The domestic league is back after the Federation Cup final hiatus, but all eyes will stay on Deakin stadium, for the not-to-miss duel at the top of the table. The game of the weekend at Deakin Stadium will feature league leaders Canberra Croatia and recent Federation Cup winners Belconnen United.
Zoran Glavinic’s team only lost points to Canberra Olympic this season and intend to keep it this way. Their attacking form shows they have not lost sight of the two trophies left to grab. When these two teams met at the end of April, a lucky goal from Brittany Palombi was the difference.
The Deakin side’s captain shares the top of the goal-scoring ladder with Charli Mitchell and Sunday’s opponent Bessie Riethmuller, so expect a game within the game between the three strikers.
The Blue Devils’ week might have been a blur, caught in the whirlwind of celebrations for Scott Conlon’s first trophy on Belconnen United’s first grade bench. The serious business did not take long to come back, with a duel against their arch-rival on the very pitch they were celebrating last Saturday. Talia Backhouse and co want to keep the party going – and overtake their opponents on the table – with a success that has been fleeing them for the last two rounds.
Friday night lights will be on again at Kambah for the first game of Round 9 between Tuggeranong United and Canberra Olympic. The home team sits at the bottom of the table, winless since the season opener against West Canberra. They have lost some depth in the squad recently with the Emms sisters headed north but can still count on moments of magic from their attacking trio.
They are not expected to get a result against the reigning champions, and it is probably where Tuggeranong excels. As underdogs, they have caused upset many a time. A result on Friday night would be most welcome to regain some confidence in the South.
Olympic of course know that anything else than a success would be a counter performance. They have the opportunity to take the lead forty or so hours before the competition plays, but also need a win for their own momentum: Nicole Begg’s players have “only” scored four times in the last three games, for a win and two draws. Olympic is facing the four teams in the bottom four between now and July 2 and will hope for 12 points out of 12.
West Canberra Wanderers and Canberra United Academy will kick off the Sunday festivities at Wanderers Park at lunch time. The hosts had a game away during the cup break and kept the momentum going with a point against ANU WFC. Rey Castro had hoped for more, with several shot a game winner in the second half, but at least it looks like the six games winless streak is a distant memory.
Facing fifth placed Academy is the chance for West Canberra to showcase their progress the last few weeks. With quite a few Canberra United alumni in their ranks, the Wanderers seem prepared to keep up the good results.
Matthew Moore’s CUA is keeping up with the top of the table so far, only four points behind Gungahlin with a game in hand against the Gunners. With a draw and a win in the last two games, the players in Green will hope for the same result obtained in round 3 (2-0) against the Wanderers, to keep the positive series going.
Gungahlin United will aim to bounce back from the Cup final when they host ANU WFC on Sunday afternoon. The Gunners did better than resist against Belconnen last Saturday, but all hope was taken away from them in the dying embers of the Cup Final.
Yet, Andrew Woodman’s group remains on a series of positive result in the competition, unbeaten since round 1. A success this weekend would soothe the final loss and cement their ambition to fight for the title until the end.
The University club once again saw success slip away after taking the lead last week against the Wanderers. For the second week in a row, a promised win became a single point, showing the work still to be done for Rob Illingworth.
They have shown how good they are at levelling up when they faced Belconnen three weeks ago, putting the top teams on alert when recovering from a two-goal deficit. Gungahlin is warned.
Gungahlin United and Canberra Untied Academy will finally play their postponed Round 4 games next Thursday 15 June. The game will be decisive on the table: with the three points, the Academy would be closing in on the top four, while the Gunners could sit level at the top of the table. A must-watch.
FIXTURES
ROUND 9
Friday 10 June
Tuggeranong United v Canberra Olympic (Kambah 2, 19:30)
Sunday 11 June
West Canberra Wanderers v Canberra United Academy (Melrose Synthetic, 12:45)
Canberra Croatia v Belconnen United (Deakin Stadium, 14:30)
Gungahlin United v ANU WFC (Gungahlin Enclosed, 15:00)
Thursday 15 June
Gungahlin United v Canberra United Academy (Gungahln Enclosed, 19:00)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 8 | +14 | 17 |
| 2 | Canberra Olympic | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 5 | +14 | 17 |
| 3 | Belconnen United | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 7 | +15 | 16 |
| 4 | Gungahlin United | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 14 |
| 5 | Canberra United Academy | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 10 |
| 6 | ANU WFC | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 16 | -8 | 6 |
| 7 | West Canberra Wanderers | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 21 | -15 | 4 |
| 8 | Tuggeranong United | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 25 | -20 | 3 |
TOP SCORERS
7 Charli MITCHELL (Canberra Croatia), Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia), Bessie RIETHMULLER (Belconnen United)
5 Kiera BOBBIN (Belconnen United), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Olympic)
4 Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Croatia), Roxie SWART (ANU WFC)
3 Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Olivia GURNEY (Canberra Olympic), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Darby WHITELY (Gungahlin United)
2 Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Ella-Rose BROWN (Gungahlin United), Rachael CORBETT (Gungahlin United), Hattie CRAM (Belconnen United), Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Canberra United Academy), Nicole JALOCHA (Canberra Olympic), Sheridan MCELLIGOTT (ANU WFC), Alexandra NEALAND (Canberra United Academy), Rainey NILES (Tuggeranong United), Nikita PERRY (West Canberra Wanderers), Erika PENNYFIELD (Gungahlin United), Marija RATHOUSKI (Belconnen United), Sarah WHITFIELD (West Canberra Wanderers)
1 Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Latisha BABIC (Canberra United Academy), Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Amy BONGIORNO (Canberra Croatia), Cara CERUTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Tamara COCHRANE (Canberra United Academy), Alexandra COOK (Canberra Olympic), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Rhiannon FENSOM (Canberra Croatia), Charli GREGSON (Tuggeranong United), Lauren HALL (West Canberra Wanderers), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Isabella HOPKINS (ANU WFC), Sarah MATTHEWS (Tuggeranong United), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Vanessa RYAN (Canberra Olympic), Madeleine STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), Kate WALKER (West Canberra Wanderers), Madelyn WHITTALL (Canberra Olympic), Elisha WILD (Canberra United Academy), Juliet WILLIAMS (ANU WFC), Zoe WILLIAMS (Tuggeranong United), Reilly YUEN (Belconnen United), Jasmine ZABEL (Canberra Olympic), Own GOALS
