Strikers v Olympic

Round 17 report by John Croft
Brisbane Strikers v Sydney Olympic


Yep, it's good to be back on the list after an absence of 6 weeks and even better to get back to Lang Park to watch the Strikers put up a very gritty performance against SydOly (as the scoreboard had it).The last match I saw in Oz was the 10 men of the Strikers hold SydUtd to a 2-2 draw - in fact Utd were lucky to hold on and I was impressed then by the determination of the players not to buckle. Kossie certainly has changed things around and last night's performance has confirmed my opinion that the Strikers are becoming a tough unit to crack - just hope I'm not putting the kiss of death on them now by saying that.

Last night's team had several players I hadn't seen before including a certain Des Hughes who has a very vocal and witty following - obviously a Taringa Rovers player but when did he come into the squad?

I'm sure that Dave (who seemed rather pleased about a certain FA Cup result)and others have already submitted reports so all I will say is that our goal on the stroke of half-time was a beauty and but for some woeful finishing the game would have been over as a contest by half way through the 2nd half. Needless to say the last 5 minutes was nailbiting stuff but for once the portents of gloom were wrong and we held out.

Sat close to the Strikers/Taringa mob and found their chanting and constant banter superb. In comparison the remnants of the Strike Squad looked sad and could not be heard - even though they were only a few yards away. Time for the Strike Squad to join in with the Taringa mob?