After a midweek win away to Monaro Panthers, Tigers FC find themselves five points off top spot, with only three games to go, as they welcome Tuggeranong United to the AIS on Saturday afternoon.
Top spot on the OPC NPL Men’s ladder, and a place in the Australian Championship, is still within reach for Ali Efe’s squad, and the upcoming clash against Tuggeranong, and the three points, is crucial ahead of a meeting with top of the table Croatia the following week.
Tigers are in a rich vein of form at the moment, unbeaten in their last five with four wins and a draw, scoring 13 goals.
It won’t be an easy task for them however, as they come up against a difficult Tuggeranong United side, who are looking to keep their spot in the top four, and chances of final football alive, with a potential upset win.
With finals football already secured, Monaro Panthers make the trek to face Yoogali SC at SolarMad Stadium in Griffith. A midweek loss at home to Tigers FC has all but ended the Panthers’ chance of a trophy but they still have plenty to play for with a top two spot, and a double chance in the finals series, up for grabs.
They will have their work cut-out for them however, as they travel to take on the men from Griffith. Last time these two sides met, saw the Panthers escape with a point at Stryda Park thanks to a 94th minute equaliser.
Despite coming into this match off the back of a loss at home, Yoogali will be confident of a result, having beaten the league leaders Canberra Croaita a fortnight ago.
Fifth placed Queanbeyan City make the short trip across the ACT/NSW border to face the struggling O’Connor Knights at O’Connor Enclosed.
A top four spot is well within reach for Goran Josifovski and his squad in their first season in the topflight. A win against the eighth placed Knights, along with other results going their way, would go a long way to getting the club a place in the finals. They’ve got a difficult run home, taking on derby rivals Monaro and Tigers in their last two, so three points are absolutely crucial.
Fo O’Connor, it’s a chance to climb off the foot of the ladder with a game in hand on Yoogali in seventh. The Knights haven’t tasted success since their 2-1 win over Tigers in Round Nine, having lost eight in a row since. With one eye already on the 2026 season, and pride on the line, it’ll be a tough test for the side against a difficult opponent in Queanbeyan.
The last match of the round sees Gungahlin United take on Canberra Croatia at Gungahlin Enclosed. Despite struggling for large parts of the season, Gunners still find themselves with a chance of making the finals.
The side from Canberra’s North have been slowly picking up their form ion the last few weeks, with two wins and a draw in their last five outings. An thrilling 4-5 win over Croatia last time these two sides met, will have Javier Roca’s side confident of pulling off another result.
For Croatia, a result is crucial in keeping them in first and getting their hands on yet another League Champions trophy. There is a chance that they could wrap up the title this weekend, if Tigers fail to beat Tuggeranong, but with a match against the second placed Tigers next week, a result this week is paramount to success for Dean Ugrinic’s side.
FIXTURES
ROUND 19
Saturday 16 August
O’Connor Knights v Queanbeyan City (O’Connor Enclosed, 15:00)
Yoogali SC v Monaro Panthers (Solar Mad Stadium, 15:00)
Tigers FC v Tuggeranong United (AIS, 15:00)
Sunday 17 August
Gungahlin United v Canberra Croatia (Gungahlin Enclosed, 15:00)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 18 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 67 | 21 | +46 | 42 |
| 2 | Tigers FC | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 42 | 29 | +13 | 37 |
| 3 | Monaro Panthers | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 52 | 23 | +29 | 33 |
| 4 | Tuggeranong United | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 38 | -13 | 24 |
| 5 | Queanbeyan City | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 19 | 31 | -12 | 23 |
| 6 | Gungahlin United | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 28 | 46 | -18 | 19 |
| 7 | Yoogali SC | 18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 23 | 41 | -18 | 12 |
| 8 | O’Connor Knights | 17 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 29 | 57 | -28 | 10 |
TOP SCORERS
16: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers)
14: Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
13: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
8: Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights/Tigers FC), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
7: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United), Own GOALS
6: Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Jenno CERUTI (O’Connor Knights), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC)
5: Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Ayumu KIMURA (Gungahlin United), Connor MYNOTT-SMITH (Monaro Panthers), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers)
4: Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers/Tigers FC), Giancarlo D’ADDARIO (Gungahlin United), Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers), Loick LESPINASSE (Gungahlin United), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC)
3: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Mason DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Phakedi MANDA (Monaro Panthers/O’Connor Knights), Misko NAUMOSKI (Queanbeyan City), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers / Canberra Croatia), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Sam WHITEHEAR (Tigers FC)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Gabriel AYUEL (Queanbeyan City), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC / Gungahlin United), Augustine BANGURA (Tigers FC), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Dylan DEEP-JONES (Monaro Panthers), Abderrahim DELLAHI (Queanbeyan City), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Josh GASPARI (Gungahlin United), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC), Zac LAWRENCE (Tuggeranong United), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia)
1: Connor BILL (O’Connor Knights), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Isaac DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Luca FLOREZ (Gungahlin United), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Nikola JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Chistian JUNNA (O’Connor Knights), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Alex-Junior MALAUULU (Gungahlin United), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Zac MCLAREN (Monaro Panthers), Nathen MEGIC (Tigers FC), Alessandro PENA (Tuggeranong United), Euan PETERKIN (Tuggeranong United), Sam RACITI (Yoogali SC), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Daniel ROBERTS (Queanbeyan City), Joey SEO (Yoogali SC), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Daler TOKHIROV (Yoogali SC), Noah VANDERPOL (Queanbeyan City), Hamish WALES (Tigers FC), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
TOP ASSISTS
18: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
9: Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers)
8: Phakedi MANDA (Monaro Panthers/O’Connor Knights), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
7: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United)
6: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers)
5: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC)
4: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Tigers FC), Kobi YARIYARI (O’Connor Knights)
3: Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Josh DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Cole FALCO (Tuggeranong United), Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Giancarlo D’ADDARIO (Gungahlin United), Abderrahim DELLAHI (Queanbeyan City), Chaise DONETTO (Yoogali SC), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Loick LESPINASSE (Gungahlin United), AJ MALAUULU (Gungahlin United), Joshua MILICEVIC (Tigers FC), Connor MYNOTT-SMITH (Monaro Panthers), Josh PEDERSEN (Tuggeranong United), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Robbie RIMMER (Yoogali SC), Daniel ROBERTS (Queanbeyan City), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia)
1: Samuel ABA (Queanbeyan City), Niko ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Connor BILL (O’Connor Knights), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Riley BROWN (Gungahlin United), Nikita BYRNES (Gungahlin United), Xabier DAVIES (Tuggeranong United), Dylan DEEP-JONES (Monaro Panthers), Bailey DICKENSON (Gungahlin United), Jacob DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Marco GAYER (Monaro Panthers), Matt GRBESA (Canberra Croatia), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Steven KRESKAS (Queanbeyan City), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Zac MCLAREN (Monaro Panthers), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Max MELLICK (Monaro Panthers), Ibrahim OBEID (O’Connor Knights), Deacon PALOMBI (Gungahlin United), Nicholas PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Charlie RAE (Queanbeyan City), Sam ROESTBAKKEN (Monaro Panthers), Cassidy SCHLESINGER (Tuggeranong United), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Kristian TOKIC (Queanbeyan City), Sam WALKER (Tuggeranong United)
