The Wollongong Olympic juggernaut has kept on rolling with a 4-0 win against Corrimal on Saturday in front of their home supporters.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Olympic had the majority of possession in their victory. The side took the lead midway through the first half when Mark Every was in the right place to convert from a set piece situation.
Early in the second half, captain Chris Price pretty much put the result beyond doubt with a header squeezing in between goalkeeper Harrison Matias and the post to give them a 2-0 advantage.
Nick Littler then got into the action late in the second half via a Guy Knight free kick put onto the head of the towering defender.
It was a moment to remember for youth grade player Gabriel Zapata in the final stages after he came off the bench to make it four for his team.
A month ago, many were questioning the ability of the defending grand final champions after being smashed 7-1 by Bulli. Since then, they have beaten leaders Albion Park twice (once in the league and once in the Bert Bampton Cup), and have won four straight in the IPL.
In that same time, they have conceded just the once and scored 16.
To pair with that, the side have the Bampton Cup final to look forward to against Port Kembla next week as the IPL takes break.
Following the match against Bulli, the Olympic squad had some tough conversations about where they want to end up and it paid dividends straight away with their win against leaders Albion Park.
Now with their most recent win against the Rangers, they are within touching distance of Cringila in second place following the Lions' shock loss on Friday evening to Helensburgh.
With plenty of experienced heads such as Chris Price, Tynan Diaz, Justin Pasfield and more in the squad, are they set to peak coming into the finals series in an exact replica of 2022?
Olympic coach Matt Bailey certainly thinks so.
"I've got big belief in this group," he said.
"Last year we had quite a disruptive season but once we got that ball rolling we were very hard to beat in the back end of the year.
"I think we went seven or eight games without being beaten. This end of the year is when we play our best football. That's when the big games are and we've got the right players and the right squad to combat that."
Of course last season they finished second in the league - on points per game average - but beat premiers Wollongong United twice in the finals series on the way to a grand final triumph.
Coniston would argue that they are the most in-form team of the IPL, with Franc Pierro's side unbeaten in their last seven going into their match with United on Sunday, but Olympic have certainly reacted from that shocking Bulli defeat.
To finish the season, Olympic have to play Tarrawanna, United - both at home - and then Coniston away.
In a further boost, Rick Goodchild, Josh Alcorn and Yuto Sugiura will all return to the team next week for the final.
Brad Watts is still a little while off with his hamstring injury suffered last week.
Meanwhile the loss for the Rangers all but ends their slim chance of playing finals football in 2023.
In other results so far this weekend, Helensburgh kept their slim finals hopes alive with an upset 1-0 win against Cringila on Friday evening.
On Saturday, Bulli kept pace with the top five with a 3-1 win against Tarrawanna, whilst Albion Park all but secured the premiership with a 10-0 hammering of Bellambi. South Coast United and Port Kembla play in the late fixture.
On Sunday, Coniston take on Wollongong United.
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.
Jordan Warren
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
