Gungahlin United were crowned National Premier League Champions for the first time as they defeated Tigers FC 4-2 at the Australian Institute of Sport to finish three points clear at the top of the pack, a position they have occupied at the end of every round bar one during the course of the 2024 season.

They performed like a champion team from the off in a match which was virtually a dead rubber, only a mammoth Tigers win could have prevented them from lifting the trophy, and that was soundly put to bed by a solid start that was rewarded by the opening goal of the match as Antoni Timotheou slotted home.

Having broken the deadlock there was more to come as Daniel Olaoye was on hand to turn home from the top of the six-yard box after excellent approach work from Augustine Bangura down the left-flank. Tigers responded with alacrity and pulled one back close to half-time when Archie McGregor was left unmarked in the six-yard box to nod home.

The visitors, who had already secured a top four spot at the end of Round 20, found themselves on level terms early in the second-half after Nikos Kalfas broke the offside trap and cooly rounded Aiden Munford to slot into the gaping net, after a very bright opening following the resumption.

Gungahlin were in no mood to end the regular season on a low though and restored their lead through a second from Timotheou, the midfielder stealing into the penalty area to slide home from a low centre and there as another to round off the celebrations as substitute William McCloskey headed adroitly past Jakob Cole to seal the win and start the title party.

At the other end of the table Yoogali SC saved themselves with a final day victory over Tuggeranong United at Solar Mad Stadium, winning 2-0 to get the three points required to overhaul Canberra Olympic and send the storied former League Champions and Australia Cup semi-finalists into the Capital Premier League.

It was a remarkable achievement from the interstate outfit who only managed to score fourteen goals throughout the season, but that was enough to ensure their NPL survival, finding their feet late in the campaign and, when push came to shove, having the requisite nous to get the job done.

Tuggeranong were far from the gracious visitors and had good chances of their own to get on the scoresheet, but the crucial moment of the opening stanza came a minute into added-on time with a first NPL goal for Luciano Monserrat. The Argentine import on the end of a move orchestrated by De Rossi who found Monserrat with a slide-rule pass and the forward did the rest.

Yoogali should have had a second ten minutes into the second-half after a sweeping move saw Josh De Rossi find Mason Donadel whose pass across goal was turned against the upright by Axel Garbin from close range. Earlier, Mason Donadel had struck the outside of the post himself from a cross-shot midway through the first forty-five minutes.

The hosts did finally get their second, and the goal that saved their NPL place, ten minutes from time. Monserrat won a header to allow Mason Donadel to play in Darren Bailey. The Scotsman’s shot appeared to be played into the boot of Bevan Foxall allowing it to flash past Callum Cook, however it mattered little to Yoogali how it went in, just that it did as they completed the Great Escape.

Canberra Olympic gave themselves hope of survival by getting the points they required in a thrilling derby victory over O’Connor Knights at O’Connor Enclosed where a late winner from midfielder Adam Neou sealed a sensational 4-3 success and took Olympic off the bottom of the table heading into the final day.

It was a remarkable performance from Olympic who had to come from 0-2 and 2-3 behind to claim just a third victory of the season and push the pressure back onto Yoogali SC who suddenly needed victory over Tuggeranong United at Solar Mad Stadium to avoid a return to the Capital Premier League.

Conceding early was not in the Olympic script and when Kristian Tokic was allowed the freedom of the penalty area to steal in and head home, things looked bleak for the home side. Moments later, their NPL stay appeared over as Vincent Sanchez broke clear of the defence and finished brilliantly across Seb Usai to double the Knights lead and leave Olympic flailing.

And yet, Olympic refused to lay down. Perseverance from Xabier Davies saw the midfielder force home the first NPL goal of his career and when Neou struck his first, thrashing a shot past Seb Arranz and in off the post to level the scores seven minutes before the break, it was all back on again.

A crazy end to the game saw Knights go back in front when Olympic faltered in attack allowing the visitors to break at pace, their modus operandi, allowing substitute Patrick O’Rourke the opportunity to calmly slide home with eighteen minutes to play. That meant Olympic needed two in not much time, but they again defied the formbook with another comeback.

Knights debutant Armani La Vella, on as a second-half substitute, was penalised for pulling inside the area and Sam Habtemariam kept his cool to score his third successive penalty in three matches. That set-up the dramatic denouement and when Neou rode a couple of tackles to score with an outstanding lob, Olympic used their get out of jail free card and switched focus to Griffith and a nervous wait.

Canberra Croatia kept the race for the title mathematically alive until the final day of the season by securing a late 2-1 victory over Monaro Panthers at the Riverside Stadium despite being reduced to ten men in the second-half.

With the O’Connor Knights slipping to a surprise defeat to Canberra Olympic earlier in the afternoon, Croatia’s place in the Qualification Final was assured, but they got the three points that drew them level with the Gunners, albeit way behind on goal difference, in a match that failed to hit the heights.

An indifferent opening forty-five minutes of the contest where neither goalkeeper had a save of note to make, was enlivened in first-half stoppage time with a goal of quality. Daniel Colbertaldo, operating as a false nine in a fluid front three, was played in behind and finished low and hard across Gary Mehmetaj and into the far corner of the net.

