Belconnen United put in a professional performance against ANU WFC on a cool Wednesday night, the Blue Devils moving back at the top of the ladder, two points ahead of Gungahlin United and Canberra Olympic.
Striker Bessie Riethmuller was back on the scoring sheet at the 17th minute, getting the scoring underway, after a four-game goal drought. The forward was perfectly served by her captain Talia Backhouse behind the defence on the right wing, and after getting on the inside of her defender, used her left foot to slot the ball at the near post, out of reach of interim goalkeeper Roxie Swart.
The University club tried to answer, but the Blue Devils’ defence, in the same fashion they have in recent games, proved too strong to break through. They were unfortunate to concede a penalty seven minutes before the break, following a handball in the box. Hattie Cram, ever so in form this winter, added to her personal tally with a fourth goal in the last five outings.
Comfortably ahead at half time, Scott Conlon’s players kept pushing in the second act. They had to be patient before they scored the third and final goal, but the quality of Backhouse’s finish was worth every second of the wait. Twenty minutes before the final whistle, the captain battled for a bottle at the edge of the box, before swerving in a missile with her right boot, in the top left corner.
The goal of the game in the back of the net, and the three points in the bag, Backhouse could sit on the bench and witness from the sidelines her team record a third straight clean sheet, as well as taking the top spot on the table, a place they now need to defend for four more weeks.
Canberra United Academy travelled to Kambah face Tuggeranong United on Tuesday evening, and the players in Green left the south with all three points. The team coached by Matthew Moore had to show all their resilience against a Tuggeranong outfit going from strength to strength to finish the season. An entertaining first half saw three goals scored within 15 minutes.
Alyssa Di Campli found the back of the net first, halfway through the opening forty-five minutes, receiving a ball in the box and placing a powerful effort in the bottom left corner. The home team did not take long to respond, and the inimitable Samanatha Wood would take an in-swerving free kick eight minutes later, deflected in their own net by the Academy’s defence. It was her fourth goal since joining the Tuggies halfway through the season.
The game did not stay level for long. Five minutes later, at the end of a well-constructed phase, Maddie Sawkins found Tamara Cochrane superbly behind the defence, and the forward calmly wrong-footed Amy Wiggan from up close.
With only one goal between the two, the second half was a battle, with the home team eventually unable to get their equaliser. It was in fact another Sawkins-Cochrane combination, the first one taking a free kick, the second sneakily waiting for the ball to reach her at the far post, that would offer the Academy a third goal in the dying embers of the game.
The clash of this midweek was played at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval and held all its promises, with Canberra Olympic coming from one goal down to take three crucial points in the title race against Gungahlin United (2-1).
The duel between the second and third on the table, two teams with almost unbreakable defence’s in recent weeks, was always going to be a hotly disputed encounter. A goalless first half was the result of the solidity of these defences and the talent of the goalkeepers, both responding present when needed.
The Gunners struck first, and early in the second half. Forty seconds and ten passes after kick-off, a cross from Maddie Perceval bounced on Vanessa Ryan’s leg and landed kindly in front of Michelle Heyman in the box. The Canberra United striker would not miss from that distance, smashing past Janet King in the six-yard box.
Close to scoring a second goal minutes later, Gungahlin United ended up conceding at the 53rd minute, with Alexandra Cook reminding the WNPL she is one of its best set piece takers. A free-kick on the right side of the box saw the centre-back swerving in a left-footed effort that snuck in Emily Kelly’s near post top corner.
Andrew Woodman’s team pushed to get their lead back, but the Olympic defence showed once again why they have conceded so little this season. Nicole Begg’s team slowly found more opportunities in attack, and eventually found the game winner thirteen minutes from the final whistle.
Tia Burridge, who had not found the back of the net since the third round of the competition, found space behind the Gunners’ defence, and from the edge of the box, and glanced a right footed effort out of Kelly’s reach. The all-important goal offered Olympic the three points, placing them level with Gungahlin at the table, with a game in hand on their opponents of the night.
