Olympic FC midfielder Luke Howell hopes his club can continue their outstanding NPL Queensland record against Brisbane Strikers this Sunday at Perry Park.

Olympic and Strikers are in second and third place respectively, and the reigning champions hope to build on last season’s perfect record against their cross-town rivals.

Last year Olympic won 7-2 and 6-2 during the regular season against Strikers, and followed it up with a 2-0 win in the Semi-Finals.

Howell said he was looking forward to continuing the trend this weekend.

“We always seem to lift when we play against them,” Howell said.

“Everyone turns up to play and we seem to score quite a few goals against them as well so hopefully we can keep that going.”

Olympic was denied a third straight win last weekend after trading stoppage time goals in a 2-2 draw with fellow unbeaten outfit Palm Beach.

Howell said it was unfortunate Olympic couldn’t hold their lead after turning around an early deficit.

“The draw was a bit unlucky. Palm Beach have been going quite well and hadn’t conceded a goal before the match,” he said.

“I think for the first 15-20 minutes we were a bit disorganised and Palm Beach exploited that a bit but after that 25-minute mark we certainly controlled large parts of the game.”

“We were quite unlucky not to come away with all three points but we’ll take a point I guess and look to bounce back and win again this week.”

Howell, who back in 2013 scored the NPL Queensland’s first ever goal, spoke positively of the squad’s desire for consecutive titles, as well as impressing on the national front in the FFA Cup and a possible second NPL Final Series appearance.

The lure of a big-name visitor to Goodwin Park in the FFA Cup is a proposition that particularly appeals to the 27-year-old.

“Coming up against any sort of A-League opposition would be nice,” Howell said.

“It’s always a challenge and they’re the big games all players want to be involved in, we could play all sorts of different sides.”

“It’s nice to branch out from just the NPL and play sides of different styles and different standards”

“In the end it’s 11v11 and anything can happen.”

Sunday’s senior men’s match kicks off at 2PM. The match will be preceded and followed by fixtures between the two clubs in NPL Queensland junior and youth divisions.

 

Words: Olympic FC
Image: Sunshine Coast Fire