Lights, camera, action ... Olympic back home in the big time
Olympic Kingsway will host their first top-flight game in 24 years on Saturday night when they welcome champions Floreat Athena to headline Round Two of the NPLWA – Men’s competition.
The standalone evening fixture also sees the club unveil their new 500-lux floodlights as part of facility upgrades to Kingsway Reserve, which Denmark will use as a base for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Olympic became the first promoted side to win a top division Night Series the following season with their penalty shoot-out defeat of Inglewood United earlier this month.
But the Green Machine’s unbeaten start to the year ended in Round One when they lost 2-1 at Stirling Macedonia.
With 11 wins from 11 games at Kingsway Reserve in their 2022 State League Division One campaign, David Tough’s side will hope for home comforts again this season. And the former ECU Joondalup assistant says they can take plenty from last Saturday’s season opener.
“We were disappointed with the result and didn’t really play our style of football over the 90 minutes,” he said.
“I thought we still had our opportunities, and if we took our chances it could have been a different game. Overall we showed we can compete at the top level because I think Stirling will be thereabouts.
“The goal we scored with 14 passes in the build-up is our style and we want to get back to that, rather than being stuck in a transition game like we were against Stirling. The goals we conceded were very avoidable, where we conceded possession cheaply.
“We want to try and dominate the ball with our rotations and movement and that will make us very hard to play against. Maybe the emotion of the game and then backing up from the Night Series win was difficult, but hopefully we will have a couple of players back in the starting 11 and we’ll be ready to go.”
Kingsway’s goal was finished by striker Ciaran Byrne, who netted 43 goals in 45 State League Division One matches for Western Knights and Kingsway in the past two campaigns.
Byrne, who had a short stint in the NPL with Armadale, said the club was in a buoyant mood after last season’s promotion.
“(Division One) is not an easy league to get out of, but the way we played football last year was brilliant,” he said.
“When Toughy brought me in, he laid it all out on the table and knew exactly how he wanted to do things, what players he wanted to sign, and we went on to have a really good year.
“Everywhere I’ve gone I’ve scored goals, so I’ll always back myself if I get the opportunities. It’s just about working with the guys in the final third, but I’m hoping to get a few in the league this year and I’m definitely looking forward to that challenge.
“I came through the Night Series with four goals, so leading into the season I came in feeling good. But it was nice to get off the mark in the first game and it was obviously the club’s first top-flight goal in 24 years.”
Having played one of their old rivals last week at Macedonia Park, Kingsway will play another blockbuster this week in champions Floreat.
Olympic are celebrating their 70th year as a club, but also their 50th year at Kingsway Reserve with this fixture between two of the league’s foundation members historically producing strong crowds.
Tough added: “The fixtures haven’t been the easiest for us with probably our two biggest rivals in the first two games.
“But we understand the importance of this game and especially after a defeat we want to go out and hit back with a result. There’s been so much hard work done behind the scenes and we understand how much it will mean to a lot of people, particular with showing off the new facilities at the club.
“Floreat won the league and Night Series last year and are a fantastic team with good history and good players now. It will be a tough game, but we’re ready for it and have a lot of good players.”
Byne agreed with his head coach. “Toughy’s mentioned a few things to me already for the game this weekend and it will be good to try and bounce back with a win. Both teams won’t want two losses to start the year, so it will be a brilliant game,” he said.
“The committee have put in so much to get us to where we are now and it would be nice to get that first home win for them against Floreat. We’re aware this is a massive game for the club and we’re ready to put in that hard work and effort to get three points for them.”
Elsewhere, one of Perth Glory and Armadale SC could start the season with two wins from two when they meet at Rockingham City’s Lark Hill Sporting Complex, where Glory will play their home matches this season.
Armadale’s 6-1 defeat of Cockburn last week means they start the weekend as league leaders alongside Glory, who themselves claimed three points in a last-minute win away at Balcatta Etna.
Sorrento aim to build on last Friday’s impressive performance at Bayswater City when they hit the road again to play Perth SC. Steven McGarry’s Gulls made a statement with a 4-1 win in his first official game in charge, while the Azzurri earned a credible point against RedStar last week.
Inglewood are also among the early pacesetters after coming from two goals down to defeat holders Floreat Athena last week. They face Balcatta at home in Round Two with Etna competitive last week prior to the late concession to Glory.
Two of last season’s top four sides will also do battle when Perth RedStar hosts Stirling Macedonia. This fixture provided seven goals last season as Ian Ferguson’s side came from three goals down to win 4-3 thanks to Gavin Gillies’ late winner.
Finally, Cockburn City and Bayswater City go head-to-head in search of a win to springboard their respective campaigns following heavy defeats last week.
Round Two fixtures
Saturday (3pm unless stated)
Cockburn City v Bayswater City
Inglewood United v Balcatta Etna
Perth Glory v Armadale
Perth RedStar v Stirling Macedonia
Perth SC v Sorrento
Olympic Kingsway v Floreat Athena (7pm)