RESULTS
CATCH-UP MATCHES
Wednesday 8 August
Belconnen United 3 (Riethmuller 17’, Cram 38’ (p), Backhouse 69’) ANU WFC 0
Tuggeranong United 1 (Wood 32’) Canberra United Academy 3 (Di-Campli 23’, Cochrane 36’, 90’)
Thursday 9 August
Gungahlin United 1 (Heyman 46’) Canberra Olympic 2 (Cook 54’, Burridge 78’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Belconnen United | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 46 | 10 | +36 | 37 |
| 2 | Canberra Olympic | 16 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 37 | 10 | +27 | 35 |
| 3 | Gungahlin United | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 38 | 19 | +19 | 35 |
| 4 | Canberra Croatia | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 40 | 17 | +23 | 33 |
| 5 | Canberra United Academy | 17 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 23 | 31 | -8 | 26 |
| 6 | Tuggeranong United | 16 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 16 | 48 | -32 | 10 |
| 7 | ANU WFC | 17 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 40 | -27 | 9 |
| 8 | West Canberra Wanderers | 17 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 53 | -38 | 8 |
TOP SCORERS
15 Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia)
12 Bessie RIETHMULLER (Belconnen United)
10 Hattie CRAM (Belconnen United)
8 Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United)
7 Nicole JALOCHA (Canberra Olympic), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Croatia), Charli MITCHELL (Canberra Croatia), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
6 Tamara COCHRANE (Canberra United Academy)
5 Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United), Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Olivia GURNEY (Canberra Olympic), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Olympic), Madelyn WHITTALL (Canberra Olympic), Own GOALS
4 Jade BROWN (Gungahlin United), Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Maddison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Canberra United Academy), Roxie SWART (ANU WFC), Samantha WOOD (Tuggeranong United)
3 Sofia CHRISTOPHERSON (Canberra United Academy), Rhiannon FENSOM (Canberra Croatia), Michelle HEYMAN (Gungahlin United), Alyse JENSEN (West Canberra Wanderers), Erika PENNYFIELD (Gungahlin United), Nikita PERRY (West Canberra Wanderers/Canberra Croatia), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United),
2 Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Ella-Rose BROWN (Gungahlin United), Cara CERUTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Alexandra COOK (Canberra Olympic), Rachael CORBETT (Gungahlin United), Lauren HALL (West Canberra Wanderers), Sheridan MCELLIGOTT (ANU WFC), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra United Academy), Alexandra NEALAND (Canberra United Academy), Rainey NILES (Tuggeranong United), Marija RATHOUSKI (Belconnen United), Madeleine STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Zoe TERRY (Tuggeranong United), Kate WALKER (West Canberra Wanderers), Sarah WHITFIELD (West Canberra Wanderers), Kayla WRIGHT (Gungahlin United), Reilly YUEN (Belconnen United)
1 Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Latisha BABIC (Canberra United Academy), Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Croatia), Amy BONGIORNO (Canberra Croatia), Jaya BOWMAN (Canberra United Academy), Sofia CHAVERRA (ANU WFC), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Emma DOUGLAS-OLIVEIRA (ANU WFC), Edith FORDYCE-CROKER (ANU WFC), Charli GREGSON (Tuggeranong United), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Isabella HOPKINS (ANU WFC), Abby HURMAN (Tuggeranong United), Ashlyn LEWIS (Tuggeranong United), Sarah MATTHEWS (Tuggeranong United), Ailish MCDONAGH (ANU WFC), Peri NASH (Canberra United Academy), Maya OSMOND (Canberra United Academy), Madeleine PERCEVAL (Gungahlin United), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Vanessa RYAN (Canberra Olympic), Elisha WILD (Canberra United Academy), Juliet WILLIAMS (ANU WFC), Zoe WILLIAMS (Tuggeranong United), Kayla WRIGHT (Gungahlin United), Jasmine ZABEL (Canberra Olympic)
