Top meets bottom in Round 19 of the National Premier League as the league leaders Gungahlin United hit the road for the journey to Griffith and the meeting with Yoogali SC at Solar Mad Stadium in what is an important match for both teams seeking much-needed points.
In some respects, this will be a free-shot for Yoogali, the team having hit some form at exactly the right time as the race for survival heats up at the foot of the table. The home side earned a creditable 1-1 draw with reigning Champions O’Connor Knights last time out and were disappointed not to get the win.
The point moved them to within touching distance of Canberra Olympic above them however, and with fixtures to come against Tigers (away) and Tuggeranong United (home), they will be confident that they can mount the great escape. To do so they will need to erase memories of the 9-0 hammering they received by Gunners earlier this year.
Gungahlin were held to a 2-2 draw by Monaro Panthers in Round 18, coming from behind twice to earn the draw and keep the lead at the top of the table. There is work to be done if they are to claim the title though, and that begins with this tricky looking contest.
The Battle of the Big Cats will see Tigers FC welcome Monaro Panthers to the Australian Institute of Sport in a contest that might well go a long way to determining which of these proud football clubs will be making the top four on the table and playing finals football.
The Panthers hold a slender advantage heading into this fixture, leading their rivals by a point on the current table after both picked up something in Round 18, Monaro a point from a draw with league-leading Gungahlin United, the Tigers the maximum return from a narrow win over Canberra Olympic.
These two love to go toe-to-toe with results this season being level at one victory apiece. Monaro won the first meeting, a 3-1 victory in Round 5, but Tigers squared the ledger with a terrific 4-0 battering of their opponents in the return fixture at the AIS, taking full advantage of a Panthers off day.
This clash is pivotal in the destiny of the 2024 campaign for both teams with matches fast running out. Whomever comes out on top will hold the advantage as we head into the final pair of games.
Tuggeranong United may have seen their hopes of making the top four fade over the last fortnight, the club now unable to make the finals unless there is a miraculous sequence of results in their favour, but they can have a massive impact at the other end as they face Canberra Olympic at Kambah 2.
Tuggeranong are unbeaten against Olympic in the last four NPL matches, and United has only conceded one goal in their last three meetings in the NPL against Canberra Olympic, a telling statistic against a team who is struggling to find the net this season.
Indeed, Olympic are 560 minutes without a goal and have only scored two in the last nine matches, one of the main reasons for their travails so far this term. Trying to rectify that in their final trio of fixtures will be paramount if Olympic are to withstand the last surge from Yoogali in the battle to avoid the drop.
Tuggeranong can play party pooper for both relegation battlers, they head to Griffith in the final round of the season and would be keen to finish the season on a high starting with a further three points and a continuation of their good rent form against the men in blue who, you feel, might need some points before the season is up.
The final ‘Cevapi Derby’ of the regular season will see Canberra Croatia make the journey to their near-neighbours O’Connor Knights for a hotly anticipated battle at the top of the National Premier League table. With both Gungahlin and the Knights dropping points in Round 18, Croatia can sense the turning of the tide and a chance to steal the crown.
This fixture is the ninth Croatia derby in the NPL era with both sides having won three and two matches drawn. In the last five meetings in the NPL between the clubs neither side has been able to record back-to-back victories, whilst Croatia have won two of the three matches played at O’Connor Enclosed and have scored eleven times in the process.
Knights looked distinctly leggy in the match against Yoogali in Round 18, lucky to escape from Griffith with a point as Yoogali dominated the second-half of their match without finishing off the opportunities they created. You’d think Croatia wouldn’t be so lackadaisical in their finishing should the chances arrive.
The Knights don’t need to lift themselves for a derby though, and the thought of three priceless points, and more bragging rights, might be enough to lift them from their recent slump in form.
FIXTURES
ROUND 19
Saturday 17 August
Yoogali SC v Gungahlin United (Solar Mad Stadium, 13:15)
O’Connor Knights v Canberra Croatia (O’Connor Enclosed, 15:00)
Tigers FC v Monaro Panthers (AIS Grass Field 1, 15:00)
Sunday18 August
Tuggeranong United v Canberra Olympic (Kambah 2, 15:00)
All matches are streamed live on BarTV Sports.
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Gungahlin United* | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 47 | 19 | +28 | 41 |
| 2 | Canberra Croatia | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 45 | 24 | +21 | 38 |
| 3 | O’Connor Knights | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 34 | 25 | +9 | 34 |
| 4 | Monaro Panthers | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 29 |
| 5 | Tigers FC** | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 37 | 23 | +14 | 28 |
| 6 | Tuggeranong United | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 26 | 31 | -5 | 20 |
| 7 | Canberra Olympic | 18 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 20 | 49 | -29 | 6 |
| 8 | Yoogali SC | 18 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 9 | 60 | -51 | 5 |
TOP SCORERS
17: Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (Gungahlin United)
12: Atiya WARAGA (Canberra Croatia)
11: Roko STRIKA (Monaro Panthers)
8: Daniel BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
7: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Michael KATSOULIS (Gungahlin United)
6: Augustine BANGURA (Gungahlin United), Jeremy HABTEMARIAM (Gungahlin United), Own GOALS
5: Jenno CERUTI (Monaro Panthers), Luca FLOREZ (Canberra Olympic), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Sam WALKER (Tuggeranong United)
4: Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Stephen DOMENICI (Canberra Olympic), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Santiago LUPINO (Monaro Panthers), Davaadelger OKTYABRI (Tuggeranong United), Jackson PAESLER (O’Connor Knights), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Gungahlin United)
3: Joshua DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Alen JAMES (Canberra Olympic/O’Connor Knights), Amilio KISTA (Tigers FC), Joshua MILICEVIC (Tigers FC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Daniel OLAOYE (Gungahlin United), Patrick O’ROURKE (O’Connor Knights), ROMEO (Gungahlin United), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
2: Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Michael JOHN (Canberra Olympic), Tyson LIVERMORE (Monaro Panthers), Zac MCLAREN (Monaro Panthers), Joshua PEDERSEN (Tuggeranong United), Niko PERINOVIC (O’Connor Knights), Michael PICCOLO (Canberra Croatia), Jordan REZEK (Tuggeranong United), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Kristian TOKIC (O’Connor Knights), Harry TRUMAN (Canberra Olympic)
1: Jack BITANI (Tigers FC), Samson CARR (Tigers FC), Izach CLEMENTS (Canberra Olympic), Elie DARWICH (Canberra Olympic), Adam DE FRANCESCHI (Monaro Panthers), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Lachlan FIELDS (O’Connor Knights), Axel GARBIN (Yoogali SC), Jack GREEN (Gungahlin United), Marley JACKSON (Tigers FC), Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia), Christopher JOHN (Yoogali SC), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Chirstian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers), Zac LAWRENCE (Tuggeranong United), Jack LEVERETT (Tuggeranong United), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Patrick MITCHELL (Monaro Panthers), Shinzaburo NAKAYAMA (Canberra Olympic), Alessandro PENA (Tigers FC), Euan PETERKIN (Tuggeranong United), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Sam ROESTBAKKEN (Canberra Olympic), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), David SESELJA (Canberra Croatia), Patrick SHORE (Canberra Olympic), Julian SMITH (Gungahlin United), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Antoni TIMOTHOEU (Gungahlin United), Ryan ZANATTA (Yoogali SC)
*Gungahlin United deducted three points for field an ineligible player in the 3-0 win against Tigers FC
**Tigers FC awarded a 3-0 win, and three points, for Gungahlin United fielding an ineligible player
