The League Champions, Tigers FC, will be out to reinvigorate their early season form as they travel to in-form Canberra Olympic in the opening match of Round 5 in the National Premier League competition.
Whilst undefeated through the first four rounds of the season, the Tigers have been left frustrated with a trio of draws, the latest of which, the 1-1 stalemate with West Canberra Wanderers, saw Ryan Grogan and his team cough up a lead to drop two points despite Josh Gulevski finding the net for the fourth successive match.
Canberra Olympic meanwhile surged from seventh to third off the back of a second win in a row, their 3-1 defeat of Belconnen United consigning their early season woes to the almost distant past. Robbie Cattanach appears to have found the right blend for his team and will be keen to keep their momentum going.
Speaking of frustration there was certainly plenty of that for the Monaro Panthers who wasted several gilt-edged opportunities to claim the maximum haul against O’Connor Knights in Round 4 and can’t afford to be as profligate in front of goal when West Canberra Wanderers arrive at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Panthers will be eyeing off a win to keep the pressure up on those above them, in the early part of the season, but need to rediscover the goal prowess they displayed in an exhilarating Charity Shield performance.
The Wanderers were excellent after the interval in their home draw with the Tigers at Wanderers Park, formerly known as Melrose Synthetic, and can perhaps count themselves unfortunate not to have won the fixture. They appear to have found some form after losing their first two matches so will be all out to continue that in this one.
League leaders Canberra Croatia welcome old foes Belconnen United to Deakin Stadium on Sunday afternoon for a traditional clash of the giants, albeit that the respective league form heading into the game could hardly be more markedly different.
While Croatia have yet to lose a league game in 2022, the Blue Devils have been downed three times out of four and, perhaps more concerningly for Michael Zakoski and his coaching staff have been leaking goals off individual errors. Rectifying this will be a of paramount importance.
Croatia showed the steely side to their game in the victory over Gungahlin United, not quite at their free-flowing best, but doing enough to edge the victory. With a plethora of attacking talent expect Croatia to take the game to Belconnen with a fast-paced beginning to the contest.
Sunday afternoon sees the final match of the round as Gungahlin United play host to O’Connor Knights. This will be the first time the pair have met in an NPL fixture, and this has the hallmarks of one that could go either way.
The Gunners will be understandably disappointed that they were unable to turn a pile of possession into a tangible reward in their home encounter against Canberra Croatia, having to settle for just the single goal, netted from the penalty spot, in what transpired as a narrow 1-2 defeat.
O’Connor meanwhile reinforced their NPL credentials with a tidy point from a 1-1 draw against the Panthers, indebted perhaps to a man of the match display from goalkeeper Jack Miller which included a fine penalty save. Miller will hope to be less involved in this one, but with the Gunners having a frightening attack, may need another outstanding performance.
FIXTURES
Saturday 7 May
Canberra Olympic v Tigers FC (O’Connor Enclosed, 15:00)
Monaro Panthers v West Canberra Wanderers (Riverside Stadium, 17:45)
Sunday 8 May
Canberra Croatia v Belconnen United (Deakin Stadium, 15:00)
Gungahlin United v O’Connor Knights (AIS Grass, 15:00)
MATCHES ARE STREAMED LIVE ON NPL.TV
