Brisbane Roar NPL go up against Olympic FC this Saturday at AJ Kelly Park determined for three points to bounce back to winning ways after two weeks of training following the bye round.
The bye round due to the Kappa Pro Series semi-finals, has given the Roar an additional week of training to work hard and prepare themselves for an important match against Olympic.
In their last meeting, James Nikolovski scored a tap-in from a corner that saw the Roar come away with a 1-0 win, and the team will look to repeat this performance on Saturday.
Currently in seventh place, Roar will face an 11th placed Olympic as they aim to get more wins under their belt for a positive shift in results.
After a few games of great effort but probably not the result Brisbane Roar NPL Head Coach Owen Baker wanted, he hopes his squad can incorporate the work from the last two weeks of training into Saturday’s match-up.
“Olympic is obviously going to be a tough game, towards the business end of the season, teams are desperate for points,” Baker said.
“We’re looking to get back to winning ways ourselves, our performances have been pretty good the last few weeks but we’re going to try score first and take our chances, that’s been one of the things we’ve been working on this week,” he added.
Isuzu UTE A-League Head Coach Ross Aloisi has integrated several of the NPL squad into his training sessions, and Baker is looking forward to seeing the experience and enthusiasm they have gained from this opportunity translated onto the field.
“The boys have had a good two-week training block, a lot of the boys have been exposed to training with the A-League team which has been a fantastic opportunity for them,” Baker said.
“We’re hoping to take some of that experience and enthusiasm they’ve shown in these two weeks and hopefully it’s been a slight refresh of the mind and body and take that into the game on Saturday.”
Baker places a focus on developing these young players as he looks to build resilience within the squad to overcome the challenges faced during a match as they aim to pick up points and get back to winning form.
“A big lesson that we have for young players is learning to stick to your principles when you might get a decision or mistake that goes against you. The boys have had a few experiences like that this year and I think we are getting better at it,” he said.
“We want to try and apply our style into the game but also be prepared for things that get thrown at us and still stay in the game. Hopefully the boys can learn from that.”
“We know we have to be ready for anything against Olympic this week.”
Roar take on Olympic FC at AJ Kelly Park on Saturday 8 July. KO 7:30PM.
Be there to support our boys in orange! Entry is free.
