Canberra Croatia were made to work hard for the points as they continued to push Tigers FC at the top of table with a 4-2 win over Monaro Panthers at Deakin Stadium.
The Panthers stunned Croatia by opening the scoring in only the sixth minute, creating an overlap on the right flank, where Alexander Lulic was on hand to steer a shot underneath the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
It was an advantage that lasted just a couple of minutes though as Croatia hit back. Captain Ivica Majetic burst through some half-hearted defending and lashed a shot high into the roof of the net.
Shortly after, the home side took the lead. Jebediah Jeffery hammering home from an acute angle into the far corner beyond the reach of the Panthers’ keeper. However, Panthers were level on sixty minutes, a defensive error leading to Zia Baird side-footing home the equaliser.
Croatia were to take the points though as they were awarded a penalty with twelve minuets to play, Majetic converting from the spot, before substitute Owen Learmonth made it four in the 81st minute.
Tuggeranong United claimed three valuable points to push themselves closer to cementing a place in the top-four as they brushed aside the challenge of Queanbeyan City with a 4-0 win at South Jerrabomberra Regional Sporting Complex.
Tuggeranong got off to an absolute flier as they struck twice inside of the opening five minutes of the match and, each time, it was Sam Sheedy who delivered. His first was an explosive right-footed curling free-kick in the third minute, with the second an ‘Olimpico’ directly from a corner just two minutes later.
There was a third just past the half-hour mark, killing the match as a contest, as Timothy Santos thrashed in from a yard after a shot had been parried into his path just centimetres from the Queanbeyan City goal line.
With a comfortable cushion, United were able to keep City at arm’s length for most of the second stanza, chances coming and going for both teams as the sun set behind the main grandstand.
United were to add a fourth with eight minute to go as Anthony Antoniak broke clear onto a long ball finishing into an empty net after a mistake from the Queanbeyan goalkeeper, collecting his thirteenth goal of the season.
O’Connor Knights hopes of closing the gap at the top were struck a blow as Gungahlin United came from behind to win 2-1 at O’Connor Enclosed.
The Knights struck first twenty minutes in with a superbly created team goal from front to back. An incisive move ended with Ivan Dzaja taking a pass in his stride and squaring across goal for Ibrahim Obeid to control and finish decisively past Gunners goalkeeper Samuel Hind.
Dzaja might have made it two, but for an incredible recovery stop from Hind, and Gunners were able to draw level with twelve minutes remaining. Awarded a penalty after a foul inside the area, Sebastian Munoz calmly strolled up to stroke the ball home to equalise.
Following the dismissal of Anakin Mijoc for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, Gungahlin sensed blood and took the lead with four minutes to go as substitute Stephen Cerni controlled a cross and netted from inside the area to win the match.
A solitary goal, four minutes from time from Jake Fattore, allowed league leaders Tigers FC to continue their march at the top of the table with a narrow 1-0 success over Yoogali SC at Solar Mad Stadium.
Fattore found space inside the Yoogali penalty area in the 86th minute to place his shot into the back of the net and spark ecstatic scenes amongst the travelling players who regained the leadership of the division from Canberra Croatia in the process.
