Belconnen United took a massive step towards claiming the Capital Premier League crown as they emerged triumphant from their top-of-the-table meeting with Canberra Olympic at O’Connor Enclosed, winning 4-2.
The visitors were forced to come from behind to do so as Tomas Krklec put the hosts ahead, before Izach Clements levelled matters five minutes later. By the seventeen minute mark, Belconnen was in front as Michael Rinaudo struck a vital goal.
More was to follow after the break as Patrick O’Rourke extended the Blue Devils advantage, just three minutes after the restart, but Olympic was to hit back again as Julian Borgna gave them some hope with twenty minute to play.
That was short-lived though as Belconnen restored their two-goal lead through a well-taken effort from Jake Bishop, a goal that was to seal the points and give Belconnen a three-point cushion with a game in hand.
Earlier in the week, Canberra Olympic came from a goal down to keep their championships hopes intact with an important 2-1 win over ANU FC at ANU South in their midweek catch-up match, both teams ending with ten men.
Jacob Hart, and Olympic goalkeeper Jacob Quinn, were both dismissed seven minutes into the second-half meaning Olympic legend Mark Shields was forced to don the gloves as a substitute with no replacement goalkeeper in the ranks.
Shields was unable to stop Zac Chadwick giving ANU the lead with fifteen minutes remaining, but there was to be a remarkable conclusion to the contest. Mate Barisic levelled the scores with five minutes to play before a goal from Hassan Alnuwaysir, two minutes into stoppage time, gave Olympic a priceless victory.
Canberra Juventus hopes of taking top spot in the league were dealt a fatal blow as Wagga City Wanderers stunned their hosts at Ainslie Oval, travelling to Canberra and claiming an epic 3-2 victory.
Wanderers stormed into a two-goal lead by the half-time break, Thomas Yongai opening the scoring in the fourteenth minute, before Maxwell Prest doubled the lead five minutes before the interval.
Juventus fought back though and, by the 66th minute, were level. Dylan Barreto pulled one back early into the second stanza, before leading scorer Cristian Barresi equalised and appeared to have rescued a point. Yongai had other ideas though and netted what proved to be the matchwinner.
ANU FC moved to within three points of Canberra Olympic in second place as they inflicted a 2-0 defeat on finals chasing Brindabella Blues in their match-up at ANU South Oval.
The University side scored at the beginning and the end of the match to take the maximum points and keep within six points of the league leaders, and with a game in hand could reel in Olympic.
A third goal of the season from Orlando Jeffery opened the scoring in the second minute, but ANU FC had to wait until the final minute of the encounter to seal the points as Max Rawlinson chose a great time to open his account for the 2025 CPL season grabbing a match-sealing second.
Elsewhere, White Eagles recorded a fifth victory of the season as they saw off West Canberra Wanderers 3-1 at Woden Park, the win taking them to seventeen points and within three of Brindabella Blues in fifth.
Sergio Lindner hit the Eagles in front with this twelfth goal of the season, and when Jack Murray made it 2-0 midway through the first-half, the signs were ominous for the visiting Wanderers outfit.
However, this latest incarnation of West Canberra appears to have some steel and in Juan Diaz-Tellez, a regular goalscorer as the hitman struck his seventh of the season to reduce the arrears within eight minutes of the start of the second period.
Eagles were to finish the contest off when Goran Milutinovic made it 3-1 in the 66th minute to finally shake off the Wanderers threat.
