In what could turn to be a key moment this season, the Blue Devils, down a goal at the 89^th minute, managed to score twice before the final whistle to win at Deakin and take the top spot at the table. The Gunners in the meantime bettered the Wanderers by the thinnest of margin, while the two teams at the bottom shared the spoils.

Belconnen United will remember this game against archrivals Canberra Croatia for a long time. At Deakin Stadium, a Tatum Mazis goal looked like all three points were going to the home team until Alina Roberts and Alyssa Di-Campli struck in the dying embers of the game to keep their team alive in the title race.

The board was showing 89:43 when Ailish McDonagh stole the ball at Brittany Palombi’s feet deep in Croatia’s half. The defender sped down the wing, and her cross was inch perfect for Roberts and her equalising header. Two minutes later, virtually in the same position, Alyssa Di-Campli sliced a cross that ended up under the crossbar and the Blue Devils could celebrate the league’s leading goal scorer.

McDonagh being at the start of her team’s redemption run is fitting, given it was an uncharacteristic mistake from the centre-back that saw her team concede in the first half. A shot from Palombi seven minutes before the break was parried away by Monique Pinkiewicz and McDonagh air swung her clearance, with Mazis happy to finish in the empty net.

Before that goal, the encounter was a hard-fought duel where both teams tried to break the deadlock. Croatia at times dominated possession, without really creating a chance. The visitors favoured fast paced attacks and found themselves several times in the box, but the end product was lacking.

The McDonagh-Roberts combination was already tested early on, but Ellie Summers stopped that header at the 24^th minute. Pinkiewicz at the other end barely had a save to do until that Palombi shot that led to Mazis’ opener. That goal seemed to stun the Blue Devils, on the back foot until the break.

The visitors threw everything at it in the second half: when they were not missing the target, the Deakin’s defence always found a way to put their body on the line to defend their lead. Until the 90^th minute.

A 77^th minute goal was the difference between Gungahlin United and West Canberra Wanderers at Ainslie on Sunday afternoon. The Gunners all but confirmed they will finish this season in third place.

Natalie De Marco would live through a roller coaster of emotions during the tie.  Missing the target from the spot kick at the 17^th minute, the midfielder gave her team the win at the end an entertaining duel at Ainslie.

The uneven pitch of the Gunners’ temporary home does not favour the technique usually in display in their ranks, yet they were the first to threaten, with Olivia Buyteweg almost surprising Amy Wiggan five minutes in.

The best chance of the half was of course De Marco’s penalty that fail on the wrong side of the left post, to Wiggan’s relief. Gungahlin had been dominating until then, but the Wanderers were inspired by that miss. Through last week’s hero Alex Gidis, or their set pieces, they showed they had the strengths to respond.

Sammy Emms was in her usual form, parrying a couple of attempts halfway through the first stanza, and when she fumbled a ball just before the half hour mark, her captain Madeleine Perceval was here for a crucial save on the line, before the keeper imitated her to make up for her mistake.

West Canberra’s best chances had come and gone. Gungahlin was back on the front foot, but the visitors held tight. Darby Whiteley, Erika Pennyfield, started threatening Wiggan more and more. Corinne Denton’s injury after all five changes were made condemned the home team play with a player short for 20 minutes, yet it was the time they chose to find the back of the net.

A cross from the right by Whiteley slipped under Wiggan, De Marco was there to finish, and if her first attempt was stopped by Juliana Robertson, she was able to score the second time, buying herself some relief after the missed penalty.

ANU WFC and Tuggeranong United were battling it out at Hawker Football Centre, and two first half goals saw the 6^th and 7^th on the table splitting the benefits. Tuggeranong was eager to scrap the title of “only team without a win” from their 2024 resume and started on the right foot. Two minutes in, they had been in Georgia Ritchie’s area twice already, albeit without finding the target.

At the other end, Ruby Ashton starter her festival. Save after save, the goalkeeper proved once again the reserve of talent in that position in the capital. The Tuggies felt it could be there day. A 12^th minute freekick on the left outside the box might have seen inoffensive to most, but Tiana Phillips-Maynard whipped the ball with strength and precision, to find the back of the net just under Ritchie’s crossbar.

