Second and fourth placed Belconnen United and Canberra Croatia bested the team above them on the table during an epic Sunday afternoon at McKellar Park. The Deakin side will meet Canberra Olympic this weekend to decide who joins the Blue Devils in the Grand Final.
It was a nail-biting finale, and Belconnen United held on to their 2-1 lead to progress to the Grand Final at the expense of League Champions Canberra Olympic. Very much like last season, the Blue Devils, dominated during the regular season, were the better team for the Qualification Final.
From the get-go, Scott Conlon’s team was on the front foot, as well as leading the charge in terms of intensity and press. The Olympic defence, under pressure, at first was every bit of the unbreakable wall they have been all season. Despite their best intention, the “home team” were not threatening Janet King.
At the other end, Madelyn Whittall and Leah Carnegie, playing further forward than normal, both had half a look at a goal, without really presenting a danger to Monique Pinkiewicz. The deadlock would be broken late in the half. Four minutes before the teams returned to the changing rooms, Victoria Jamieson, chased by Reilly Yuen, misjudged her clearance.
Yuen’s pace did the talking then, with a speedy run between Jamieson and King, to finish in the empty net. After losing twice 4-0 against their rivals, Belconnen were finally back on the scoreboard.
After the break, Frank Cachia’s changes paid off at first. Olympic had more intent, pace, but the Blue Devils would quickly get in second gear and shatter their hope. A warning at the 70th minute saw a Sofia Palywoda free-kick crashing on the crossbar, and the following goal by Yuen denied for offside.
Janet King was tested a handful of times in five minutes, and 15 minutes before the final whistle, Belconnen doubled their lead. Yuen received the ball on the right wing after a missed Olympic clearance, and her perfectly weighed cross found Keira Bobbin at the far post for a smashing header.
The reigning champions are not known to fold easily and threw everything at the Blue Devils from there. The first real threat on Pinkiewicz came at the 80th minute from Michaela Thornton. The following corner kick was the opportunity for Katrina Peric to find the back of the net once again and send the game in the frenzy.
The Blue Devils’ immediate answer found the crossbar thanks to King, Olympic reacted with a Carnegie free kick saved by Pinkiewicz. With seconds remaining, another Carnegie set piece found Liana Alves, whose thumping header rattled the crossbar before bouncing inches away from the line. One last Yuen header was saved on her line by Whittall, and the final whistle sent her and her teammates to Deakin stadium.
Canberra Croatia and Gungahlin United offered their fans a five-goal thriller of their own, decided in the final seconds by a Megan Castle header that kept the Deakin side’s hopes of battling for silverware alive.
The first fifteen minutes of this encounter were a sign of things to come. The technique on display, the physical duel, the speed down the wing, both teams displayed their strengths to try and break their opponents’ defence. Both keepers had to make saves early on, denying Sharon Chao and Tatum Mazis the opener.
Halfway through the first act, both teams seemed more settled, patient. The calm before the three-goal-in-three-minutes storm. Rhiannon Fensom found Brittany Palombi in space at the 25th minute, and from the edge of the box, the Croatia captain’s left footed shot was pushed away by Sammy Emms.
Palombi took the ensuing in-swerving corner herself. Going for goal, the ball bounce in front of the Gungahlin keeper, hitting her leg then the post before ending in the back of the net.
Seconds later, Chao was testing Ellie Summers once again, but the keeper handed the ball over the crossbar. The Gungahlin striker was not done. Perfectly served in the box a minute later by Stella De Marco, Chao this time found the bottom corner and left Summers no chance.
The celebrations were short lived. Thirteen seconds later, Isabella Barac was sending a rocket in the top right corner from the edge of the box, that went in with the help of the post. The Gunners were close to an equalizer just before the break, but Summers was relieved to see the ball that had slipped through her hand rolled away on the right side of the post.
