Tigers FC inflicted a first defeat of the season on Gungahlin United in the NPL23 competition with an explosive 5-0 win on the main field at South Jerrabomberra Regional Sporting Complex.
Cooper Heagney and Thinley Dorji scored twice for the Tigers, four of the goals coming in an incident-packed second-half that Tigers FC dominated, their goalkeeper Josh Smith a virtual spectator for most of the contest.
Heagney opened the scoring ten minutes before the interval and added a second a minute into the second stanza, but it was teenager Dorji’s double, bagged in the space of four minutes around the hour mark, that sealed the contest. Zachary Ilijoski added the fifth with five minutes remaining.
Josip Ujdur scored six minutes from time to give O’Connor Knights a 2-1 win over Monaro Panthers at Stryda Park in a fiercely contested match.
The visitors had taken a first-half lead through Jack Janke as early as the seventh minute of the contest, but the Panthers were able to draw level in the 61st minute as Ali Sohani equalised.
Both teams ended the match with ten men, Anakin Mijoc sent off for Knights and Alexi Mardiyants following suit for Panthers, and it was shortly after the latter was dismissed that Knights won the match with the late winner from Ujdur.
A double from Jebediah Jeffery ultimately proved to be enough for Canberra Croatia to maintain their 100% record with a third win our of three as Queanbeyan City came unstuck 2-1 at Deakin Stadium.
After a scoreless opening twenty minutes, Jeffery struck to give the home team the lead and, when the same player doubled the lead five minutes after the resumption for half-time, the match seemed secure.
Alexander Evans had other ideas though, pulling one back for Queanbeyan City in the 64th minute, however any hopes of a comeback were stymied when Valentin Chevreau was sent off with six minutes to play.
Tuggeranong United moved up into third place on the league table with their second win in three games as they claimed a 3-0 away win over Yoogali SC at Solar Mad Stadium down in Griffith.
Mohammed Mazraeh put United ahead on the half-hour, but it was a precarious advantage until Leo Donald doubled the lead on the sixtieth minute mark. Abdin Said rounded off a thoroughly impressive away display with the third goal five minutes from time.
RESULTS
ROUND 3
Saturday 26 April
Tigers FC 5 (Heagney 35’, 46’, Dorji 59’, 63’, Ilijoski 85’) Gungahlin United 0
Canberra Croatia 2 (Jeffery 20’, 50’) Queanbeyan City 1 (Evans 64’)
Monaro Panthers 1 (Sohani 50’) O’Connor Knights 2 (Janke 7’, Ujdur 84’)
Sunday 27 April
Yoogali SC 0 Tuggeranong United 3 (Mazraeh 30’, Donald 60’, Said 85’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 9 |
| 2 | Tigers FC | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 7 |
| 3 | Tuggeranong United | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 6 |
| 4 | O’Connor Knights | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 |
| 5 | Gungahlin United | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 6 |
| 6 | Yoogali SC | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 12 | -7 | 3 |
| 7 | Monaro Panthers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 1 |
| 8 | Queanbeyan City | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
3: Anthony ANTONIAK (Tuggeranong United), Thinley DORJI (Tigers FC), Cooper HEAGNEY (Tigers FC)
2: Elliot ALBERTO (Tigers FC), Daniel ANDERSON (O’Connor Knights), Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Leo DONALD (Tuggeranong United), Jebediah JEFFERY (Canberra Croatia), Zachary ILIJOSKI (Tigers FC)
1: Joshua AMOAH (Tigers FC), Daniel BARBATANO (Queanbeyan City), Xavier BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Tanatswa BVIRAKARE (Tigers FC), Zachary COLSON (Tigers FC), Sivamsh DEEVI (Gungahlin United), Rocco DI PLACIDO (O’Connor Knights), Ethan DONETTO (Yoogali SC), Jack ELLWOOD (Monaro Panthers), Alexander EVANS (Queanbeyan City), James GODDING (Canberra Croatia), Jack JANKE (O’Connor Knights), Joshua KEENAN (Yoogali SC), Jacob KITE (Gungahlin United), Marcus LAU (Gungahlin United), Owen LEARMONTH (Canberra Croatia), Ivica MAJETIC (Canberra Croatia), Mohammad MAZRAEH (Tuggeranong United), Darcy MIDDLETON (Canberra Croatia), Sebastian MUNOZ (Gungahlin United), Ayham NASSER (Monaro Panthers), Samuel RACITI (Yoogali SC), Andrija RAKIC (Canberra Croatia), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Abdin SAID (Tuggeranong United), Ali SOHANI (Monaro Panthers), Josip UJDUR (O’Connor Knights)
