By Peter Kambounias

Two second half goals to James Kovas and Anthony Hartshorn were enough for Olympic to see off a determined Blacktown Demons side in their Round 5 TeleChoice Premier League game at Gabbie Stadium.  The win lifted Sydney Olympic into second place on the ladder.

Hartshorn's goal was a fitting reward for a tireless and exceptional performance for Olympic.  His workrate both on and off the ball was incredible.

"The team did a lot of running tonight and I'm pretty knackered.  Once we got the first goal we gained momentum and controlled the game.  Milan (Blagojevic) was very calm at half time.  It was a big game for him - coaching against his old club - and he was confident that our chances would come in the second half", a softly spoken Hartshorn said after the game.

Milan was right about the chances coming though he would have been impressed at how a youthful Demons team stood up to their more classy visitors in the first half.

Olympic's starting lineup saw Nathan Sherlock making his debut start for Olympic and Sherlock performed very well, catching the eye of most supporters at the ground.

Another great performer for Olympic was defender Emmanuel Zunino who was ever so reliable again at the back.  His 18th minute tackle just outside the box stopped what could have been the opening goal to the Demons.

Before then Olympic had a few half chances: Roger Galayini failed to connect boot to ball off a cross in the first minute, Hartshorn blasted a ninth minute shot that forced Demons keeper Ivan Necevski into a reflex save and Hartshorn again could have put Olympic ahead in the 14th but his chip over the out-of-position keeper had too much power and the ball sailed over the bar.

Despite the chances Olympic did appear to be playing within themselves, but things slowly started to follow the script as the half played on.

In the 26th a super pass from Shannon Cole wide left to the advancing Zunino saw the latter cut a great ball back into the box for Hartshorn to turn and shoot but he failed to connect fully thus allowing the scuffed shot to be ably handled by the home defence.

Cole did have his now-customary free kicks.  One in the 31st was a bit too close for his liking - just outside the box, but he did manage to get the ball over the wall but just to the left of the post.  A second kick a minute later bounced in front of the Demons keeper who had to flap the ball away for a corner.

Six minutes before the break Hartshorn again was in the lead role when his flick header off a cross found Galayini who tapped in from close range but Galayini was correctly ruled offiside.

Cole stepped up for another free in the 40th and this time the kick was met by a powerful Zunino header that zoomed over the goal.

Olympic had a golden chance to break the deadlock came in the 54th minute.  Hartshorn slid a perfect pass into space for Milorad Simonovic to run onto and run at the keeper.  Simonovic slotted with his left foot but the shot was parried by the keeper to the oncoming Kovas who couldn't take advantage of the loose ball.

Simonovic had another shot at goal in the 59th - this time from outside the box - in a sign that the game was starting to turn Olympic's way.

And turn it did on the hour mark.  A brilliant Cole throw in on the left sideline found Zunino free on the left front pocket.  Zunino cut back to the unmarked Kovas who blasted a first time shot into the top right corner of the net.  The goal eased a mountain of pressure off the Olympic players and anxieties of the supporters.

Hartshorn had yet another shot at goal in the 64th but again was denied by Necevski.  Olympic were dictating the play.

Goal number two arrived in the 68th.  Cole crossed from the left aiming it at the far post.  An unmarked Hartshorn climbed up and headed downwards with the ball sneaking inside the right post to double Olympic's lead.

Galayini came close to getting his name on the scoresheet but his 73rd minute lob was just left of goal.  Olympic were prying for a third while Blacktown seemed resigned to losing and holding the difference to two goals.

Olympic keeper Michael Herbet did make two exceptional saves in the dying stages of the game.  The first stopped a side volley that had goal written all over it and the second right on full time was at the feet of two Demons players who must be still wondering how one of them didn't score.

So the Olympic machine rolls on and next on the agenda is the visit of Bankstown City at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday 6 April with a 3pm kick off.

BLACKTOWN CITY DEMONS 0 defeated by SYDNEY OLYMPIC 2 (Kovas 60', Hartshorn 68') at Gabbie Stadium, Seven Hills.

SYDNEY OLYMPIC: Michael Herbet, Emmanuel Zunino, Mirko Jurilj, Michael Cindric, Nathan Sherlock, Shannon Cole, Peter Zorbas (73' Chris Triantis), Anthony Hartshorn, James Kovas (84' Anthony Doumanis), Milorad Simonovic, Roger Galayini (83' Iain Ramsay)