Back from the locker room, the intensity had not dropped. Arusha Chew and Alex Martens tried to put their name on the scoresheet, but the keepers stayed solid. Eight minutes in, it was another stroke of genius that levelled the ledger. A long ball from Ayla Robertson aimed at Natalie De Marco in the box. The skilled midfielder perfectly controlled the ball under pressure, resisted her defender and won her duel with Summers.
Chao was inches away on the next opportunity to put her team in the lead. Canberra Croatia seemed stunned but resisted to Gungahlin. The last ten minutes saw both teams trying to avoid going to extra time.
A Palombi free kick found Tatum Mazis in the box, but a superb save from Emms kept the team tied. Stella De Marco’s attempt from distance was cleared away by Summers.
At the 92nd minute, Megan Castle, off the bench, forced Maddie Perceval to concede a corner kick after a speed race on the right wing. Palombi took the set piece, sent the ball to the far post, and Castle was there, jumping higher than the defence, to smash the match winner in the back of the net, and set us up for a Canberra Clasico on Sunday, to secure a spot in the Grand Final.
RESULTS
QUALIFICATION FINAL
Sunday 8 September
Canberra Olympic 1 (Peric 81’) Belconnen United 2 (Yuen 40’, Bobbin 76’)
ELIMINATION FINAL
Sunday 8 September
Gungahlin United 2 (Chao 28’, N. De Marco 53’) Canberra Croatia 3 (Emms 26’ (og), Barac 29’, Castle 90+2’)
TOP SCORERS
17: Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United)
13: Madelyn WHITTALL (Canberra Olympic)
11: Hattie CRAM (Belconnen United), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia), Reilly YUEN (Belconnen United)
9: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United)
8: Megan CASTLE (Canberra Croatia), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic)
7: Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
6: Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Alex MARTENS (Gungahlin United), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Croatia), Sarah WHITFIELD (West Canberra Wanderers)
5: Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Alyse JENSEN (Belconnen United)
4: Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Lauren HALL (West Canberra Wanderers), Tianah MIRO (Canberra Olympic), Alex NEALAND (Gungahlin United), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Own GOALS
3: Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Cara CERUTI (Canberra Olympic), Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Nicole JALOCHA (Canberra Olympic), Sheridan MCELLIGOTT (ANU WFC), Madeliene PERCEVAL (Gungahlin United)
2: Angelina BABIC (ANU WFC), Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Jaya BOWMAN (Canberra Olympic), Olivia BUYTEWEG (Gungahlin United), Sofia CHAVERRA (ANU WFC), Olivia HICKS (West Canberra Wanderers), Pascale LA HEI (Belconnen United), Saskia NEWMAN (ANU WFC), Ella PALFRAMAN (Canberra Croatia), Sofia PALYWODA (Belconnen United), Tiana PHILLIPS-MAYNARD (Tuggeranong United), Lauren PRESTON (Belconnen United), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United), Allegra SENTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Kayla WRIGHT (Gungahlin United)
1: Eliza BAKER (ANU WFC), Amy BONGIORNO (Canberra Croatia), Leah CARNEGIE (Canberra Olympic), Luella COLEMAN (Belconnen United), Rachel CORBETT (Gungahlin United), Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Corinne DENTON (Gungahlin United), Jade EMMS (Belconnen United), Rhiannon FENSOM (Canberra Croatia), Edith FORDYCE-CROKER (ANU WFC), Julia HOGAN (ANU WFC), Elvein IBRAHIM (Tuggeranong United), Claire KENNEDY-SPENCER (Tuggeranong United), Tarah MANTHONGSY (Tuggeranong United), Sarah MATTHEWS (Tuggeranong United), Amy MOORE (Gungahlin United), Demi NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Sienna NESS (Canberra Olympic), Bessie RIETHMULLER (Canberra Olympic), Maddie STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Olympic), Jane VANZINO (Canberra Olympic), Audrey WARD (West Canberra Wanderers), Matylda WELLS-SHEATHER (Tuggeranong United), Nadia ZAKMAN (Canberra Croatia)
Words: Jeremy Magan
