up many kilometres on the field, Michael Cindric who was solid at the back, and captain Peter Zorbas who marshalled the troops in the middle.

"That's been my game throughout my career.  I wouldn't mind getting a bit more involved but as long as I'm doing my job for the team and the team is winning then that's all that matters", Zorby said.

The task for Olympic doesn't get bigger than next week's mouth watering top of the table clash with their pre-season cup final opponents Sutherland Sharks who are three from three so far in the league.

MARCONI STALLIONS 1 (Deur 34') defeated by SYDNEY OLYMPIC 3 (Mayora 2' 7' 26') at Marconi Stadium.

SYDNEY OLYMPIC: Michael Herbet, Emmanuel Zunino, Mirko Jurilj, Michael Cindric, Shannon Cole, Peter Zorbas, Matthew Mayora (60' sent off), Anthony Hartshorn (82' James Kovas), Chris Triantis (55' Milorad Simonovic), Paul Wither, Anthony Doumanis (61' Roger Galayini)