It’s Queanbeyan derby day that headlines Round 5 of the Capital Football National Premier League competition as more than points are at stake at High Street as Queanbeyan City, in their first foray into the top tier, welcome new neighbours Monaro Panthers.
Whilst the league table sees ten points between the clubs, form often goes out of the window in these games, pride and passion the name of the game for the ‘Clear Waters’ Derby, the aboriginal meaning of the word Quinbean from which Queanbeyan derives its name.
City ensured their place in the Hahn Australia Cup Qualifying Semi-Finals in midweek, their 2-0 win over Brindabella Blues ensuring a home last four match-up against fellow NPL opposition, but any hopes of an all-Queanbeyan final were dashed when the Panthers were defeated by Canberra Croatia.
Panthers have been amongst the goals, nineteen of them in four matches so far this season, whilst Queanbeyan have only managed a paltry return of one in their quarter of fixtures to date. Stopping the rampant Panthers attack will be the home team priority, but playing on adrenaline won’t be sufficient alone.
There’s a trio of matches to take in on Sunday afternoon with the league leading Canberra Croatia making the trip to the Australian Institute of Sport for a top-of-the-table match against third-place Tigers FC.
Croatia have been outstanding during the 2025 season to date, much like Monaro bludgeoning a pile of goals with nineteen in their tally already, and a goal difference that has seen them concede only two, the best defensive record in the NPL after four rounds of matches.
Tigers FC have finally found their groove, having won two of their last three and showing remarkable powers of recovery to overturn a 0-2 home deficit to eke out a point against Tuggeranong United at the same venue last weekend.
They’ll seek to keep Croatia quiet in the front third, and to do that, will need to take control of the midfield engine room. That battle will be critical in deciding the outcome. Croatia currently leads Tigers by five points with a game in hand, and the home side simply can’t afford to let that margin grow much further.
Kambah 2 will provide the backdrop for the meeting between two teams poised to make a concerted effort for the top four in the 2025 season with Tuggeranong United welcoming O’Connor Knights.
The teams have met six times in the NPL with Knights having won five and there being one draw. Tuggeranong still awaits their first win in the series, the two Kambah matches having ended in Knights victories.
Steve Nealon has scored five goals in his last three competitive matches for Tuggeranong whilst Romeo Jambrek has three in his last two. Of the eight goals that Steve Nealon has scored in all competitions this season, six of them have come in the second-half, while at the other end, United haven’t kept a clean sheet for four consecutive matches in all competitions.
Knights finally kicked their season into gear in Round 4 with a six-goal drubbing of Queanbeyan and with Michael Adams, who scored three goals in three matches against Tuggeranong last season off the mark in the NPL, O’Connor will travel with confidence.
Over in Griffith, Yoogali SC will roll out their usual welcome for Gungahlin United who will make the long-haul to Solar Mad Stadium both teams sitting on a pair of points and seeking a win to ignite their NPL campaign.
For Yoogali their extra-time cup loss was compounded by a 0-3 loss on their visit to Stryda Park, a second round-trip to Canberra in the space of five-days taking its toll on a squad that has never been the biggest in terms of numbers of players available for selection.
Gungahlin are in an NPL goal drought that now stands at 488 minutes and counting, their last goal being back at the tail-end of the 2024 season netted by Daniel Olaoye in a 1-1 draw against Canberra Croatia in the Qualification Final.
Yoogali will fancy their chances at home, especially against the goal-shy Gunners who will be coming into the trip off the back of a Hahn Australia Cupo Qualifying tie against Tigers FC.
FIXTURES
ROUND 5
Saturday 10 May
Queanbeyan City v Monaro Panthers (High Street, 15:00)
Sunday 11 May
Tuggeranong United v O’Connor Knights (Kambah 2, 15:00)
Tigers FC v Canberra Croatia (AIS Grass, 15:00)
Yoogali SC v Gungahlin United (Solar Mad Stadium, 15:00)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | +17 | 12 |
| 2 | Monaro Panthers | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 3 | +16 | 12 |
| 3 | Tigers FC | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 7 |
| 4 | Tuggeranong United | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | -4 | 5 |
| 5 | O’Connor Knights | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 13 | -6 | 3 |
| 6 | Gungahlin United | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | -8 | 2 |
| 7 | Yoogali SC | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | -9 | 2 |
| 5 | Queanbeyan City | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 2 |
TOP SCORERS
6: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers)
4: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
3: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
2: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Jenno CERUTI (O’Connor Knights), Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Own GOALS
1: Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights), Augustine BANGURA (Tigers FC), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Nikola JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Alessandro PENA (Tuggeranong United), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Nim TANESKI (Tigers FC), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Sam WHITEHEAR (Tigers FC)
TOP ASSISTS
6: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
4: Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers)
3: Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Kobi YARIYARI (O’Connor Knights)
1: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Xabier DAVIES (Tuggeranong United), Jacob DONADEL (Yoogali SC), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC)
