A goal six minutes into time added on reignited the battle to stave off relegation as Joe Preece grabbed a dramatic winner as Yoogali SC defeated Canberra Olympic 1-0 at Hawker Football Centre. Preece latched onto a through ball past a square Olympic defence to calmly slot home the match-winner, a goal of potential seismic proportions as Yoogali claimed a maiden NPL win.
Both teams can point to moments where they should have found the net before that, Stephen Domenici passing up a gilt-edged chance to put Olympic ahead just past the half-hour mark when Luca Florez played the usually reliable striker in on goal, but his effort was tame and easily repelled by Michael De Paoli in the Yoogali goal.
At the other end the men from Griffith were cursing the quality of Olympic custodian Seb Usai who, not for the first time during the 2024 NPL season, kept his side in contention with a string of fine saves. Even he would be wondering how he wasn’t picking the ball out of the net on the hour.
It was Yoogali’s twin imports that created the chance, French winger Axel Garbin cu back and delivered a peach of a cross into the penalty area that was met by Argentine Luciano Monserrat only a couple of metres out, dead centre of goal. He really ought to have scored, but saw his close-range effort smothered wide for a corner by Usai.
The nerves were apparent throughout the contest, Yoogali needing to score to reignite hopes of staying in the division, Olympic knowing a draw would be a decent return but desperately hopeful of taking all three and increasing their advantage over their opponents, however, it was Yoogali who would land the telling blow deep onto stoppage time. And this time Usai could not save his team.
Dramatic drama at the Riverside Stadium where a double deep into injury time from the league champion O’Connor Knights overturned a 2-1 deficit to secure an unlikely 3-2 victory over the ten-man Monaro Panthers who, up until the equalising goal netted in the 92nd minute, had looked certain of the points.
It’s been a remarkable trait of the Knights who have recorded a mammoth fifteen points from goal in stoppage time this season, a stunning return for a team that never gives up the ghost and is always in the game until the final moments and, can find the moment when it’s needed.
Monaro can feel incredibly hard done by. A tight offside call denied Santiago Lupino a goal early on, the saw Seb Arranz making a terrific save with his legs to block an effort from Sam La Vella, midfielder Luca Macor rattled the post with a venomous drive, and they survived intact when defender Adam De Franceschi was sent off for a second yellow card late on.
A double from Roko Strika, the first finishing off a superb surging run from Macor, the second from a penalty after Tyson Livermore was upended by a rash challenge from Lachlan Campbell, had the home side in the ascendancy on the hour, recovering well from the concession of a marvellous equaliser, magnificently taken from an acute angle from Niko Kresic after Micheal Adams tied Patrick Mitchell up in knots with a piece of exquisite skill.
Panthers’ own goalkeeper, Jacob Quinn, made an excellent save to deny Daniel Roberts at the end of a quality Knights move in the first-half, and repelled a stinging drive from Adams in the second. He even blocked the shot in stoppage time that rebounded to Adams who drove home the leveller to the delight of the travelling Knights faithful.
And the visitors were to win it in dramatic fashion three minutes later. James Driscoll floated a pass to Lachlan Campbell who found Driscoll in the danger area. The midfielder teed up Aisosa Ihegie who, with one swing of the trusty left foot, sent the three points to O’Connor and the Knights players, officials, and supporters into barely controlled delirium.
The drama continued deep into Sunday as Gungahlin United claimed a stunning 3-2 success over Canberra Croatia at Deakin Stadium courtesy of a penalty six minutes into stoppage time, Jeremy Habtemariam netting the crucial kick after Michael Katsoulis was upended in the area by Croatia goalkeeper Sam Brown.
With a sweetly struck hit of the ball, Habtemariam sent Gungahlin five points clear of their rivals, a moment that might prove to be one of the most pivotal of the campaign. It capped another unbelievable match, an injury-time winner being the order of the day across the weekend.
Gungahlin had got off to a magnificent start, scoring in the thirteenth minute as Habtemariam opened his account for the day, steering a cross-shot into the area that deceived Brown and nestled into the corner of the net. But the home team responded superbly, and Daniel Colbertaldo teed up Atiya Waraga to sweep home hie eleventh of the year from close range.
That goal came after Riley Brown acrobatically volleyed off the line, with Daniel Olaoye having gone close up the other end. A third goal did arrive in the twentieth minute as winger Augustine Bangura nipped in between a pair of Croatia defenders to clip past Brown from the top of the six-yard box.
More was to come in the second-half as both teams went for broke and tried to get the points to push towards the title, and Croatia had the better of the second-half, deservedly equalising with seven minutes of regulation time to play. Fittingly, in this season of substitutes making a difference, it was one that did, Nicholas Pratezina being played in to score confidently.
From there, chances to win it appeared at both ends, but it was the Gunners who got the break. Katsoulis showed his pace to break away and was hauled down by Brown leading to the penalty which Habtemariam duly converted.
Tigers FC came from two-goals adrift to claim a share of the points in an absorbing match with Tuggeranong United at Kambah 2 which ended 2-2, Tigers having been reduced to ten men in the second-half when striker Nik Popovich was sent off having received a second yellow card.