Opportunities were equally rare in the second-half with neither goalkeeper really tested, although how Nick Pratezina didn’t make it two only he will know, steering wide from close-range when it appeared easier to score. By then the visitors were down to ten after Tony Spaseski was sent off for tangling with Santiago Lupino.

The Croatia bench was exceptionally strong, and it was one of the substitutes who sealed the victory as the match ticked into its final minute. Daniel Barac was released over the top of the Panthers defence and the striker calmly lobbed the advancing Mehmetaj with precision and skill to notch up his twelfth goal of the season and give Croatia an unassailable lead.

There was still time for a late response from Monaro, Adam De Franceschi who scored the opening goal of the season at this venue in Round 1, scoring the final goal of the season at the same ground as he rammed into the net from close range, but it was too late for the Panthers.

RESULTS

ROUND 21

Saturday 31 August

Canberra Olympic 4 (Davies 24’, Neou 38’, 85’, Habtemariam 74’ (p)) O’Connor Knights 3 (Tokic 16’, Sanchez 22’, O’Rourke 72’)

Monaro Panthers 1 (De Franceschi 90+5’) Canberra Croatia 2 (Colbertaldo 45+1’, Barac 90’)

Sunday 1 September

Gungahlin United 4 (Timotheou 29’, 67’, Olaoye 35’, McCloskey 73’) Tigers FC 2 (McGregor 38’, Kalfas 52’)

Yoogali SC 2 (Monserrat 45+1’, Bailey 79’) Tuggeranong United 0

TABLE

		P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	Gungahlin United*	21	15	2	4	55	24	+31	47
2	Canberra Croatia	21	14	2	5	51	29	+22	44
3	O’Connor Knights	21	12	4	5	43	34	+9	40
4	Tigers FC**	21	10	4	7	45	31	+14	34
5	Monaro Panthers	21	8	5	8	33	25	+8	29
6	Tuggeranong United	21	7	5	9	31	34	-3	26
7	Yoogali SC	21	3	2	16	14	63	-49	11
8	Canberra Olympic	21	3	0	18	27	59	-32	9

 

TOP SCORERS

17: Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (Gungahlin United)

13: Atiya WARAGA (Canberra Croatia)

12: Daniel BARAC (Canberra Croatia)

11: Roko STRIKA (Monaro Panthers)

9: Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United)

8: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)

7: Jeremy HABTEMARIAM (Gungahlin United), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC), Michael KATSOULIS (Gungahlin United)

6: Augustine BANGURA (Gungahlin United), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Own GOALS

5: Jenno CERUTI (Monaro Panthers), Luca FLOREZ (Canberra Olympic), Daniel OLAOYE (Gungahlin United), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Sam WALKER (Tuggeranong United)

4: Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Joshua DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Stephen DOMENICI (Canberra Olympic), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Santiago LUPINO (Monaro Panthers), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights), Davaadelger OKTYABRI (Tuggeranong United), Patrick O’ROURKE (O’Connor Knights), Jackson PAESLER (O’Connor Knights), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Gungahlin United)

3: Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Sam HABTEMARIAM (Canberra Olympic), Alen JAMES (Canberra Olympic/O’Connor Knights), Amilio KISTA (Tigers FC), Joshua MILICEVIC (Tigers FC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), ROMEO (Gungahlin United), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Antoni TIMOTHOEU (Gungahlin United), Kristian TOKIC (O’Connor Knights)

2: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Adam DE FRANCESCHI (Monaro Panthers), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Axel GARBIN (Yoogali SC), Jack GREEN (Gungahlin United), Michael JOHN (Canberra Olympic), Tyson LIVERMORE (Monaro Panthers), Zac MCLAREN (Monaro Panthers), Adam NEOU (Canberra Olympic), Joshua PEDERSEN (Tuggeranong United), Niko PERINOVIC (O’Connor Knights), Michael PICCOLO (Canberra Croatia), Jordan REZEK (Tuggeranong United), Vinnie SANCHEZ (O’Connor Knights), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Harry TRUMAN (Canberra Olympic)

1: Jack BITANI (Tigers FC), Samson CARR (Tigers FC), Izach CLEMENTS (Canberra Olympic), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Elie DARWICH (Canberra Olympic), Xabier DAVIES (Canberra Olympic), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Lachlan FIELDS (O’Connor Knights), Marley JACKSON (Tigers FC), Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia), Christopher JOHN (Yoogali SC), Christian JUNNA (Gungahlin United), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Chirstian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers),  Zac LAWRENCE (Tuggeranong United), Jack LEVERETT (Tuggeranong United), William MCCLOSKEY (Gungahlin United), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Patrick MITCHELL (Monaro Panthers), Luciano MONSERRAT (Yoogali SC), Shinzaburo NAKAYAMA (Canberra Olympic), Alessandro PENA (Tigers FC), Euan PETERKIN (Tuggeranong United), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Sam ROESTBAKKEN (Canberra Olympic), David SESELJA (Canberra Croatia), Patrick SHORE (Canberra Olympic), Julian SMITH (Gungahlin United), Bailey SORENSEN (Canberra Olympic), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Matt WILLIAMS (Tuggeranong United), Ryan ZANATTA (Yoogali SC)

*Gungahlin United deducted three points for field an ineligible player in the 3-0 win against Tigers FC

**Tigers FC awarded a 3-0 win, and three points, for Gungahlin United fielding an ineligible player