National Premier Leagues (NPL) Queensland side Olympic FC are back in the FFA Cup Round of 32 for a second year in a row after showcasing their raring form in the preliminary rounds.
Olympic will host Western Australian outfit Bayswater City SC at Perry Park this Wednesday night in their Round of 32 clash.
The team’s journey to the national stages has been a thrilling ride, showcasing the team’s talents in all areas of the game.
Across all four games played in the preliminary rounds, Olympic have scored 26 goals and only conceded two.
Their first game saw them host Gympie United at Goodwin Park.
Gympie had just scraped through in their first FFA Cup match so Olympic set out to dominate.
By the time the final whistle blew, the mission was certainly accomplished.
Chris Lucas scored four goals within the span of 25 minutes in the first half.
Matt Heath added to the sting with five goals while Steve Whyte, Costa Psaros, Jack Glover, Jez Lofthouse, James Cuminao and Zelfy Nazary all contributed to the final 16-0 score.
The success of the first game no doubt left Olympic feeling confident heading into their next match against Rochedale Rovers at Underwood Park.
They triumphed over the Rovers with a 4-0 win, before their third game in the FFA Cup competition saw them come up against Palm Beach SC.
At half time, the scores remained level with both teams scoring in the first half but it wasn’t long until Olympic took the reins to claim a 4-1 victory.
In the fourth and final match of the preliminary rounds, Olympic travelled to Lex Bell Oval to take on Gold Coast Premier League side Surfers Paradise Apollo.
Having knocked NPL Queensland side Moreton Bay United out of the competition, the Gold Coast team set out to disrupt Olympic’s form.
It looked bound to happen until Chris Lucas secured the 2-1 win in the 80th minute.
Olympic’s 2018 FFA Cup campaign saw them bow out of the competition after a 3-2 defeat against Lions FC in the Round of 32.
The NPL Queensland side will now look to go one better in 2019 as they host Bayswater City SC.
The Western Australia outfit has had their fair share of success over the years.
They were crowned Premiers and Champions of NPL Western Australia in 2014, 2015 and 2017 while in the 2015 season, they remained undefeated to reach the NPL Grand Final.
In the preliminary rounds of the FFA Cup, some close encounters saw Bayswater City SC score nine goals and concede five.
Their last FFA Cup Round of 32 appearance was in 2014 when they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Melbourne Victory.
Olympic FC and Bayswater City SC will open the FFA Cup Round of 32 this Wednesday, 24 July at Perry Park in the first match to be broadcast live on Fox Sports.
Buy tickets to the match here.
Watch the match live on Fox Sports from 7:30pm AEST.
MATCH DETAILS
Olympic FC v Bayswater City SC
Wednesday, 24 July 2019
Perry Park
7.30pm AEST, live on Fox Sports
Words: Vivien Topalovic