Round 3 of the WNPL saw Belconnen United affirming themselves a bit more as a title contender, while the two teams at the bottom of the table before the weekend scored their first points.
Friday night football was on the cards at the AIS, and Gungahlin United earned their first points of the season against the West Canberra Wanderers with a 4-1 success. The gunners had yet to get a point before the match, but virtually killed off the contest with four goals in the first half-an-hour.
Kayla Wright was in fine early form, and the first goal came from a cross from the youngster. Ginger Oliver, at the far post, had the composure to offer a back pass to Alex Martens, and the number 9 found the back of the net, five minutes in. At the 11th minute, it was a ball through the middle, perfectly weighed by Natalie De Marco, that saw Darby Whiteley winning her duel against Amy Wiggan, and score the second goal.
Copy and paste at the 26th minute, the De Marco-Whiteley combination made it 3-0. De Marco completed her hat-trick of assists four minutes later when she found Martens in the box, and the offensive midfielder showed her skills with a quick roll around the defender and a strong finish. By that time, Wigan had already made a handful of saves to keep Gungahlin’s tally as low as possible.
The Wanderers finally were able to develop their game from the 40th minute onwards. The reward, and proof of the talent in Steve Rohan-Jones’s team, came past the hour mark. An effective press from Lauren Hall helped her team to recover the ball, Sarah Whitfield collected it, and played a long one-two with Hall, ending with a precise cross and a superb half volley from Whitfield. The second goal in a week for the striker was not enough to really being hope to the Wanderers.
On Sunday, the game of the weekend at Deakin kept all its promise with a 7-goal thriller. Canberra Croatia was hoping to slow down Belconnen United, but the visitors confirmed their solid start of 2024 in style winning 5-2.
Both teams had their foot on the pedal from the get-go, and three minutes in, Tatum Mazis was finding the back of net, alas in an offside position. The scene was set. The visitors, at first having to focus on their defending, ended up striking first.
Seconds after one of their goals was denied to a tight offside, Pearl Tein pounced to head a ball at the halfway line, straight at Sofia Palywoda. The midfielder’s control and pass should be shown in every football school. Perfectly weighed, it sent Alyssa Di Campli the first of her three Sunday goals, with a powerful left footed effort.
Canberra Croatia answered with two goals in five minutes. A duel won by Monique Pinkiewicz against Mazis at the 36th minute was not enough, the striker still ending up finding teammate Jamie Berkeley in the box for a precise strike to equalise. Croatia then took the advantage thanks to their talisman Brittany Palombi. The captain took a free kick from the corner of the box, leaving her left foot to do the talking and found the opposite top corner.
The Blue Devils could have drowned under the Deakin wave, but did better than resist, and found their equaliser two minutes later, by Di Campli again. A quick and precise attack saw the ball crossing the pitch in five passes, and the striker perfectly picked the top right corner for her second goal.
The second half started with Belconnen asserting their domination, while remaining vigilant defensively. The huge save from Pinkiewicz to deny Nadia Zakman at the 63rd minute turned out to be the sliding door moment of the game, especially when two minutes later Di Campli was found by Tein in the box to complete her hat trick from close range, putting her team back ahead.
This great duel could have seen half a dozen more goals if it was not for the two goalkeepers, heroic on Sunday. Unfortunately for Summers, she had to get the ball in the back of the net twice more, in the last five minutes of the game. Isabella Hindmarsh slotted a free kick just under the crossbar at the 87th minute, and Alina Roberts put the icing on the cake 90 seconds later.
The last game of the weekend between ANU WFC and Tuggeranong United ended in a draw at Hawker Football Centre, the spoils shared in a 1-1 stalemate.
The goalless first half saw the two teams coming close to open the score several times. The University Club were the first to bring the danger upfront, thanks to Callie Forest and Sofia Chaverra, but Emily Pearce between the posts for the visitors was in good form.
The home team could count on Edyth Fordyce-Croker and Latisha Babic in the middle of the park to give the tempo of their attacks. At the other end, Tuggeranong under Sarah West has added flair and an ability to quickly build-up to their already strong defensive ability.
When they looked under pressure, two chances from Lena Christopherson and Sarah Matthews came inches away from Olivia Kent’s posts. The best opportunity this side of the break happened at the 42nd minute, but Chaverra could only find the post after a duel between Pearce and Fordyce-Croker left the goals unguarded.
The second act started on the same high rhythm, both teams trying to break the deadlock. When Chloe De Meyer missed the target from distance for the visitors, Eliza Baker imitated her from close range. ANU kept pressing, but Pearce stood strong in front of Fordyce-Croker and could count on her crossbar to deny Rebecca McKenzie.
They finally found the opening from a set piece. An unfortunate handball from Casey Smith, impeccable until then, offered Saskia Newman a free-kick at the edge of the box. Her effort opened the wall, leaving a surprised Pearce motionless. The visitors tried to answer immediately with a free-kick of their own, but Tarah Manthongsy’s skilled right footed effort was expertly parried away by Kent. The
Tuggies kept pushing, and their reward came with the last kick of the game. Sarah Metcalf, entering second earlier, took advantage of the ANU defence waiting for a whistle instead of playing the ball, to face Kent and offer the ball on a silver platter to Matylda Wells-Sheather, happy to both score the first goal and the first points for her team in 2024.
RESULTS
ROUND 3
Friday 19 April
Gungahlin United 4 (Martens 6’, 31’, Whiteley 11’, 26’) West Canberra Wanderers 1 (Whitfield 68’)
Sunday 21 April
ANU WFC 1 (Newman 78’) Tuggeranong United 1 (Wells-Sheather 90+5’)
Canberra Croatia 2 (Berkeley 37’, Palombi 41’) Belconnen United 5 (Di-Campli 23’, 44’, 65’, Hindmarsh 86’, Roberts 88’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Belconnen United | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 9 |
| 2 | Canberra Olympic | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 |
| 3 | Canberra Croatia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Gungahlin United | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 3 |
| 5 | ANU WFC | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Tuggeranong United | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1 |
| 7 | West Canberra Wanderers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -5 | 1 |
TOP SCORERS
5: Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United)
3: Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia), Alex MARTENS (Gungahlin United), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
2: Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Nicole JALOCHA (Canberra Olympic), Pascale LA HEI (Belconnen United), Reilly YUEN (Belconnen United), Sarah WHITFIELD (West Canberra Wanderers)
1: Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Sofia CHAVERRA (ANU WFC), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Hattie CRAM (Belconnen United), Jade EMMS (Belconnen United), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Croatia), Saskia NEWMAN (ANU WFC), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Matylda WELLS-SHEATHER (Tuggeranong United)
