Tigers FC leads the way in the National Premier League under-23 division following their 3-1 win over Tuggeranong United at the Australian Institute of Sport.
A fourth goal of the season from Thinley Dorji put Tigers ahead early on , but Anthony Antoniak responded in kind for Tuggeranong with his fourth goal of the season. And, in keeping with the theme, it was a fourth of the year from Coper Heagney that restored the lead for Tigers,
The match was in the balance until the closing stages when Zachary Ilijoski netted the home team’s third goal to secure the points.
Canberra Croatia suffered a first defeat of the season in the NPL competition as they slumped to a 0-2 defeat to Gungahlin United at Gungahlin Enclosed on Friday evening.
Having won three from three and facing a Gunners side who had won twice from three outings, Croatia were on then backfoot early as Fabian Olivares opened the scoring inside three minutes.
And it was Olivares who sealed the points for Gunners in the 64th minute with his second goal of the match to send the Gungahlin supporters home happy on a cold evening.
O’Connor Knights moved up into third place in the league as they defeated Queanbeyan City 3-2 at O’Connor Enclosed on Saturday afternoon, scoring twice in the first-half.
Rocco Di Placido put the Knights in front after just two minutes and, when Jack Janke banged home for two some seven minutes before the interval, the Knights were on course for a third win of the year.
That was confirmed eight minutes after the resumption of play when Ivan Dzaja secured the points by adding the third. There was a nervy ending as late goals from Aleksandar Dordevic and Seth Bonnett threatened a late comeback, City falling just short of a remarkable recovery.
The points were shared at Stryda Park as Monaro Panthers and Yoogali SC both scored in the first-half as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Leo Vanderpol gave the hosts a twentieth minute advantage, but Kaide Castle levelled matters up eleven minutes later and, in an exciting close to the contest, both teams went close but had to settle for the draw.
RESULTS
ROUND 4
Friday 2 May
Gungahlin United 2 (Olivares 3’, 64’) Canberra Croatia 0
Saturday 3 May
Tigers FC 3 (Dorji 8’, Heagney 57’, Ilijoski 82’) Tuggeranong United 1 (Antoniak 18’)
O’Connor Knights 3 (Di Placido 2’. Janke 38’, Dzaja 53’) Queanbeyan City 2 (Dordevic 76’, S. Bonnett 82’)
Monaro Panthers 1 (Vanderpol 20’) Yoogali SC 1 (Castle 31’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Tigers FC | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 5 | +11 | 10 |
| 2 | O’Connor Knights | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 9 |
| 3 | Canberra Croatia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 9 |
| 4 | Gungahlin United | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | Tuggeranong United | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 6 |
| 6 | Yoogali SC | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 13 | -7 | 4 |
| 7 | Monaro Panthers | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 2 |
| 8 | Queanbeyan City | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
4: Anthony ANTONIAK (Tuggeranong United), Thinley DORJI (Tigers FC), Cooper HEAGNEY (Tigers FC)
3: Zachary ILIJOSKI (Tigers FC)
2: Elliot ALBERTO (Tigers FC), Daniel ANDERSON (O’Connor Knights), Rocco DI PLACIDO (O’Connor Knights), Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Leo DONALD (Tuggeranong United), Jack JANKE (O’Connor Knights), Jebediah JEFFERY (Canberra Croatia), Fabian OLIVARES (Gungahlin United)
1: Joshua AMOAH (Tigers FC), Daniel BARBATANO (Queanbeyan City), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Xavier BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Tanatswa BVIRAKARE (Tigers FC), Kaide CASTLE (Yoogali SC), Zachary COLSON (Tigers FC), Sivamsh DEEVI (Gungahlin United), Ethan DONETTO (Yoogali SC), Aleksandar DORDEVIC (Queanbeyan City), Ivan DZAJA (O’Connor Knights), Jack ELLWOOD (Monaro Panthers), Alexander EVANS (Queanbeyan City), James GODDING (Canberra Croatia), 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), Leo VANDERPOL (Monaro Panthers)
