Acton Buoyed By Clean Sheet
Words: Matt Dorman
Image: Patrick Kearney / Olympic FC
He waited nine matches, but Matt Acton’s first clean sheet of PlayStation® 4 NPL Queensland has the goalkeeper feeling positive ahead of tonight’s visit to Western Pride.
The former Brisbane Roar Hyundai A-League shot-stopper saved a late penalty against Northern Fury last week to help preserve a 3-0 victory, a result which returned Olympic FC to third in the league standings.
Acton acknowledged it was a relief to finally get the monkey off his back in the notoriously high-scoring competition.
“It’s been a little bit frustrating not keeping more clean sheets,” Acton said.
“In saying that you’re only as good as the team in front of you and we’ve had a few lapses in concentration over the course of the season.”
“To get the clean sheet wasn’t just good on my behalf, I think our back four and our back five defended pretty well so I can’t take all the credit.”
Tonight’s clash against Pride offers Olympic the chance to regain momentum after recent lapses in form that saw the club eliminated from the Westfield FFA Cup by Redlands United and then drop three points at home to FNQ Heat in consecutive outings.
“I think it’s pretty rare for this club to lose two on the trot so the boys were pretty determined going into the game not to let it slip again,” Acton said about their last-out result against Fury.
“It was a bit shaky at the start but I think in the second half our strength showed through so we were happy with the three points.”
While Acton was helping plying his trade at Goodwin Park last weekend, the Hyundai A-League Grand Final was simultaneously being won by Melbourne Victory.
The 22-year-old was on the bench for Brisbane Roar’s triumph in last year’s decider and the prospect of returning to those heights has him keen to continue performing well for Olympic.
“One of the main reasons I’m here is to get a lot of games under my belt and try to get back into the A-League or overseas somewhere,” he concluded.
Fixture Details:
PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues Queensland Round 11
Western Pride FC v Olympic FC
Briggs Road Complex, Ipswich
Saturday, May 23
Kick-off - 7:00PM
This story originally appeared on the official Olympic FC website
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