Canberra Croatia won the Boys U18 Charity Shield at the end of an epic penalty shoot-out that featured twenty-two penalties, one each taken by every player on the pitch at the end of the match, Croatia claiming an epic 9-8 victory after a 1-1 draw against Canberra Olympic.

Olympic took the lead early on with virtually the first attack of the match. A bouncing ball was mis-controlled by Croatia goalkeeper Cameron Young as he advanced and attempted to clear midway inside his own half, presenting an opening to Johnny Moustakas who was not about to pass up the invitation, sliding the ball into the empty net to put Olympic in front.

It was an advantage that they were to hold until the half-time break, despite half-chances for each team, Young redeeming himself with two excellent saves to keep the gap to one. Croatia slowly clawed themselves back into the contest and levelled matters midway through the second-half, a sustained period of pressure resulting in a goal for Noah Souverain, the forward levelling the scores with a tidy finish.

MATCH STATISTICS

Canberra Croatia 1 (Souverain 56’) Canberra Olympic 1 (Moustakas 2’) – Canberra Croatia won 9-8 on penalties

Canberra Croatia: 1. Cameron YOUNG, 2. Mitch CAMPBELL, 3. Luka RADIC, 9. James NGUYEN, 10. Luka KUNOVEC, 11. Ollie HAWKINS, 17. Thomas MILNES, 18. Mateusz MIKOLAJCZAK, 19. Michael LOPILATO, 20. Noel BARTONE, 21. Noah SOUVERAIN

Substitutes (all used): 5. Gavy RAJAL, 7. Nico VIDAKOVIC, 8. Ben POLLEY, 13. Gruvy RAJAL, 15. Isaac KIRKPATRICK

Canberra Olympic: 1. Arlo ROSE, 2. Johnny MOUSTAKAS, 3. Anakin STONE, 5. Dylan TIMMER, 6. Evan RICHARDS, 8. Cooper TOMLIN, 9. Daniel EVANS, 10. Mason FARDELL, 11. David JOSEPH, 18. Elefteri PAPACHARALAMBOUS, 17. Oscar PAPOUTSIS

Substitutes (all used): 7. Valentino JAKIMOVSKI, 12. Fletcher MACCONACHIE, 14. Riley CARTER, 15. Will KEENAN, 16. Zidan EL JAMMOUDI

REFEREE: Benjamin CRACKNELL

ASSISTANT REFEREES: Lachlan LI-CHIANG, Tom STUPARICH