1978 Sydney Olympic FC season

The 1978 season was the second in the National Soccer League for Sydney Olympic Football Club. In addition to the domestic league, they also participated in the NSL Cup. Sydney Olympic finished 8th in their National Soccer League season, and were eliminated in the second round of the NSL Cup.

Sydney Olympic

1978 season
Head Coach	Tom Anderson George Gibson Joe Marston Kaz Kulak
Stadium	Arlington Oval Erskineville Oval Wentworth Park Garside Park St George Stadium
National Soccer League	8th
NSL Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Alan Ainslie (7) All: Alan Ainslie (7)
Highest home attendance	6,702 vs. Marconi Fairfield (21 May 1978) National Soccer League
Lowest home attendance	1,000 vs. Auburn (24 May 1978) National Soccer League
Average home league attendance	3,915
Biggest win	2–0 (3 times) 3–1 (once)
Biggest defeat	0–5 vs. Eastern Suburbs (A) (28 May 1978) National Soccer League

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	AUS	Gary Meier
2	DF	AUS	Billy Palmer
3	DF	ENG	Mike Cross
4	DF	SCO	Stuart Markland
5	DF	AUS	Dave McIntosh
6		AUS	Bill Starvopodis
7	FW	SCO	Derek Laing
8	MF	SCO	Alex Jamieson
9		AUS	Con Davourlis
10	MF	AUS	Joe Senkalski
11	MF	AUS	Alan Ainslie
12	FW	ENG	Ray Botham
13	DF	SCO	Ken Wilson

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
14	DF	ENG	Paul Luckett
15	MF	AUS	Peter Raskopoulos
17	DF	AUS	Richard Bell
20		AUS	Herc Karakostas
—	FW	AUS	Don Allan
—		AUS	Greg Allan
—		AUS	Nick Constantinou
—	DF	ENG	Paul Cotton
—	MF	IRL	Jim Herron
—	DF	AUS	John Karaspyros
—	FW	SCO	Billy Pirie
—	FW	AUS	Chris Thamnidis

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
National Soccer League	5 March 1978	25 September 1978	Matchday 1	8th	26	9	7	10	35	43	−8	034.62
NSL Cup	24 May 1978	19 July 1978	First round	Second round	2	1	0	1	2	4	−2	050.00
Total					28	10	7	11	37	47	−10	035.71

Source: Competitions

National Soccer League

Main article: 1978 National Soccer League

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
6	Brisbane Lions	26	8	10	8	37	39	−2	26
7	St George-Budapest	26	11	3	12	41	40	+1	25
8	Sydney Olympic	26	9	7	10	35	43	−8	25
9	Western Suburbs	26	9	6	11	41	45	−4	24
10	Adelaide City	26	9	6	11	38	44	−6	24

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
26	9	7	10	35	43	−8	34	3	3	7	16	23	−7	6	4	3	19	20	−1

Source: worldfootball.net

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Ground	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	L	D	W	L	W	W	D	L	L	D	L	D	L	L	D	L	W	W	W	D	W	L	W	W	D	W
Position	9	12	7	10	5	5	5	6	9	11	12	10	13	13	13	13	11	11	9	9	8	10	8	7	7	8
Points	0	1	3	3	5	7	8	8	8	9	9	10	10	10	11	11	13	15	17	18	20	20	22	24	25	27

Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

Sydney Olympic v Western Suburbs

5 March 1978 1	Sydney Olympic	0–1	Western Suburbs	Sydney
		Report	Fisher 75'	Stadium: Arlington Oval Attendance: 4,124 Referee: Jim Reeves

South Melbourne v Sydney Olympic

12 March 1978 2	South Melbourne	1–1	Sydney Olympic	Melbourne
	Rogers 63'	Report	Ainslie 78'	Stadium: Middle Park Soccer Stadium Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Chris Bambridge

West Adelaide v Sydney Olympic

19 March 1978 3	West Adelaide	0–1	Sydney Olympic	Adelaide
		Report	Senkalski 46'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Graham Neal

Sydney Olympic v Canberra City

26 March 1978 4	Sydney Olympic	1–2	Canberra City	Sydney
	Senkalski 19' (pen.)	Report	Grujicic 9' (pen.) Byrne 17'	Stadium: Erskineville Oval Attendance: 4,133 Referee: Alf Rodway

Sydney Olympic v St George-Budapest

2 April 1978 5	Sydney Olympic	2–0	St George-Budapest	Sydney
	Ainslie 3' Laing 57'	Report		Stadium: Arlington Oval Attendance: 4,629 Referee: Henry Witschge