Tuggeranong had started the match well and were in front on the half-hour mark as Steve Nealon created an opening for his strike-partner Sam Walker, the experienced part of the attacking duo, scoring from inside the box. That set the tone, and a minute before half-time the hosts were two to the good.
Tigers failed to sufficiently clear a corner from the far side and, in the ensuing mayhem inside the visiting penalty area, Zac Lawrence rammed the loose ball into the roof of the net, in the process registering his first-ever National Premier League First Grade goal. Tuggeranong led 2-0 at the break.
United’s defence has been watertight in recent weeks. Incredibly, Tuggeranong have only conceded once from open play in the last six matches, Santiago Lupino’s goal for Monaro in Round 12, Sam Whithear’s first goal of the afternoon continuing the theme being scored via a header from a set-piece.
What has been conspicuous was the route to the Tigers second goal. Yet again Tuggeranong were penalised for a foul inside the area, the eleventh time they have conceded a spot-kick in 2024 and the seventeenth given in Tuggeranong matches this season. Whithear took the opportunity to net and push Tigers into the top four on goal difference.
RESULTS
ROUND 16
Saturday 27 July
Canberra Olympic 0 Yoogali SC 1 (Preece 90+6’)
Monaro Panthers 2 (Strika 34’, 60’ (p)) O’Connor Knights 3 (Kresic 48’, Adams 90+2’, Ihegie 90+5’)
Sunday 28 July
Tuggeranong United 2 (Walker 30’, Lawrence 44’) Tigers FC 2 (Whithear 61’, 65’ (p))
Canberra Croatia 2 (Waraga 17’, Pratezina 83’) Gungahlin United 3 (Habtemariam 13’, 90+6’ (p), Bangura 20’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Gungahlin United* | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 44 | 17 | +27 | 37 |
| 2 | Canberra Croatia | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 41 | 22 | +19 | 32 |
| 3 | O’Connor Knights | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 32 |
| 4 | Tigers FC** | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 19 | +16 | 25 |
| 5 | Monaro Panthers | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 27 | 17 | +10 | 25 |
| 6 | Tuggeranong United | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 28 | -4 | 19 |
| 7 | Canberra Olympic | 16 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 20 | 47 | -27 | 6 |
| 8 | Yoogali SC | 16 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 8 | 56 | -48 | 4 |
TOP SCORERS
17: Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (Gungahlin United)
11: Atiya WARAGA (Canberra Croatia)
9: Roko STRIKA (Monaro Panthers)
8: Daniel BARAC (Canberra Croatia)
7: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
6: Augustine BANGURA (Gungahlin United), Jeremy HABTEMARIAM (Gungahlin United), Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Own GOALS
5: Luca FLOREZ (Canberra Olympic), Michael KATSOULIS (Gungahlin United), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia)
4: Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Jenno CERUTI (Monaro Panthers), Stephen DOMENICI (Canberra Olympic), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Davaadelger OKTYABRI (Tuggeranong United), Jackson PAESLER (O’Connor Knights), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Gungahlin United), Sam WALKER (Tuggeranong United)
3: Alen JAMES (Canberra Olympic/O’Connor Knights), Amilio KISTA (Tigers FC), Joshua MILICEVIC (Tigers FC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Daniel OLAOYE (Gungahlin United), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC),
2: Joshua DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Michael JOHN (Canberra Olympic), Tyson LIVERMORE (Monaro Panthers), Santiago LUPINO (Monaro Panthers), Zac MCLAREN (Monaro Panthers), Patrick O’ROURKE (O’Connor Knights), Joshua PEDERSEN (Tuggeranong United), Niko PERINOVIC (O’Connor Knights), Michael PICCOLO (Canberra Croatia), Jordan REZEK (Tuggeranong United), ROMEO (Gungahlin United), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Harry TRUMAN (Canberra Olympic)
1: Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Jack BITANI (Tigers FC), Samson CARR (Tigers FC), Izach CLEMENTS (Canberra Olympic), Elie DARWICH (Canberra Olympic), Adam DE FRANCESCHI (Monaro Panthers), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Lachlan FIELDS (O’Connor Knights), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Axel GARBIN (Yoogali SC), Jack GREEN (Gungahlin United), Marley JACKSON (Tigers FC), Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia), Christopher JOHN (Yoogali SC), Chirstian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers), Zac LAWRENCE (Tuggeranong United), Jack LEVERETT (Tuggeranong United), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Patrick MITCHELL (Monaro Panthers), Shinzaburo NAKAYAMA (Canberra Olympic), Alessandro PENA (Tigers FC), Euan PETERKIN (Tuggeranong United), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Sam ROESTBAKKEN (Canberra Olympic), David SESELJA (Canberra Croatia), Patrick SHORE (Canberra Olympic), Julian SMITH (Gungahlin United), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Antoni TIMOTHOEU (Gungahlin United), Kristian TOKIC (O’Connor Knights), 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
