A late headed goal from Alexander Evans earned Queanbeyan City a late point in the mini-derby against Monaro Panthers as the NPL23 clash ended 2-2 on a gloriously sunny afternoon.
Queanbeyan took the lead midway through the first-half when, after some intricate passing on the edge of the penalty area, Seth Bonnett- took aim to fire a delightful drive high over the head of Panthers goalkeeper Vanna McAlister.
Panthers turned things on their head when Joseph Mikahel equalised with a well-taken one-on-one finish, before Leo Vanderpol struck from a long-range free-kick to give the visitors the lead.
Mikahel was then sent off for a second yellow card offence, and Queanbeyan earned a point when Evans made it 2-2 with a minute remaining. A stoppage time Panthers winner was ruled out for offside, and honours were shared.
Tigers FC romped to a 5-2 win over Canberra Croatia in their clash at the top of the table at the Australian Institute of Sport, in what turned into a rip-roaring encounter.
It was Tigers who took the lead in the sixteenth minute, Croatia guilty of overplaying at the back and coughing up possession from a where a right-wing cross was beautifully headed home by Connor Heagney for his fifth goal of the season.
Croatia responded within three minutes, goalkeeper Josh Smith’s attempted clearance picked off by Owen Learmonth who slotted the ball past the retreating custodian to level the scores.
It was to matter little to the Tigers though who restored the lead through Zachary Colson, only for James Godding to draw Croatia level once more in a ding-dong first-half of the match.
After the break, Tigers cut loose. Heagney struck to give them the lead again, only this time they were able to kick on, and goals from Kye Cossettini, who was later sent off, and Joshua Amoah secured the win.
Tuggeranong United and O’Connor Knights shared the spoils in an entertaining draw at Kambah 2 on Mother’s Day, the sides sharing four goals in an excellent match that could have gone either way.
Daniel Galic gave the Knights a fifteenth minute lead, one that they held until five minutes into the second-half when Leo Donald scrambled home a Tuggeranong equaliser off the base of the post.
Donald struck again seven minutes later, his fourth goal of the season at this level, only for O’Connor to snatch a draw when Marko Rathouski made it all-square once more with seventeen minutes remaining.
Over in Griffith Yoogali SC earned their second win of the season with a hard-fought 2-1 success over Gungahlin United at Solar Mad Stadium, the loss being the Gunners second of the season.
The home side were in control of the match by the half-time break as Stefan Donadel and Domnic Galluzzo scored goals within five minutes of each other as the half-time whistle approached.
Gungahlin struck back just past the hour, the 61st minute goal from Stephen Cerni offering them a chance to gain something from their long journey, but Yoogali held on for a well-deserved success.
RESULTS
ROUND 5
Saturday 10 May
Tigers FC 5 (Heagney 16’, 58’, Colson 35’, Cossettini 75’, Amoah 78’)) Canberra Croatia 2 (Learmonth 19’, Godding 41’)
Queanbeyan City 2 (S. Bonnett 22’, Evans 89’) Monaro Panthers 2 (Mikahel 66’, Vanderpol 73’)
Sunday 11 May
Tuggeranong United 2 (Donald 50’, 57’) O’Connor Knights 2 (Galic 15’, Rathouski 73’)
Yoogali SC 2 (S. Donadel 38’, Galluzzo 43’) Gungahlin United 1 (Cerni 61’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Tigers FC | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 7 | +14 | 13 |
| 2 | O’Connor Knights | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 10 |
| 3 | Gungahlin United | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 9 |
| 4 | Canberra Croatia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 9 |
| 5 | Tuggeranong United | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 7 |
| 6 | Yoogali SC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 7 |
| 7 | Monaro Panthers | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 3 |
| 8 | Queanbeyan City | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 13 | -6 | 1 |
TOP SCORERS
6: Cooper HEAGNEY (Tigers FC)
4: Anthony ANTONIAK (Tuggeranong United), Leo DONALD (Tuggeranong United), Thinley DORJI (Tigers FC)
3: Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Zachary ILIJOSKI (Tigers FC)
2: Elliot ALBERTO (Tigers FC), Joshua AMOAH (Tigers FC), Daniel ANDERSON (O’Connor Knights), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Zachary COLSON (Tigers FC), Rocco DI PLACIDO (O’Connor Knights), Alexander EVANS (Queanbeyan City), James GODDING (Canberra Croatia), Jack JANKE (O’Connor Knights), Jebediah JEFFERY (Canberra Croatia), Owen LEARMONTH (Canberra Croatia), Fabian OLIVARES (Gungahlin United), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Leo VANDERPOL (Monaro Panthers)
1: Daniel BARBATANO (Queanbeyan City), Xavier BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Tanatswa BVIRAKARE (Tigers FC), Kaide CASTLE (Yoogali SC), Stephen CERNI (Gungahlin United), Kye COSSETTINI (Tigers FC), Sivamsh DEEVI (Gungahlin United), Ethan DONETTO (Yoogali SC), Aleksandar DORDEVIC (Queanbeyan City), Ivan DZAJA (O’Connor Knights), Jack ELLWOOD (Monaro Panthers), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Dominic GALLUZZO (Yoogali SC), Joshua KEENAN (Yoogali SC), Jacob KITE (Gungahlin United), Marcus LAU (Gungahlin United), Ivica MAJETIC (Canberra Croatia), Mohammad MAZRAEH (Tuggeranong United), Darcy MIDDLETON (Canberra Croatia), Joseph MIKAHEL (Monaro Panthers), Sebastian MUNOZ (Gungahlin United), Ayham NASSER (Monaro Panthers), Samuel RACITI (Yoogali SC), Andrija RAKIC (Canberra Croatia), Abdin SAID (Tuggeranong United), Ali SOHANI (Monaro Panthers), Josip UJDUR (O’Connor Knights)