Adelaide City v Sydney Olympic

8 April 1978 6	Adelaide City	0–1	Sydney Olympic	Adelaide
		Report	D. Allan 57'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 5,895 Referee: Bobby Kerr

Newcastle KB United v Sydney Olympic

15 April 1978 7	Newcastle KB United	1–1	Sydney Olympic	Newcastle
	Boden 27'	Report	Senkalski 31'	Stadium: Newcastle International Sports Centre Attendance: 5,287 Referee: Tony Boskovic

Sydney Olympic v Brisbane Lions

23 April 1978 8	Sydney Olympic	2–4	Brisbane Lions	Sydney
	Ainslie 53' Wilson 80'	Report	Fairbrother 31' Hughes 34' Ontong 41' Laszlo 88'	Stadium: Erskineville Oval Attendance: 3,685 Referee: Peter Rampley

Fitzroy United v Sydney Olympic

30 April 1978 9	Fitzroy United	3–1	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
	Cole 8', 38' Campbell 48'	Report	Ainslie 49'	Stadium: Wentworth Park Attendance: 3,580 Referee: Doug Rennie
Note: This match was moved to play at Wentworth Park in Sydney as Fitzroy United's home fixture due to punishment by NSL for an assault on a referee.

Sydney Olympic v Footscray JUST

7 May 1978 10	Sydney Olympic	1–1	Footscray JUST	Sydney
	Laing 58'	Report	Picioane 24'	Stadium: Wentworth Park Attendance: 6,311 Referee: Alf Rodway

Brisbane City v Sydney Olympic

14 May 1978 11	Brisbane City	3–2	Sydney Olympic	Brisbane
	Marley 22', 44' Conner 61'	Report	D. Allan 72', 80'	Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Jack Wood

Sydney Olympic v Marconi Fairfield

21 May 1978 12	Sydney Olympic	1–1	Marconi Fairfield	Sydney
	Jamieson 40'	Report	Vieri 58'	Stadium: Wentworth Park Attendance: 6,702 Referee: Tony Boskovic

Eastern Suburbs v Sydney Olympic

28 May 1978 13	Eastern Suburbs	5–0	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
	Watson 21', 46' Trenter 42' Silva 55' D. Allan 85' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Wentworth Park Attendance: 5,928 Referee: Tim Davies

Sydney Olympic v South Melbourne

4 June 1978 14	Sydney Olympic	1–2	South Melbourne	Sydney
	Davourlis 45'	Report	Campbell 5' Cummings 39'	Stadium: Erskineville Oval Referee: Barry Wilkinson

Western Suburbs v Sydney Olympic

11 June 1978 15	Western Suburbs	2–2	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
	Stone 51' Eaton 78'	Report	Pirie 21' Jamieson 23'	Stadium: Wentworth Park Attendance: 4,725

Sydney Olympic v West Adelaide

17 June 1978 16	Sydney Olympic	2–4	West Adelaide	Sydney
	Pirie 5', 43'	Report	McGachey 23', 24' McGregor 70' Boyle 87'	Stadium: Erskineville Oval Attendance: 1,860 Referee: Richard Lorenc

Canberra City v Sydney Olympic

24 June 1978 17	Canberra City	1–3	Sydney Olympic	Canberra
	Byrne 85'	Report	Pirie 7', 63' D. Allan 70'	Stadium: Bruce Stadium Attendance: 4,300 Referee: Doug Rennie

St George-Budapest v Sydney Olympic

2 July 1978 18	St George-Budapest	1–2	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
	Hensman 35'	Report	Jamieson 50' Ainslie 90'	Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 963 Referee: Tim Davies

Sydney Olympic v Adelaide City

9 July 1978 19	Sydney Olympic	2–1	Adelaide City	Sydney
	Pirie 8' D. Allan 75'	Report	Muir 47'	Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 2,152 Referee: Jim Reeves

Sydney Olympic v Newcastle KB United

16 July 1978 20	Sydney Olympic	1–1	Newcastle KB United	Sydney
	Ainslie 22'	Report	Boden ?'	Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 4,953 Referee: Peter Rampley

Brisbane Lions v Sydney Olympic

23 July 1978 21	Brisbane Lions	1–2	Sydney Olympic	Brisbane
	Morris 31'	Report	McIntosh 39' Bell 89'	Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 2,100 Referee: Dave Nugent

