Round 10 of the Women’s National Premier League will see the top four teams facing the bottom four, with any upset this Sunday potentially having very real consequence on the title race.
West Canberra Wanderers host in form Belconnen United at Wanderers Park at 12.45pm to start the action. The Wanderers’ positive steak was put on hold last week and restarting it this weekend is a tough task.
They have not been able to get a point at home yet in 2023, something Rey Castro surely wants to fix as soon as possible. Doing it against the Cup champions would be some upset, but the Wanderers have shown in the past they should never be written off.
The Blue Devils celebrated their trophy with a second success at Deakin in eight days. Despite the hard earned three points, Belconnen United is still a point behind Olympic and Gungahlin.
Scott Conlon knows that slipping away against West Canberra is something his team cannot afford. Bessie Riethmuller was back on the scoresheet last week. Her team will need more of that to keep chasing more silverware.
Canberra Croatia needs to bounce back against Tuggeranong United at Deakin Stadium at 2.30pm. Brittany Palombi and her teammates had a heap of opportunities last Sunday but could not find the back of the net more than once when they lost to Belconnen.
Four times they hit the woodwork, and they will sure hope not to repeat the same feat this weekend. Tuggeranong are still stuck at the bottom of the table with nothing to show for themselves since Round 1.
Without their playmaker Rainey Niles, suspended on Sunday, the task will be even harder for the team from the South. Paulo Romero surely will remind his players that superb performance last season at Greenway, where they stole a point from Canberra Croatia against all odds. A similar result this time around would do Tuggies a world of good.
ANU WFC and Canberra Olympic are facing each other at ANU South Oval at 3pm. The University club was on a streak of three draws before suffering a defeat to Gungahlin United last weekend.
The WNPL learning curve has been positive for Rob Illingworth and his troops, capable of causing trouble against the very best teams of the league. Only two goals conceded in five minutes were the difference between the two teams last month. Expect an open encounter.
Canberra Olympic sit at the top of the table after last weekend’s result, although the top four are as tight as ever, with 3 teams a point apart. The best defence in the league is also the best attack, and travels to ANU South Oval with all intentions to keep both honorary titles.
They are playing a team from the bottom half of the table for the second weekend in a row and will play CUA and West Canberra in the next two weeks. Anything else than four wins would be a disappointment.
Three days after the postponed round 4 encounter at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval, Canberra United Academy and Gungahlin United meet again at Hawker Football Stadium to end our WNPL football weekend.
The Academy, despite the help of their A-League players, was not able to get a result away. They remain only four points behind fourth place Canberra Croatia and have demonstrated they could give the Gunners a run for their money on Thursday.
A result at home, and the first points against a top four outfit would be a real statement for Matthew Moore’s team. The Gunners are the gift that keeps on giving in 2023. Despite the defeat in the Federation Cup final, they kept their good form in the league and are now sitting beside Canberra Olympic at the top of the table.
Their performance against the Academy midweek (3-0) showed once again their efficiency in front of goals, as well as their solidity defensively. Reiterating the same performance would allow Gungahlin United to extend their run to nine games undefeated in WNPL.
FIXTURES
ROUND 10
Sunday 18 June
West Canberra Wanderers v Belconnen United (Melrose Synthetic, 12:45)
ANU WFC v Canberra Olympic (ANU South Oval, 15:00)
Canberra Croatia v Tuggeranong United (Deakin Stadium 14:30)
Canberra United Academy v Gungahlin United (Hawker Football Centre, 15:00)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Olympic | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 5 | +20 | 20 |
| 2 | Gungahlin United | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 11 | +9 | 20 |
| 3 | Belconnen United | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 8 | +17 | 19 |
| 4 | Canberra Croatia | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 11 | +12 | 17 |
| 5 | Canberra United Academy | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 15 | -4 | 13 |
| 6 | ANU WFC | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 19 | -10 | 6 |
| 7 | West Canberra Wanderers | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 24 | -18 | 4 |
| 8 | Tuggeranong United | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 31 | -26 | 3 |
TOP SCORERS
8 Bessie RIETHMULLER (Belconnen United)
7 Charli MITCHELL (Canberra Croatia), Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia)
5 Kiera BOBBIN (Belconnen United), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Olympic)
4 Olivia GURNEY (Canberra Olympic), Nicole JALOCHA (Canberra Olympic), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Croatia), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Roxie SWART (ANU WFC)
3 Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Maddison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Hattie CRAM (Belconnen United), Erika PENNYFIELD (Gungahlin United), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
2 Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Ella-Rose BROWN (Gungahlin United), Rachael CORBETT (Gungahlin United), Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Canberra United Academy), Rhiannon FENSOM (Canberra Croatia), Sheridan MCELLIGOTT (ANU WFC), Alexandra NEALAND (Canberra United Academy), Rainey NILES (Tuggeranong United), Nikita PERRY (West Canberra Wanderers), Marija RATHOUSKI (Belconnen United), Sarah WHITFIELD (West Canberra Wanderers)
1 Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Latisha BABIC (Canberra United Academy), Amy BONGIORNO (Canberra Croatia), Jaya BOWMAN (Canberra United Academy), Jade BROWN (Canberra United Academy), Cara CERUTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Sofia CHRISTOPHERSON (Canberra United Academy), Tamara COCHRANE (Canberra United Academy), Alexandra COOK (Canberra Olympic), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Emma DOULAS-OLIVEIRA (ANU WFC), Charli GREGSON (Tuggeranong United), Lauren HALL (West Canberra Wanderers), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Isabella HOPKINS (ANU WFC), Sarah MATTHEWS (Tuggeranong United), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra United Academy), Madeleine PERCEVAL (Gungahlin 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
