A dramatic second-half comeback from Belconnen United dented Queanbeyan City’s National Premier League promotion hopes, as the Blue Devils recovered from a 0-2 deficit after only seven minutes to claim a remarkable 3-2 win deep into stoppage time via a David McCarron goal.
Queanbeyan’s recent march towards the Capital Premier League crown appeared to be well on track early on at McKellar Park as the prolific Niko Abot put them ahead after only three minutes with his seventeenth goal of the season, before Abderrahim Dellahi made it double joy just four minutes later.
The match was much more even after that, but it wasn’t until after the break that Belconnen, buoyed by a half-time rollicking no doubt, came out to keep their season alive. A goal from Jayde James-Ward just past the hour sparked the beginning of the comeback before Abraham Kemp drew the sides level with fifteen minutes remaining.
A point each seemed on the cards, but McCarron struck late, four minutes into time added on to leave Queanbeyan bodies prostrate on the floor as their challenge for promotion took a potentially terminal hit.
Yoogali SC meanwhile were able to extend their lead at the top by only a point, forced to settle for a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Wagga City Wanderers at Gissing Oval in the Riverina Derby.
A seventeenth goal of the season from leading scorer Darren Bailey had Yoogali in front after only twenty minutes, and it was an advantage that they held until half-time against a Wanderers side whose recent form has been poor.
And yet, on derby day and the weekend in which they wore their annual charity shirts, Wagga fought back after the interval and were able to gain a point thanks to a goal from Thomas Yongai ten minutes from time. The Wanderers dropped four points out of the top four, albeit with a game in hand.
At ANU South, three goals within the space of three madcap first-half minute’s set ANU FC on the way to a much-needed 4-0 win over White Eagles, a result that kept the University team in third on goal difference ahead of the pack chasing the final spots in the end of season showdown.
Chase Deans got the fun started by opening the scoring on 23 minutes, and the host only had to wait sixty seconds for Sachin Sirkari to double the lead as the Eagles were caught napping from the re-start.
Worse was to follow for the side rooted to the foot of the table, a position unbefitting a club of this stature, as Hassan Alnuwaysir took advantage of some pedestrian defending to make it 3-0. A fourth goal appeared inevitable, and it duly arrived with nine minutes remaining as Rowan Peterkin rounded off the afternoon.
There was a similar tale at Ipan Park as Brindabella Blues romped to a six-goal win over hapless Canberra Juventus, the visitors cause hampered by the dismissal of Caleb Cullen-Rua just past the half-hour mark for a second bookable offence.
The ten men held firm until just before half-time as Jayden Deighan-Smith opened the scoring for a Brindabella side that, once more, has begun to find its feet as the season heads towards the finals.
Deighan-Smith gave the Blues the perfect start to the second-half by doubling his, and his team’s advantage, before Daniel Munoz made it three clear goals only sixty seconds later as Juventus were caught cold.
Henry Wilks soon made it four, and leading scorer Curtis Schaeffer got in on the act with the fifth with twenty-two minutes to play. An own goal from Brodie Simsons just three minutes later completed the scoring as the Blues flexed their muscles.
