Round 3 of the National Premier League in Canberra promises some titanic battles as the top four early pace-setters meet in a pair of matches that will have a profound effect on the make-up of the league table come the conclusion of the weekend.
Leaders Tigers FC will be determined to continue their 100% start to the season, and maybe atone for their Australia Cup Qualifying competition defeat, when they make the trip to Deakin Stadium to meet the League Champions, Canberra Croatia, in a Saturday evening heavyweight bout.
Both teams enter the contest off the back of big victories last time out, Croatia burying their Kambah hoodoo by overturning a one-goal deficit to ram home half-a-dozen goals in defeating Tuggeranong United. The return from suspension of goalscorer supreme Stephen Domenici coinciding with the hit-man claiming a brace of goals.
Tigers FC leading scorer, and the competitions early Golden Boot leader, Josh Gulevski went even better as he struck four times as the Tigers blitzed West Canberra Wanderers with a wave of second half goals, winning 7-1.
When they met in the Cup, Croatia came out on top, and the Tigers looked a tad ramshackle in their approach. They have tided that up and have started the NPL season in blistering fashion netting ten times in two games. With Croatia always tough to beat at home, and full of goals themselves, this has the hallmarks of a potential classic.
The only other team to have won both their opening matches of the season, Canberra Olympic, will travel to the Australian Institute of Sport on Sunday afternoon, when they go up against Gungahlin United in what is always one of the premium fixtures of the NPL season.
Contests between Olympic and the Gunners are generally high-paced, technically excellent, and goal-laden affairs, and with both teams chock full of classy operators, supporters can expect another quality meeting at the top of the table.
Olympic look full of goals going forward, and resolutely stoic at the back, a fact underlined by their seven goals in the for column and being the only team not to concede in the first two rounds of the new season. A front five that interchange fluidly and possess wonderful movement, Olympic are proving a handful for defences
The Gunners started the season with a big away win at Tuggeranong, but were brought back down to earth, losing 2-3 in a superb exhibition against the Monaro Panthers at the Riverside Stadium. Gungahlin netted twice off set-pieces and may use this route again to finally break Olympic’s defensive wall.
A spectacular winner from Connor Mynott-Smith ensured a first win of the season for the Monaro Panthers and the team that won three trophies in 2022 will be confident of securing the points when they make the trip to Melrose Synthetic and a clash with bottom of the table West Canberra Wanderers.
Any match on the synthetic is a tough one however, and the Panthers will certainly not be taking anything for granted, particularly as they come into the fixture off the back of a gruelling Australia Cup Round 5 meeting with Canberra Croatia in midweek at their Riverside home.
The return from suspension of Gabe Cole and Roko Strika has bolstered the Panthers ranks, and the question may be asked where these two influential players fit into a team that was excellent in the second half in securing a memorable win over Gungahlin United. Just who is left out of a super team display? The cup tie may well have given an indication.
Twelve goals conceded in their opening two matches is a tough baptism for 2023 for the Wanderers, but if there is a consolation, it’s that the team from Woden could hardly have asked for a tougher schedule to start the new campaign. The Panthers being the visitors doesn’t make it any easier.
The final match of the second matchday sees Tuggeranong United make the journey to O’Connor Enclosed to take on the O’Connor Knights in what promises to be an intriguing battle between the two teams who have been the beneficiary of promotion from the Capital Premier League in the last two seasons.
It has been a tough start to life back in the NPL for Tuggeranong, the CPL Champions losing both their opening matches at their home ground of Kambah 2, and conceding ten goals in the process, a statistic that must be worrying for Mitch Stevens and his coaching staff ahead of this fixture.
Performances in the first half against Croatia last week, and the second half against Gungahlin in Round 1, were decent but United know that they must start putting together ninety minute showings, and cutting out errors that are ruthlessly punished at this level if they are to have a positive year.
Knights were disappointed to lose against Olympic and are currently sitting on one point when, with greater care and application in the final third, could well have been celebrating to wins from two. They enter this one as slight favourites, but will need to be at their best to turnover a wounded Tuggeranong.
FIXTURES
Saturday 22 April
West Canberra Wanderers v Monaro Panthers (Melrose Synthetic, 14:00)
O’Connor Knights v Tuggeranong United (O’Connor Enclosed, 15:00)
Canberra Croatia v Tigers FC (Deakin Stadium, 17:30)
Sunday 23 April
Gungahlin United v Canberra Olympic (AIS Grass, 15:00)
TABLE
P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
1 | Tigers FC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 6 |
2 | Canberra Olympic | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 6 |
3 | Canberra Croatia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 4 |
4 | Gungahlin United | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 3 |
5 | Monaro Panthers | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 3 |
6 | O’Connor Knights | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 1 |
7 | Tuggeranong United | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | -8 | 0 |
8 | West Canberra Wanderers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
5 Josh GULEVSKI (Tigers FC)
4 Luca FLOREZ (Canberra Olympic)
2 Stephen DOMENICI (Canberra Croatia). Maxx GREEN (Gungahlin United), Connor MYNOTT-SMITH (Monaro Panthers), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Jason UGRINIC (Canberra Croatia)
1 Daniel BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Jake BISHOP (Tigers FC), Riley BROWN (West Canberra Wanderers), Elie DARWICH (Canberra Olympic), Josh GASPARI (Gungahlin United), Jack GREEN (Gungahlin United), Sam HABTEMARIAM (Gungahlin United), Micheal JOHN (Monaro Panthers), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights), Ed MCCARTHY (Tigers FC), Lasse OLRIK (Canberra Olympic), Jackson PAESLER (Gungahlin United), Kaz PATAFTA (Canberra Croatia), Euan PETERKIN (Tuggeranong United), Nik POPOVICH (Canberra Olympic), Hristjan TANOSKI (Tigers FC), Sam WALKER (Tuggeranong United), Own GOALS