A late charge from Sydney Olympic has seen them take down our Young Wanderers 4-1 in the penultimate NPL NSW match of the season.
The Wanderers fought hard at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium – being down to 10 men for half of the match – and briefly equalised from the penalty spot, but a quickfire double from Oliver Pufflett helped secure the three points for the home side.
Olympic scored early on through Teng Kuol, but the Wanderers settled and began to have decent spells of possession, though they were unable to create too many opportunities.
Ryley Hollingdale had an effort from distance in the 29th minute, but it bounced wide of the goal.
The Wanderers’ task got more difficult on the cusp of half-time when Luke Nieuwenhof received two yellow cards in quick succession and was forced to leave the game.
Far from letting this get them down, the Wanderers came out of the blocks after the break, having chances through Meliwethu Nkomo and Ryan Devine, though neither was able to find the target.
Julian Cop was then fouled in the box just after the hour mark giving Hollingdale the chance to convert from the spot, and the skipper made no mistake and scored the equaliser for the Wanderers.
It would unfortunately be short lived as in the 71st minute the home side got a penalty of their own, which Roy O’Donovan was able to score.
Hollingdale sent in a dangerous cross with 10 minutes remaining that Marcus Fernandez almost converted home, but the winger couldn’t make clean contact with the delivery.
The miss would prove fatal as just minutes later Pufflett curled a wonderful shot to double Olympic’s lead, and then scored a fortuitous goal just a minute later to seal the win for the home side.
The Wanderers end their season against local rivals Marconi next Sunday.