Sydney Olympic v Fitzroy United

30 July 1978 22	Sydney Olympic	1–3	Fitzroy United	Sydney
	McIntosh 62'	Report	Campbell 37' Buljevic 72' Cole 82'	Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 3,676 Referee: Tony Boskovic

Footscray JUST v Sydney Olympic

6 August 1978 23	Footscray JUST	2–3	Sydney Olympic	Melbourne
	Kondarios 49' Lujic 81'	Report	McIntosh 14', 48' Laing 62'	Stadium: Middle Park Soccer Stadium Attendance: 800 Referee: Tony Beazleigh

Sydney Olympic v Brisbane City

13 August 1978 24	Sydney Olympic	2–1	Brisbane City	Sydney
	Ainslie 10' McIntosh 65'	Report	Kelso 26'	Stadium: Wentworth Park Attendance: 1,138 Referee: Jim Reeves

Marconi Fairfield v Sydney Olympic

20 August 1978 25	Marconi Fairfield	0–0	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
		Report		Stadium: Marconi Oval Attendance: 5,241 Referee: Tony Boskovic

Sydney Olympic v Eastern Suburbs

27 August 1978 26	Sydney Olympic	0–2	Eastern Suburbs	Sydney
		Report	Smith 61' Barnes 71'	Stadium: Wentworth Park Attendance: 3,530 Referee: Chris Bambridge

NSL Cup

Main article: 1978 NSL Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss

Sydney Olympic v Auburn

24 May 1978 First round	Sydney Olympic	2–0	Auburn	Sydney
	Laing 45' D. Allan 68'	Report		Stadium: Garside Park Attendance: 1,000

Eastern Suburbs v Sydney Olympic

19 July 1978 Second round	Eastern Suburbs	4–0	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
	Souness 17' Barnes 21' Smith 25'	Report		Stadium: Wentworth Park Attendance: 1,023 Referee: Tim Davies

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Includes all competitions. Players with no appearances not included in the list.

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	National Soccer League		NSL Cup		Total
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Gary Meier	23	0	1	0	24	0
2	DF		Billy Palmer	16	0	2	0	18	0
3	DF		Mike Cross	25	0	2	0	27	0
4	DF		Stuart Markland	19+1	0	1	0	21	0
5	DF		Dave McIntosh	24	5	1	0	25	5
6	—		Bill Starvopodis	4+3	0	1	0	8	0
7	FW		Derek Laing	26	3	2	1	28	4
8	MF		Alex Jamieson	24	3	2	0	26	3
9	—		Con Davourlis	8	1	0	0	8	1
10	MF		Joe Senkalski	6+5	3	2	0	13	3
11	MF		Alan Ainslie	24+2	7	1	0	27	7
12	FW		Ray Botham	2+1	0	1	0	4	0
13	DF		Ken Wilson	17+4	1	1	0	22	1
14	DF		Paul Luckett	15+2	0	2	0	19	0
15	MF		Peter Raskopoulos	1+2	0	0	0	3	0
17	DF		Richard Bell	12	1	1	0	13	1
20	—		Herc Karakostas	3	0	1	0	4	0
—	FW		Don Allan	11+3	5	1+1	1	16	6
—	—		Greg Allan	11+1	0	0	0	12	0
—	—		Nick Constantinou	2	0	0	0	2	0
—	DF		Paul Cotton	2	0	0	0	2	0
—	MF		Jim Herron	1+1	0	0	0	2	0
—	DF		John Karaspyros	0+1	0	0	0	1	0
—	FW		Billy Pirie	8	6	1	0	9	6
—	FW		Chris Thamnidis	2+2	0	0+1	0	5	0

Disciplinary record

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total cards are equal. Players with no cards not included in the list.

Rank	No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	National Soccer League			NSL Cup			Total
1	4	DF		Stuart Markland	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	1
2	5	DF		Dave McIntosh	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
3	7	FW		Derek Laing	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	8	MF		Alex Jamieson	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
5	3	DF		Mike Cross	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	6	—		Bill Starvopodis	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	14	DF		Paul Luckett	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	—	—		Greg Allan	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Total					13	0	1	0	0	0	13	0	1

Clean sheets

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start of play. Goalkeepers with no clean sheets not included in the list.

Rank	No.	Nat.	Goalkeeper	NSL	NSL Cup	Total
1	1		Gary Meier	4	0	4
2	20		Herc Karakostas	0	1	0
Total				4	1	5