Belconnen United moved to the top of the Capital Premier League on goal difference with a crushing 8-0 victory over West Canberra Wanderers as the Blue Devils moved back to McKellar Park for the first time this season.
The home side were in top form as they heaped more misery on a beleaguered Wanderers who ended a week to forget in which they conceded fifteen goals in two games, were dumped out of the Australia Cup Qualifying, and fell to the foot of the early CPL league table.
They were behind early as Abraham Kemp opened the scoring in only the tenth minute, before Harry Billington and Babin Paudyal added to the scoreboard. Jack Janke made it four before the break, and Paudyal struck the fifth a minute after the resumption of play following the half-time break.
The former Wanderers striker completed a hat-trick later in the piece, with Dustin Wells getting in on the act with a brace of goals either side of Paudyal’s treble sealer, as Belconnen romped to a fine win.
A hat-trick from Argentinean striker Niko Abot ensured that Queanbeyan City ended the day in second place on goal difference, having won their second match of the season, with a 5-0 win over White Eagles at High Street.
The hosts were in complete control of what is usually a fiery occasion, having led after five minutes when Abot got his first of the afternoon. Misko Naumoski doubled the lead six minutes before half-time precipitating a dismal spell for the visitors in the run-up to the interval.
Steven Kreskas made it 3-0 to City, two minutes after Naumoski struck, before Abot bagged his second and sealed the destination of the points in first-half stoppage time. The Queanbeyan faithful, and Abot himself, had to wait until stoppage time at the end of the fixture to celebrate the centre-forward’s third, as City hit a nap-hand.
ANU FC were held to a 2-2 home draw with Wagga City Wanderers in an entertaining match that kept both teams on their toes for the full ninety minutes at Melrose Synthetic.
The Wanderers have already won twice at the Woden venue this season, seeing off Brindabella Blues in the Australia Cup there, before beginning their CPL season with a win over West Canberra Wanderers on the surface, and came from two behind to earn a point.
Hassan Alnuwaysir put ANU FC in the lead eight minutes before half-time, an advantage that was doubled when Tao Wang struck his first ANU FC senior first grade goal to make it 2-0 at the referee’s whistle. However, Wanderers maestro Thomas Yongai scored twice in the second stanza to make sure the game ended all-square.
A double from striker Curtis Schaeffer helped Brindabella Blues to a 3-1 away win over Canberra Juventus at Ainslie Oval, the Blues claiming a first win of the new season and leaving Juventus pointless after two outings.
They were forced to come from 1-0 down to do so though, Nathan Duck having given Juventus a first-half lead when he scored after 28 minutes of the encounter. Schaeffer levelled the scored from the spot a minute before the interval, a goal that swung momentum towards the visitors.
Michael Nelson’s first of the season put Brindabella ahead in the early stages of the second-half, but Brindabella were unable to put the game to bed unto the final three minutes when Schaeffer added his second to seal a 3-1 success.
RESULTS
ROUND 3
20 April
Queanbeyan City 5 (Abot 5’, 45+1’, 90+2’, Naumoski 39’, Kreskas 41’) White Eagles 0
Belconnen United 8 (Kemp 10’, Billington 19’, Paudyal 26’, 46’, 71’, Janke 33’, Wells 55’, 80’) West Canberra Wanderers 0
Canberra Juventus 1 (Duck 28’) Brindabella Blues 3 (Schaeffer 44’ (p), 87’, Nelson 49’)
ANU FC 2 (Alnuwaysir 37’, Wang 45’) Wagga City Wanderers 2 (Yongai 48’, 67’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Belconnen United | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | +10 | 6 |
| 2 | Queanbeyan City | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 6 |
| 3 | ANU FC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 4 |
| 4 | Wagga City Wanderers | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 4 |
| 5 | White Eagles | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 3 |
| 6 | Brindabella Blues | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 3 |
| 7 | Canberra Juventus | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 0 |
| 8 | West Canberra Wanderers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
3: Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Hassan ALNUWAYSIR (ANU FC), Babin PAUDYAL (Belconnen United), Curtis SCHAEFFER (Brindabella Blues), Dustin WELLS (Belconnen United)
2: Jack GIBSON (ANU FC), Abraham KEMP (Belconnen United), Morris KADZOLA (Wagga City Wanderers), Misko NAUMOSKI (Queanbeyan City), Thomas YONGAI (Wagga City Wanderers)
1: Harry BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Abderrahim DEALLAHI (Queanbeyan City), Nathan DUCK (Canberra Juventus), Marcus GRZIC (White Eagles), Jacob HART (ANU FC), Jack JANKE (Belconnen United), Bojan JANKULOSKI (West Canberra Wanderers), Steven KRESKAS (Queanbeyan City), Braulio MELO (White Eagles), Goran MILUTINOVIC (White Eagles), Michael NELSON (Brindabella Blues), Jacob OCHIENG (Wagga City Wanderers), Luke VALLONE (Belconnen United), Liam VICKERS (White Eagles), Tao WANG (ANU FC)
