Australia Cup: Gaffney praises "phenomenal" Langdon as Brisbane City progress
- Adam Cattell
- Aug 1
- 5 min read
As you walk into the Brisbane City clubhouse, you immediately get a sense of a club steeped in proud history. A foundation member of the old National Soccer League (NSL), the honours board charts both its silverware and the calibre of talent it has produced. Former Socceroos such as Craig Moore, Michael Zullo and Kenny Dougall feature, alongside more recent Matildas stars Laini and Sharn Frier. The woodfire pizza ovens—a nod to the club's Italian heritage—were doing a brisk trade on Wednesday evening, as over 2,200 supporters crammed into Imperial Corp Stadium. They'd come to see Brisbane City face fellow NPL Queensland side Olympic FC in the Australia Cup Round of 32.
From left to right: The woodfire pizza oven inside the Brisbane City clubhouse, the club's honours board, and an internationals board listing all of the Socceroos and Matildas the club has helped produce.
Like City, Olympic FC are a club with a rich history—founded in 1967 by Greek immigrants. As it turned out, the two sides went into Wednesday night's clash vying to become Queensland's sole representative in the last 16 of the Australia Cup. Peninsula Power and Gold Coast Knights had already been eliminated, and A-League side Brisbane Roar had fallen in the preliminary play-off.
Lining up for Brisbane City was former Brisbane Roar stalwart Corey Brown, who made 176 appearances during a 12-year association with the A-League club. Brown joined City following his release back in May, becoming one of several experienced Roar players to make the move to an NPL Queensland side. Goalkeeper Matt Acton and long-time teammate Jack Hingert have also found new homes, signing with Lions FC and Wynnum Wolves, respectively.
The two sides began the night level on the NPL Queensland ladder—locked on 28 points from 18 games—but any suggestion of a tight contest was quickly dispelled as Olympic dominated the opening half. Lathan Dunn rattled the crossbar inside ten minutes. When the visitors did find the target, they were repeatedly denied by an inspired Josh Langdon.
The City goalkeeper produced a string of outstanding saves, at times single-handedly keeping his team in the contest. His efforts didn't go unnoticed by City head coach Peter Gaffney, who told Front Page Football post-match:
"Josh Langdon was phenomenal tonight, but he's been doing that week in, week out for us. He's certainly one of the best goalkeepers in the competition."
Olympic continued to dominate after the break, with Langdon again called into action—this time producing a superb reflex save to tip over a fierce drive from Fumiya Sono. But City would make their opponents pay for their profligacy in front of goal, striking twice late to stun the visitors.
With 83 minutes on the clock, Malakai Love-Semira broke in behind the Olympic defence and squared the ball for Kye Bolton, who calmly tucked it home from close range. Then, deep into stoppage time, Bolton turned provider—cleverly backheeling into the path of another recent arrival, Marcus Barnes. The former Southampton academy graduate made no mistake, drilling a low shot into the bottom corner to complete a dramatic smash-and-grab.
City boss Gaffney was quick to acknowledge his side had ridden their luck at times and paid tribute to their opponents' performance.
"We were second best for large parts tonight," Gaffney admitted.
"But I can't fault the lads for hanging in. Credit to Chris Grossman (Olympic FC Head Coach), he had his side incredibly well drilled. They pressed better, countered better. We had to make a few little tweaks, and thankfully, our substitutions started to influence the game and helped swing the momentum a bit our way in that second half."
Gaffney also praised the impact of Corey Brown—who was forced off with a head knock shortly after City's opening goal—not just for his performance on the pitch, but for his influence off it.
"Corey's been brilliant since he arrived," Gaffney said. "Both he and Marcus have brought a real professionalism, not just to the team but culturally across the whole club."
Brown was able to shake off the effects of his head knock to speak pitch-side with Front Page Football post-match, and like his coach, he was quick to heap praise on goalkeeper Langdon for a heroic display.
"Josh had an unbelievable game tonight—he was unreal and kept us in it," Brown said. "Credit to Olympic as well. They executed their game plan superbly and were unlucky not to be ahead for the first 70 minutes or so."
As for the head injury, the 31-year-old was quick to downplay any concerns.
"It was a knock to the side of the head," he explained. "I think under the concussion protocol, I had to come off. I might've got one of the questions wrong—he asked what day it was and I said 'midweek'... that's close enough, isn't it?!"
Brown's career has come full circle, returning to the club where he first started as a junior.
"I grew up on this pitch," he recalled. "It holds some really great memories. My dad (former Brisbane Strikers forward Rod Brown) was coach here—he was the last coach to win the Queensland league for City back in 2011."
Looking ahead, Brown was optimistic about what the current squad can achieve.
"I have real belief in this group," he said. "We can't just focus on the Australia Cup—we've got a Queensland Cup semi-final coming up, again against Olympic, and we're still an outside chance of making the NPL top four."
With four of City's starting line-up aged 23 or under, Brown is eager to help guide the next generation.
"I want to be a leader in this group and give the younger boys an insight into what it takes to be a professional," he explained. "Peter Gaffney sold me on taking up a leadership role—what he's building here isn't just about now, it's about the years to come, and I hope to be a part of it."
Reflecting on his time at Brisbane Roar, Brown said he looked back on the experience with great fondness.
"I loved my time at the Roar—it was a big part of my life and I made some great friends there. I definitely want to come back and support them."
He also offered his thoughts on Roar's new Head Coach, Michael Valkanis.
"Michael has fresh ideas. He's an unbelievable coach with a lot of European experience, and I think he's building a really strong squad."
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City's reward for their dramatic win is another home tie—this time against Olympic Kingsway of Western Australia, who pulled off a huge cupset in the Round of 32 by knocking out Melbourne Victory 4–3 after extra time.
Gaffney, who recently marked 12 months in the role, welcomed the chance for his side to progress further in the competition.
"It's a great opportunity for us," he said. "They'll obviously have to travel a long way. We'll do our prep, but it's a good chance to try and move into the last eight."
They'll need to fire up those pizza ovens once more as this famous old club continues to fly the flag for Queensland on the national stage, and hopes to create a few more special memories along the way.
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