North Canberra Fire recorded just a second ever defeat on West Canberra Lightning with a superb 7-5 win in a sensational match to open Round 3 of the Capital Futsal League at Daramalan College.
In-form Reilly Yuen bagged a second successive hat-trick as the Fire stunned the back-to-back Champions with a fast-paced, high pressing game which forced errors from the Lightning from which the Fire were able to take full advantage.
Fire got off to the perfect start scoring twice in the opening three minutes through Stella De Marco and Natalie De Marco only for a brace from Nadia Zakman, on debut, to level the scores by the eight-minute mark.
Yuen pounced to restore the lead, only for a Brittany Palombi penalty to ensure parity seconds later. However, Yuen with her fiftieth career CFL goal, and Ayla Robertson sent the Fire into the interval with a two-goal lead, an advantage that they were not to relinquish.
Indeed, Robertson struck once more, and Yuen completed her treble as the lead grew before Lightning found their groove reducing the gap to two by the final whistle as Palombi struck a second penalty past Jessica Giovinazzo, and Jamie Berkeley turned home from close range, but Fire had done more than enough.
UC Stars recorded a second win in three matches on Friday evening as they defeated Queanbeyan-Palerang Power 7-1 in the fixture played at the Queanbeyan Indoor Sports Centre.
The Stars were virtually untouchable for most of the match, despite a spirited effort from the home side who reduced the arrears to 3-1 at one point when Casey Smith struck her first goal for the club, but when Becky Rizzo netted her second of the encounter just before half-time, any hopes of a comeback were extinguished.
Earlier, a trio of goals within seven minutes had set the Stars on their way as Rizzo opened the scoring early on followed by a second Stars strike five minutes later, as Holly McPherson scored. Rhianna Goldstein made it 3-0 in the 12th minute for the University team.
After the break, the Stars controlled the passage of the match and Goldstein bagged a third of the year a minute after the resumption, before goals from Amy Bongiorno and Emily Robertson sealed the result.
Sienne Birnie grabbed five goals as South Canberra Swift held off a stubborn ANU Apex to claim a rugged, but deserve, 6-4 success and move top of the table by a single point.
The Swift started brightly and went in front after only four minutes as Birnie reacted fastest to a rebound after Sofia Chaverra blocked her initial shot, Birnie rattling home a shot from just outside the penalty area.
Far from kicking on though, the Swift found it problematic to force their way through the packed Apex defence, well-organised, and well-structured, meaning that Swift were forced to shoot from range, Chaverra the equal to everything that they could throw at them.
And, on a sporadic breakaway, the Apex drew level midway through the half. Karen Milewska drove infield and saw her shot blocked by the legs of Megan Snell, the rebound falling to Sheridan McElligott who thumped in a low shot from distance that flashed into the bottom corner.
All-square at the interval a fast start to the second stanza was required and it was the Swift that got it as Birnie completed here hat-trick within moments of the restart. The in-from attacker then added a brace more to complete her haul, Alyse Jensen adding another meaning that Apex late revival, headlined by a double from Edith Fordyce-Croker was in vain.
RESULTS
QP Power 1 (Smith 17’) UC Stars 7 (Rizzo 5’, 19’, McPherson 10’, Goldstein 12’, 21’, Bongiorno 27’, Robertson 37’)
West Canberra Lightning 5 (Zakman 4’, 8’, Palombi 9’ (p), 33’ (p), Berkeley 32’) North Canberra Fire 7 (S. De Marco 1’, N. De Marco 3’, Yuen 9’, 17’, 28’, Robertson 14’, 23’)
ANU Apex 4 (McElligott 10’, Baker 26’, Fordyce-Croker 30’, 39’) South Canberra Swift 6 (Birnie 4’, 21’, 25’, 25’, 36’, Jensen 27’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | South Canberra Swift | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 7 |
| 2 | North Canberra Fire | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 8 | +18 | 6 |
| 3 | UC Stars | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 6 |
| 4 | West Canberra Lightning | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 1 |
| 5 | ANU Apex | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 12 | -7 | 0 |
| 6 | QP Power | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 26 | -22 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
8: Reilly YUEN (Fire)
6: Sienna BIRNIE (Swift)
4: Megan CASTLE (Stars), Tatum MAZIS (Fire), Brittany PALOMBI (Lightning), Ayla ROBERTSON (Fire)
3: Isabella BARC (Lightning), Anneke CORRY (Swift), Natalie DE MARCO (Fire), Rhianna GOLDSTEIN (Stars)
2: Eliza BAKER (Apex), Sharon CHAO (Fire), Stella DE MARCO (Fire), Edith FORDYCE-CROKER (Apex), Zoe HALPIN (Swift), Jasmine RICHARDS (Fire), Becy RIZZO (Stars), Dannielle WALTMAN (Power), Nadia ZAKMAN (Lightning)
1: Jamie BERKELEY (Lightning), Amy BONGIORNO (Stars), Cara CERUTI (Swift), Kaitlyn COLWILL (Swift), Lauren HALL (Swift), Isabella HINDAMRSH (Swift), Alyse JENSEN (Swift), Sheridan MCELLIGOTT (Apex), Holly MCPHERSON (Stars), Jessica MITCHELL (Stars), Eliza-Jane NORRIS (Stars), Ginger OLIVER (Fire), Samantha PRICE (Swift), Emily ROBERTSON (Stars), Casey SMITH (Power), Zoe WILSON (Power), Own GOALS