RESULTS
ROUND 14
Saturday 12 July
Tuggeranong United 4 (Sheedy 3’, 5’, Santos 32’, Antoniak 82’) Queanbeyan City 0
Canberra Croatia 4 (Jeffery 8’, 23’, Majetic 78’ (p), Learmonth 83’) Monaro Panthers 2 (Lulic 6’, Baird 60’)
Sunday 13 July
O’Connor Knights 1 (Obeid 20’) Gungahlin United 2 (Munoz 78’ (p), Cerni 86’)
Yoogali SC 0 Tigers FC 1 (Fattore 86’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Tigers FC | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 49 | 17 | +33 | 34 |
| 2 | Canberra Croatia | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 33 | 21 | +12 | 32 |
| 3 | O’Connor Knights | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 30 | 21 | +9 | 23 |
| 4 | Tuggeranong United | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 27 | 23 | +4 | 21 |
| 5 | Gungahlin United | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 28 | -11 | 16 |
| 6 | Monaro Panthers | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 31 | -9 | 15 |
| 7 | Yoogali SC | 13 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 29 | -13 | 14 |
| 8 | Queanbeyan City | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 18 | 42 | -24 | 6 |
TOP SCORERS
13: Anthony ANTONIAK (Tuggeranong United), Cooper HEAGNEY (Tigers FC)
10: Zachary ILIJOSKI (Tigers FC)
8: Jebediah JEFFERY (Canberra Croatia)
6: Leo DONALD (Tuggeranong United), Thinley DORJI (Tigers FC), Alexander EVANS (Queanbeyan City), Own GOALS
5: Elliot ALBERTO (Tigers FC)
4: Daniel ANDERSON (O’Connor Knights), Zia BAIRD (Monaro Panthers), Kaide CASTLE (Yoogali SC), James GODDING (Canberra Croatia), Owen LEARMONTH (Canberra Croatia), Darcy MIDDLETON (Canberra Croatia), Ayham NASSER (Monaro Panthers), Fabian OLIVARES (Gungahlin United), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Leo VANDERPOL (Monaro Panthers)
3: Rocco DI PLACIDO (O’Connor Knights), Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Ivan DZAJA (O’Connor Knights), Jake FATTORE (Tigers FC), Jacob KITE (Gungahlin United), Sebastian MUNOZ (Gungahlin United), Samuel RACITI (Yoogali SC), Anthony RAKIC (Canberra Croatia), Luka USLJEBRKA (O’Connor Knights)
2: Samuel ABA (Queanbeyan City), Joshua AMOAH (Tigers FC), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Xavier BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Stephen CERNI (Gungahlin United), Zachary COLSON (Tigers FC), Kye COSSETTINI (Tigers FC), Marcus CRISPE (Tigers FC), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Oliver HAWKINS (Canberra Croatia), Jack JANKE (O’Connor Knights), Mitchell JERVIS-HAMILTON (Monaro Panthers), Alexander LULIC (Monaro Panthers), Ivica MAJETIC (Canberra Croatia), Ahmed MUBAIDEEN (Tigers FC), Daniel OBST (Queanbeyan City), Nikola PERINOVIC (O’Connor Knights), Sam SHEEDY (Tuggeranong United)
1: Cos ARENA (O’Connor Knights), Luke ARMANINI (Yoogali SC), Daniel BARBATANO (Queanbeyan City), Thomas BARBATANO (Gungahlin United), Jack BITANI (Queanbeyan City), Tanatswa BVIRAKARE (Tigers FC), Fabian CACOPARDO (Yoogali SC), Samson CARR (Tigers FC), Marcos DA SILVA (Canberra Croatia), Sivamsh DEEVI (Gungahlin United), Ethan DONETTO (Yoogali SC), Aleksandar DORDEVIC (Queanbeyan City), Tomer DORON (O’Connor Knights), Jack ELLWOOD (Monaro Panthers), Dominic GALLUZZO (Yoogali SC), Aston GOODWIN (Canberra Croatia), Joshua HEDDITCH (Monaro Panthers), Luka JUKIC (Canberra Croatia), Joshua KEENAN (Yoogali SC), Marcus LAU (Gungahlin United), Jure LEMEZINA (Monaro Panthers), Alexei MARDIYANTS (Monaro Panthers), Mohammad MAZRAEH (Tuggeranong United), Leon MCLEAN (Canberra Croatia), Joseph MIKAHEL (Monaro Panthers), Hamish MOYLE (Gungahlin United), Ibrahim OBEID (O’Connor Knights), Nicholas PIVA (Yoogali SC), Nicolas PULCIANI (Tigers FC), Kris RAAD (Tuggeranong United), Andrija RAKIC (Canberra Croatia), Jayden RIPPON (Gungahlin United), Abdin SAID (Tuggeranong United), Timothy SANTOS (Tuggeranong United), Ali SOHANI (Monaro Panthers), Ethan SAUNDERS (O’Connor Knights), William TWEEDIE (O’Connor Knights), Josip UJDUR (O’Connor Knights)
