There will be a strong NSW Greek-Australian presence in the national stage of the FFA Cup as Sydney Olympic and Newcastle Olympic secured their progression to the Round of 32.
Sydney Olympic made it through after an away 2-0 victory against Manly United on Wednesday night.
A major impact in the result came in the 18th minute when Manly captain Jimmy Oates was controversially sent off. The resulting free kick led to Olympic’s first goal. Playmaker Brendan Cholakian passed short to Fabio Ferreira whose low cross gave Michael Glassock the easy task of tapping the ball into an open goal.
The match was all but finished in the 34th when Manly defender Jesse Biriz ‘s clearance deflected off his teammate Finn Ashton and into the goal, doubling Olympic’s lead.
Manly fought hard and produced chances to score in the 2nd half but could not overcome its numerical disadvantage.
Newcastle Olympic qualified after a 1-0 victory over Coffs City United on Monday night.