Sunday will be another feast of football in the WNPL. For starters, two teams at the bottom of the table fight to stay clear of the wooden spoon. The main course will see archrivals Olympic and Croatia meet at O’Connor, and as a dessert, a highly anticipated duel between Belconnen United and Gungahlin could decide the 2^nd spot, a few weeks before the Finals.

Fifth place West Canberra Wanderers host sixth place ANU WFC at Melrose Synthetic to kick us off on Sunday. A draw and a Wanderers’ success so far this season for this duel, that see maybe the two most spectacular goalkeepers of the competition facing each other.

Twice this season, the University Club struck first, and twice, they could not keep their lead. Before taking last weekend off, they had finally earned their first success of the season, as well as their first clean sheet. It was a long time coming, and fitting that their captain Edith Fordyce-Croker scored the second goal. The momentum is on their side, they need to play it well on Sunday.

The Wanderers almost had their biggest result of the season last Sunday at home against Belconnen, until the cruel 87^th minute that spoiled their efforts. West Canberra resisted Belconnen after causing trouble to Gungahlin and Croatia, proving they are getting close to the top four level. They have a chance to confirm at home this weekend.

Canberra Olympic and Canberra Croatia meet at O’Connor for a classic of our competition, despite the scales looking unbalanced in recent years. Olympic is 11 points above the Deakin side right now.

Frank Cachia’s team paid their lack of end product last week by conceding a late equaliser to Gungahlin. It was only the second time Olympic missed out on the three points this season. They have been the better side twice against Croatia in WNPL this season, finding the back of the net twice before any answer on both occasions. Cachia will want his players to stick to that routine.

Zoran Glavinic’s team did get a success against Olympic this season, albeit in the cup. The Deakin side is on an undefeated run this month, with a point taken against both Gungahlin and Belconnen. A result at O’Connor to capitalize on the momentum would be a welcome addition to that streak. Their attack showed good form last weekend and will need the same kind of inspiration to get through the best defence in the league.

The game of the round will be played at McKellar, where Belconnen United faces Gungahlin United with the second place potentially on the line.

The Blue Devils are not the same fear-inducing team they were for the first part of the season. They needed to push until the dying embers of last week’s game to get three points in Melrose, and this week they face an outfit motivated to better them a second time this year. A success against the Gunners would be a welcome boost a few weeks from the Finals.

Gungahlin have salvaged a point last week against Olympic, to keep an undefeated streak that started on June 2^nd by a victory against Belconnen. Two points behind the Blue Devils now, this Sunday is as crucial as it gets for Nick Van Aalst’s team in their late race to the top, before finishing the season with three games against the bottom three.

 

FIXTURES

 

ROUND 16

Sunday 28 July

West Canberra Wanderers v ANU WFC (Melrose Synthetic, 12:45)

Canberra Olympic v Canberra Croatia (O’Connor Enclosed, 14:30)

Belconnen United v Gungahlin United (McKellar Park, 15:00)

 

All matches are streamed live on BarTV Sports.

 

TABLE

 

		P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	Canberra Olympic	13	11	1	1	34	10	+24	34
2	Belconnen United	13	10	1	2	51	14	+37	31
3	Gungahlin United	14	9	2	3	35	17	+18	29
4	Canberra Croatia	14	7	2	5	35	24	+11	23
5	West Canberra Wanderers	13	2	2	9	11	31	-20	8
6	ANU WFC	12	1	2	9	8	40	-32	5
7	Tuggeranong United	13	0	2	11	3	41	-38	2

 

TOP SCORERS

12: Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United)

11: Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia)

10: Madelyn WHITTALL (Canberra Olympic), Reilly YUEN (Belconnen United)

7: Hattie CRAM (Belconnen United), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United)

6: Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Alex MARTENS (Gungahlin United)

5: Megan CASTLE (Canberra Croatia), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United), Sarah WHITFIELD (West Canberra Wanderers)

4: Alyse JENSEN (Belconnen United), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Croatia), Alex NEALAND (Gungahlin United)

3: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Tianah MIRO (Canberra Olympic), Madeliene PERCEVAL (Gungahlin United)

2: Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Jaya BOWMAN (Canberra Olympic), Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Olivia BUYTEWEG (Gungahlin United), Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Olivia HICKS (West Canberra Wanderers), Nicole JALOCHA (Canberra Olympic), Pascale LA HEI (Belconnen United), Sheridan MCELLIGOTT (ANU WFC), Saskia NEWMAN (ANU WFC), Ella PALFRAMAN (Canberra Croatia), Sofia PALYWODA (Belconnen United), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Own GOALS

1: Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Angelina BABIC (ANU WFC), Eliza BAKER (ANU WFC), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Amy BONGIORNO (Canberra Croatia), Sofia CHAVERRA (ANU WFC), Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Corinne DENTON (Gungahlin United), Jade EMMS (Belconnen United), Rhiannon FENSOM (Canberra Croatia), Edith FORDYCE-CROKER (ANU WFC), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Lauren HALL (West Canberra Wanderers), Elvein IBRHAIM (Tuggeranong United), Sarah MATTHEWS (Tuggeranong United), Amy MOORE (Gungahlin United), Demi NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Lauren PRESTON (Belconnen United), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United), Bessie RIETHMULLER (Canberra Olympic), Allegra SENTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Olympic), Jane VANZINO (Canberra Olympic), Matylda WELLS-SHEATHER (Tuggeranong United), Kayla WRIGHT (Gungahlin United), Nadia ZAKMAN (Canberra Croatia)