RESULTS
ROUND 7
Wednesday 6 August
ANU FC 1 (Chadwick 75’) Canberra Olympic 2 (M. Barisic 85’, Alnuwaysir 90+2’)
ROUND 18
Saturday 9 August
Canberra Olympic 2 (Krklec 4’, Borgna 70’) Belconnen United 4 (Clements 9’, Rinaudo 17’, O’Rourke 48’, Bishop 75’)
Canberra Juventus 2 (Barreto 54’, Barresi 66’) Wagga City Wanderers 3 (Yongai 14’, 78’, Prest 40’)
White Eagles 3 (S. Lindner 7’, Murray 22’, Milutinovic 66’) West Canberra Wanderers 1 (Diaz-Tellez 53’)
ANU FC 2 (Jeffery 2’, Rawlinson 90’) Brindabella Blues 0
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Belconnen United | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 47 | 21 | +27 | 40 |
| 2 | Canberra Olympic | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 54 | 34 | +20 | 37 |
| 3 | ANU FC | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 48 | 24 | +24 | 34 |
| 4 | Canberra Juventus | 18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 45 | 32 | +13 | 31 |
| 5 | Brindabella Blues | 17 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 20 |
| 6 | White Eagles | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 28 | 42 | -14 | 17 |
| 7 | Wagga City Wanderers | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 41 | 62 | -21 | 16 |
| 8 | West Canberra | 18 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 22 | 74 | -52 | 7 |
TOP SCORERS
16: Jack GIBSON (ANU FC)
14: Curtis SCHAEFFER (Brindabella Blues)
13: Kade LYONS (Wagga City Wanderers)
12: Mate BARISIC (Canberra Olympic), Sergio LINDNER (White Eagles)
11: Cristian BARRESI (Canberra Juventus)
9: Dustin WELLS (Belconnen United)
8: Jake BISHOP (Belconnen United), Julian BORGNA (Canberra Olympic), Thomas YONGAI (Wagga City Wanderers)
7: Juan DIAZ-TELLEZ (West Canberra Wanderers), Own GOALS
6: Remi GACHET (Canberra Olympic), Michael RINAUDO (Belconnen United), Zac STEELE (Wagga City Wanderers)
5: Micheal ADAMS (Canberra Juventus), Jayde JAMES-WARD (Belconnen United), Adrian MACOR (Canberra Juventus), Zachary MILCZAREK (Canberra Olympic), Maxwell PREST (Wagga City Wanderers), Ali SOHANI (White Eagles), Antoni TIMOTHEOU (Canberra Olympic)
4: Hassan ALNUWAYSIR (Canberra Olympic), Abderrahim DELLAHI (White Eagles), Nicholas HOPE (ANU FC), Ramon LINDNER (White Eagles), Jak MATIC (Canberra Juventus), Mark SHIELDS (Canberra Olympic)
3: Tom COSENTINI (Canberra Juventus), Finn HARMER (Brindabella Blues), Jacob HART (ANU FC), Orlando JEFFERY (ANU FC), Samuel LYE (ANU FC), Luca MACOR (Canberra Juventus), Max MOTTL (ANU FC), Adam NEOU (Canberra Olympic), Van NGUYEN (West Canberra Wanderers), Andre OLIVEIRA (ANU FC), Patrick O’ROURKE (Belconnen United), Tupaia RINGI (Belconnen United), Henry WILKS (Brindabella Blues), Riley WILLIAMS (Brindabella Blues)
2: Dylan BARRETO (Canberra Juventus), Harry BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Adam BROOKS (Canberra Juventus), Zac CHADWICK (ANU FC), Izach CLEMENTS (Belconnen United), Juan DIAZ-BURGOS (Wes Canberra Wanderers), Luca FLOREZ (Canberra Olympic), Oliver GRIST (ANU FC), Marcus GRZIC (West Canberra Wanderers), Jonathan JOHN (Brindabella Blues), Tony MADAFFARI (Canberra Juventus), Jasper MILIN (Canberra Juventus), Alasdair MOORE (ANU FC), Zac OWERS (Wagga City Wanderers), Babin PAUDYAL (Canberra Juventus), Bailey SORENSON (Canberra Olympic), Oliver WIRTZENS (Brindabella Blues)
1: Andrew AITCHISON (West Canberra Wanderers), Deng ALEER DENG (Brindabella Blues), Joel BAIRD (Belconnen United), Nikolas BLASKOVIC (Brindabella Blues), Elijah BROOKER (Wagga City Wanderers), Isaac BROOKER (Wagga City Wanderers), Eliseo CASTRO (Canberra Juventus), Eddie COGGAN (Belconnen United), Lewis DOBBIN (ANU FC), Nick FAUST (Canberra Olympic), Daniel FOX (West Canberra Wanderers), Geordie FREEMAN (West Canberra Wanderers), Josh GASPARI (Canberra Juventus), Monteagh GRACE (ANU FC), David GURNEY (Brindabella Blues), Benjamin HADFIELD (ANU FC), Ben HICK (White Eagles), Christopher JOHN (Brindabella Blues), Morris KADZOLA (Wagga City Wanderers), Damien KENNEDY (White Eagles), Tomas KEKLEC (Canberra Olympic), Ethan KRUG (ANU FC), Tyler LOCHNER (Canberra Juventus), Daniel MAKENY (Brindabella Blues), Goran MILUTINOVIC (White Eagles), Jack MURRAY (White Eagles), Daniel MUNOZ (Brindabella Blues), Nik NOVESKI (White Eagles), Jacob OCHIENG (Wagga City Wanderers), Riley PATTERSON (West Canberra Wanderers), Noah PRAIL (West Canberra Wanderers), Max RAWLINSON (ANU FC), Ferney RENTERIA (White Eagles), Ilies SAADI (West Canberra Wanderers), Pedro SERRANO (Belconnen United), Patrick SHORE (Canberra Juventus), Kye SMITH (Belconnen United), Naser SMOQY (Wagga City Wanderers), Ethan STAMATIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Ethan TUDEHOPE (ANU FC), Liam VICKERS (West Canberra Wanderers), Regan WALSH (Belconnen United), Oliver WIEDERKEHR (Canberra Olympic), Kyle YEATES (Wagga City Wanderers)
