The second round of games start this weekend in the Capital, with two highly anticipated games featuring the top four, starting with a prequel to next week’s Federation Cup Final amongst the standouts.
The action kicks off at McKellar Park on Saturday where Belconnen United faces Gungahlin United. Respectively first and fourth on the table and five points apart, the Blue Devils and Gunners are going to be the talk of the town for the next ten days. If this weekend’s encounter is the rehearsal for next Saturday’s Federation Cup Final, it is also a duel between two teams in form, who have lost only once each this season.
The Blue Devils unexpectedly drew last weekend against the ANU WFC, missing out on an opportunity to take the lead of the division. The team led by Scott Conlon has had a few changes in their starting eleven this past couple of weeks, between injuries, illness, and suspension, but will aim to both bounce back and confirm their status of favourite a week before a shot at landing their first trophy in two years.
Andrew Woodman’s team on the other end has been the quiet achiever this season. Their qualification for next week’s Final and the good draws earned against Canberra Croatia and Canberra Olympic show the talent and spirit the Northernmost team in the competition possesses. Against Belconnen, they will also want to avenge their only loss of the season, a scathing 5-1 at home in the season opener.
The other game at the top between Canberra Olympic and Canberra Croatia at O’Connor Enclosed on Sunday is as exciting a blockbuster. The reigning Champions and the reigning Premiers already face each other for the fourth time this season, with Olympic leading two wins to one.
The Deakin side won the first trophy of the season with the Charity Shield, before conceding two defeats in a row, in round one of the WNPL and the Federation Cup Quarter Final. A result away this weekend would propel Zoran Glavinic’s troops three points ahead of their rival and soothe a little the pain of this first week of the season.
Before a two-week break, the home team want to keep tormenting Canberra Croatia this season. The two consecutive wins after that Charity Shield loss launched their season perfectly, and if Olympic has not been able to succeed against the other two teams in the top four, this weekend is the perfect opportunity to reaffirm their favourite status in the competition.
The four teams in the bottom four make up the two other duels on the weekend, starting with Tuggeranong United and the West Canberra Wanderers at Kambah.
Tuggies started 2023 with a bang by taking all three points at Melrose Synthetic in the season-opener. If the success away saw the likes Rainey Niles, Abbey Hurman, and Sarah Matthews making a loud entrance on the WNPL scene, it is also the only points the team from the South has been able to gather so far. Meeting the Wanderers again would be a good moment to get back on track.
West Canberra have had their worst start ever in the WNPL this season, with only three goals scored in their first six games and still not a single point. Facing the other team at the bottom of the league seems like the ideal opportunity to finally take off and hope for a change of fate for the rest of the season.
At Hawker Football Centre, the duel between Canberra United Academy and the ANU WFC promises to be another thrilling encounter.
The visitors are full of confidence after coming back from two goals down to secure a draw against the reigning Grand Final winners Canberra Olympic last week. Roxie Swart was back on the scoresheet after a three-game hiatus, with an equalizer that rewarded ninety hard fought minutes.
Despite scoring first against the Academy in Round 1, they were not able to stop their opponents the few times they pressed forward. They are hoping to correct that problem this Sunday.
The home team is only two points shy of a top four spot and have lived up to their ‘best of the rest’ status by getting nine points out of nine against ANU, Tuggeranong, and the Wanderers so far.
Matthew Moore knows how strong the University team is, and how much they have improved since the two teams met in the opening week of the season. A strong performance from his young squad is to be on the cards if they hope for a similar outcome.
FIXTURES
ROUND 8
Saturday 27 May
Belconnen United v Gungahlin United (McKellar Park, 15:00)
Sunday 28 May
Canberra Olympic v Canberra Croatia (O’Connor Enclosed, 14:30)
Canberra United Academy v ANU WFC (Hawker Football Centre, 15:20)
Tuggeranong United v West Canberra Wanderers (Kambah 2, 15:00)
Wednesday 1 June
ANU WFC v West Canberra Wanderers (Gungahlin Enclosed, 19:00)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Belconnen United | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 5 | +17 | 16 |
| 2 | Canberra Croatia | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 7 | +14 | 16 |
| 3 | Canberra Olympic | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 4 | +14 | 16 |
| 4 | Gungahlin United | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 11 |
| 5 | Canberra United Academy | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 9 |
| 6 | ANU WFC | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 14 | -8 | 4 |
| 7 | Tuggeranong United | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 23 | -18 | 3 |
| 8 | West Canberra Wanderers | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 20 | -17 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
7 Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia), Bessie RIETHMULLER (Belconnen United)
6 Charli MITCHELL (Canberra Croatia)
5 Kiera BOBBIN (Belconnen United), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Olympic)
4 Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Croatia)
3 Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Olivia GURNEY (Canberra Olympic), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Roxie SWART (ANU WFC), Darby WHITELY (Gungahlin United)
2 Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), 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), Ella-Rose BROWN (Gungahlin United), Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Tamara COCHRANE (Canberra United Academy), Alexandra COOK (Canberra Olympic), Rachael CORBETT (Gungahlin United), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Rhiannon FENSOM (Canberra Croatia), Charli GREGSON (Tuggeranong United), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Sarah MATTHEWS (Tuggeranong United), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Madeleine STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), 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)
