Sydney Olympic provided one of the biggest upsets of the season, defeating league leader, Bonnyrigg White Eagles with a 2-1 victory on Saturday night at Belmore Sports Ground.

Blues’ midfielder Phillip Makrys opened the scoring via the penalty-spot before Daniel Severino equalised in the same way as Todd Bamber got the vital goal for the victory.

It was Bonnyrigg however that started the game playing the sort of football which has taken them to the top of the table. In the 1’ minute, a great play down the left hand side allowed former A-League players Chris Tadrosse the chance to cross the ball which met with Nathan Elasi’s head, only for it to go just over the crossbar.

2’ minutes later and Bonnyrigg were at it again as Elasi won the ball from a mistake in the Sydney Olympic defence, just shooting wide of the mark.

Bonnyrigg’s attacking raid’s continued as captain Paul Cotte shot from distance in the 9’ minute, forcing Zaim Zanelli into a classy save. The ball however fell to Nathan Elasi who shot from the byline only to again be saved as the Blues’ shot-stopper kept the scores level.

The scores were not going to remain like that for long as the home-side was handed a penalty in the 14’ minute. After a mix-up between Cotta and Akbal, Todd Bamber was pulled down resulting in Phil Makrys slotting the ball into the bottom right corner to give the Blues the 1-0 lead.

The White Eagles were not going to let their attacking display go to waste as they quickly moved forward in searching for an equaliser.

In the 24’ minute Zanelli came well out of his goalmouth to punch the ball, only for it to land to Daniel Severino. The midfielder held the ball up as the goalkeeper stayed just inside his box to save the shot and thwart the chance.

The score was not to remain at 1-0 for much longer though as Bonnyrigg were handed a dubious penalty in the 35’ minute after it seemed Brad Boardman was slightly tripped by Angelo Petratos. From the imposing penalty, Daniel Severino sent Zanelli the wrong way for the 1-1 score line.

The goal seemed to lift Bonnyrigg as they attacked with venom, predominantly down the left hand touch line, but could not convert their countless opportunities.

Back from the break and Bonnyrigg were back to their attacking best, testing the Olympic defence as Zanelli handled the ball outside the penalty-area to hand the visitors a free-kick on the edge of the area.

From the resulting free-kick, Severino sent a powerful but precise shot just over the top left corner keeping the scores level.

Sydney Olympic’s defensive game continued throughout the second-half, trying to get Bonnyrigg on the counter. The White Eagles however were intent on clinching the minor premiership, but numerous chances went begging.

Young starlet David Gullo’s attacking raids down the left hand flank continued as he dazzled Olympic right back Daniel Zeleny, but his crosses could not be placed into the back of the net.

Bonnyrigg thought they had taken the deserved lead in the 74’ minute as a saved Gullo header remained in play, only for Boardman to slot home while fouling Zanelli, and the goal did not stand.

5’ minutes later and the worst possible result for the White Eagles became reality. A long ball was completely mistimed by Cotte who did not put enough power on his header back to goalkeeper Ali Akbal. Todd Bamber was alert and ready, and quick to pounce, going around the keeper and slotting the ball home from a tight angle sending the home fans into hysterics.

Sydney Olympic then sat back in defence and allowed Bonnyrigg to attack for the final 10’ minutes, but the visitors could not find a passage through to goal.

Following the match, Bonnyrigg White Eagles coach Brian Brown was pleased with the way his side played but admitted they are having troubles in finding the net:

“We got caught with two bad goals. I thought we pretty much controlled the game, we had enough chances to win the game and the two goals they scored were really soft.

“The last two teams we’ve played have played very defensive so we need to work out how to break these teams down. ‘’

In the home dressing room, Sydney Olympic attacker Matthew Mayora was pleased to get a win in their final home game of the season.

“It was a good result from the boys and we can now say we’re not the team that Bonnyrigg took the premiership off.

“We let them come to us and tried to play counter attack and that was the plan. I thought the first-half was pretty even, so it was pretty good football.’’