RESULTS
ROUND 19
Saturday 19 August
Brindabella Blues 6 (Deighan-Smith 44’, 46’, Munoz 47’, Wilks 53’, Schaeffer 68’, Simsons 71’ (og)) Canberra Juventus 0
Belconnen United 3 (James-Ward 63’, Kemp 75’, McCarron 90+4’) Queanbeyan City 2 (Abot 3’, Dellahi 7’)
ANU FC 4 (Deans 23’, Sirkari 24’, Alnuwaysir 26’, Peterkin 81’) White Eagles 0
Wagga City Wanderers 1 (Yongai 80’) Yoogali SC 1 (Bailey 20’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Yoogali SC | 19 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 54 | 25 | +29 | 39 |
| 2 | Queanbeyan City | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 31 | +5 | 34 |
| 3 | ANU FC | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 44 | 36 | +8 | 28 |
| 4 | Brindabella Blues | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 34 | 29 | +5 | 28 |
| 5 | Belconnen United | 19 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 32 | 30 | +2 | 27 |
| 6 | Wagga City Wanderers | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 42 | 36 | +6 | 24 |
| 7 | Canberra Juventus | 19 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 26 | 59 | -33 | 15 |
| 8 | White Eagles | 19 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 42 | -21 | 12 |
TOP SCORERS
17 Niko ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC)
14 Jake PLOENGES (Wagga City Wanderers)
13 Morris KADZOLA (Wagga City Wanderers)
12 Nathan DUCK (Canberra Juventus)
11 Joshua DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Rory SPIERS (ANU FC), Own GOALS
10 Curtis SCHAEFFER (Brindabella Blues)
8 Zac LAWRENCE (White Eagles), Henry WILKS (Brindabella Blues)
6 Hayden TUNNEY (Belconnen United)
5 Abderrahim DELLAHI (Queanbeyan City), Nicholas HOPE (ANU FC)
4 Mason DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Abraham KEMP (Belconnen United), Andrew MANLEY (ANU FC), Liam RAE (Belconnen United), Sachin SIRKARI (ANU FC), Jamie WARD (Brindabella Blues), Thomas YONGAI (Wagga City Wanderers)
3 Gabriel AYUEL (Queanbeyan City), Jayden DEIGHAN-SMITH (Brindabella Blues), Reuben DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Steven KRESKAS (White Eagles), Tim LOPEZ (ANU FC), David MCCARRON (Belconnen United), Rowan PETERKIN (ANU FC), Nashwan SULAIMAN (Wagga City Wanderers), Nikola TRAJKOVSKI (Queanbeyan City)
2 Hassan ALNUWAYSIR (ANU FC), Toni ANGELKOSKI (White Eagles), Nikolas BLASKOVIC (Brindabella Blues), Adam BROOKS (Canberra Juventus), Chase DEANS (ANU FC), Chaise DONETTO (Wagga City Wanderers), Jack GIBSON (ANU FC), Hussein FUREJE (Queanbeyan City), Ryan GULEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Andre JUGOVAC (Canberra Juventus), Nathan MATTHEWS (Canberra Juventus), Goran MILUTINOVIC (White Eagles), Max MOTTL (ANU FC), Daniel MUNOZ (Brindabella Blues), Luca NOVOSEL (Canberra Juventus), Maxwell PREST (Wagga City Wanderers), Federico PROIA (Canberra Juventus), Luke VALLONE (Belconnen United), Dustin WELLS (Belconnen United)
1 Tyler ALLEN (Wagga City Wanderers), Ohio ASIKHIA (White Eagles), Aleksander BELJANSKI (White Eagles), Harry BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Phil BORGEAUD (Belconnen United), Jordan CACHIA (White Eagles), Cuneyt CAGLAR (White Eagles), David CARDER (Belconnen United), Robbie CATTANACH (Belconnen United), Charlie D’ADDARIO (Belconnen United), Bailey DICKINSON (Belconnen United), William DWIGHT (Canberra Juventus), Monteagh GRACE (ANU FC), Oliver GRIST (ANU FC), Nahuel GUERRERO (Queanbeyan City), David GURNEY (Brindabella Blues), Leo HADLEY (ANU FC), Josh HICKMAN (White Eagles), Jayde JAMES-WARD (Belconnen United), Christian JUNNA (Queanbeyan City), Abraham KEMP (Belconnen United), Mohammed KHANOUSSI (Yoogali SC), Roshan LAMICHHANE (White Eagles), Jacob LEONARD (Brindabella Blues), Zac MAYBURY (Belconnen United), Tim NGUYEN (Belconnen United), Van NGUYEN (Canberra Juventus), Michael PICCOLO (Queanbeyan City), Romain PINTO (Yoogali SC), Samuel RACITI (Yoogali SC), Fahad RAMADHAN (Canberra Juventus), Robert RIMMER (Yoogali SC), Dejan SANTRAC (White Eagles), Kolby SEARS (Yoogali SC), Zac STEELE (Wagga City Wanderers), Riley WILLIAMS (Brindabella Blues), Jan WOJNA (ANU FC)