The visitors’ joy was not to last. Ten minutes later, Saskia Newman launched behind the defence offered the perfect ball to Sheridan McElligott, in ideal position at the far post to bury the equaliser in the back of the net.

The best chance of the end of that first half fell in the feet of Casey Dumont, but the defender was surprised by the rebound in an ideal position. Both teams tried to find the solution in the second stanza. Ashton proved herself a great asset some more, frustrating the ANU offence several times.

When she was not putting her body on the line in front of Milicent Moody, she was deflecting Sofia Chaverra’s powerful attempt on the crossbar. Ritchie had a couple of saves to make herself, both keepers, and their defence, allowing their team to leave Hawker with a point.  Tuggeranong, still after their first success, will play Olympic, Belconnen, West Canberra and Gungahlin in their last four games. The task feels daunting, and the perfect motivation for Sarah West’s players.

RESULTS

ROUND 17

Sunday 4 August

ANU WFC 1 (McElligott 23’) Tuggeranong United 1 (Phillips-Maynard 12’)

Gungahlin United 1 (N. De Marco 77’) West Canberra Wanderers 0

Canberra Croatia 1 (Mazis 38’) Belconnen United 2 (Roberts 90+1’, Di-Campli 90+2’)

TABLE

		P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	Belconnen United	15	12	1	2	57	15	+42	37
2	Canberra Olympic	14	12	1	1	36	11	+25	37
3	Gungahlin United	16	10	2	4	36	21	+15	32
4	Canberra Croatia	16	7	6	6	37	28	+9	23
5	West Canberra Wanderers	15	3	2	10	16	32	-16	11
6	ANU WFC	14	1	3	10	9	46	-37	6
7	Tuggeranong United	14	0	3	11	4	42	-38	3

 

TOP SCORERS

14: Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United)

11: Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia)

10: Madelyn WHITTALL (Canberra Olympic), Reilly YUEN (Belconnen United)

7: Hattie CRAM (Belconnen United), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United)

6: Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Alex MARTENS (Gungahlin United)

5: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United), Megan CASTLE (Canberra Croatia), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Croatia), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United), Sarah WHITFIELD (West Canberra Wanderers)

4: Alyse JENSEN (Belconnen United), Tianah MIRO (Canberra Olympic), Alex NEALAND (Gungahlin United), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United)

3: Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Sheridan MCELLIGOTT (ANU WFC), Madeliene PERCEVAL (Gungahlin United), Own GOALS

2: Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Jaya BOWMAN (Canberra Olympic), Olivia BUYTEWEG (Gungahlin United), Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Olivia HICKS (West Canberra Wanderers), Nicole JALOCHA (Canberra Olympic), Pascale LA HEI (Belconnen United), Saskia NEWMAN (ANU WFC), Ella PALFRAMAN (Canberra Croatia), Sofia PALYWODA (Belconnen United), Allegra SENTI (West Canberra Wanderers)

1: Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Angelina BABIC (ANU WFC), Eliza BAKER (ANU WFC), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Amy BONGIORNO (Canberra Croatia), Sofia CHAVERRA (ANU WFC), Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Corinne DENTON (Gungahlin United), Jade EMMS (Belconnen United), Rhiannon FENSOM (Canberra Croatia), Edith FORDYCE-CROKER (ANU WFC), Lauren HALL (West Canberra Wanderers), Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers), Elvein IBRHAIM (Tuggeranong United), Sarah MATTHEWS (Tuggeranong United), Amy MOORE (Gungahlin United), Demi NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Tiana PHILLIPS-MAYNARD (Tuggeranong United), Lauren PRESTON (Belconnen United), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United), Bessie RIETHMULLER (Canberra Olympic), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Olympic), Jane VANZINO (Canberra Olympic), Audrey WARD (West Canberra Wanderers), Matylda WELLS-SHEATHER (Tuggeranong United), Kayla WRIGHT (Gungahlin United), Nadia ZAKMAN (Canberra Croatia)