The second round of the WNPL ends this weekend, and matchday 14 could be a crucial one in the fight for the end of season final’s spots.

It’s third against fourth on Saturday at McKellar, when Belconnen United hosts the West Canberra Wanderers. Four points separate both teams before the game, and the Blue Devils have a golden opportunity to increase that gap at home. Scott Conlon and his troops have not been able to get a win against any team of the top four so far and will see this weekend as an opportunity to finally change that.

The Wanderers have lost their last two games and won none of their last five. The team coached by Rey Castro need this negative series to stop if they want to keep Gungahlin and Canberra United Academy away from them.

They succeeded in beating the Blue Devils when they met them at Melrose but winning at McKellar will be another story. A strong start might be the key for a Wanderers’ success: they have scored almost half of their goals in the first 20 minutes this season.

Tuggeranong United hosts the Wagga City Wanderers at Kambah on Sunday. The game at Gissing Oval is still the Tuggies’ only win this season, and they are itching for another one. After the postponement of their game against the Academy last week, the players coached by Paulo Romero would have had ample time to prepare for Sunday’s clash.

The Wanderers have improved throughout the second round of games, eventually getting a draw against West Canberra and the three points against the Academy. After struggling to find the back of the net early in the season, the young players from the Riverina scored six goals in the last six games. Against the solid defensive unit that is Tuggeranong, they will need a serious performance if they want to bring points back to Wagga Wagga.

Canberra Croatia and Gungahlin United will battle it out at Deakin Stadium. The league leaders still have their four-point cushion at the top and keep getting results despite a few injuries this season. Every positive result gets them closer to a third straight championship.

The best attack in the league took an early lead the first time they met the Gunners this year, with a brace from Jenny Bisset in the first half hour at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval. Last week against Olympic was Andrew Woodman’s first real test as a Gungahlin coach.

This week is another one. Facing the undefeated reigning champions on their own turf will not be an easy task for the Gunners, but they were one of the rare team to stay in the game until the very end the first time they met. Maddie Perceval’s teammates have scored ten goals in the past four games and will need to keep that goal-scoring form this weekend.

The last game of the weekend will take place at O’Connor Enclosed between Canberra Olympic and Canberra United Academy. Nicole Begg’s troops will start the game as favourites of course. Still undefeated this season, and best defence in the league, they had beaten the Academy 3-0 during their first encounter. Against the youth of the Academy, they will know to keep their focus to keep the pressure on Canberra Croatia.

The Academy are just out a weekend off after their games against Tuggeranong was postponed. It had not been a great month before that, with only two points taken in four games. Olympic is not the ideal team to face when trying to bounce back, but Academy is always capable of causing upsets.

Sarah West’s players can mathematically still fight for a finals’ spot but need a couple of marquee results to get there. A win this week would be a good start.

FIXTURES

ROUND 14

Saturday 23 July

Belconnen United v West Canberra Wanderers (McKellar Park, 15:00)

Sunday 24 July

Tuggeranong United v Wagga City Wanderers (Kambah 2, 14:30)

Canberra Croatia v Gungahlin United (Deakin Stadium, 14:30)

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

TABLE

		P	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	Canberra Croatia	13	11	2	0	+60	35
2	Canberra Olympic	13	9	4	0	+46	31
3	Belconnen United	13	8	1	4	+28	25
4	West Canberra Wanderers	13	6	3	4	-8	21
2	Gungahlin United	13	3	3	6	-9	12
6	Canberra United Academy	12	3	2	7	-9	11
7	Tuggeranong United	12	1	2	9	-36	5
8	Wagga City Wanderers	13	1	1	11	-72	4

 

Words: Jeremy Magan