The sixth round of the National Premier League Women’s saw Gungahlin United held by West Canberra Wanderers in a fascinating 1-1 stalemate at Melrose Synthetic.
It was the Gunners who had all the early possession in the match, however the Wanderers looked more dangerous going forward, creating several chances on the counter-attack.
A goalless scoreline at the break was an accurate reflection of what was a tight first half, however Gungahlin’s 65th minute opener was somewhat against the run of play, having sustained a period of West Canberra pressure.
Having won the freekick on the edge of the area, Bonnie Young’s low effort was spilled by Ellen Brown, and there to tap home was Sharon Chao, who put Marcial Munoz’s side up 1-0.
The Wanderers responded superbly, relentlessly pursuing an equaliser as the game ticked towards the full-time whistle, and on 83 minutes, they were rewarded for their efforts, after Alex Gidis picked up on a misplaced pass and beat Jada Lamond, before finding Zoe Halpin who put her side level.
Steve Rohan-Jones’ side could’ve won the game late but were forced to settle for a point in a game that displayed their unquestionable case for finals football.
Over at O’Connor Enclosed Canberra Olympic saw off ANU WFC in a comfortable 5-0 success, to make it four league wins in a row.
It took 22 minutes for Frank Cachia’s side to take the lead, following what is becoming a trademark long-range stunner from Leah Carnegie this season finding the back of the net, to make it 1-0.
18 minutes later Tia Burridge picked up on a loose ANU touch and, having run the length of her opponent’s half, finished clinically to extend Olympic’s lead to two.
On the other side of the break, two similar finishes from Ella Brown, both provided by Tatum Mazis rounded the total to four, before Brown turned provider on 61 minutes, setting up Madison Cachia, who finished superbly on her left foot to make it five, and put the three points beyond doubt with much of the half still to be played.
Tuggeranong United hosted an in-form Canberra Croatia at Kambah and reduced them to a one-goal winning margin as Ian Toms’ side fell 2-1 in a narrow victory for the away side.
Having shipped nine goals in the previous round against Gungahlin, going 1-0 down inside four minutes against Croatia made the prospect of another difficult day in the NPLW probable for Tuggeranong, as Bella Barac’s saved shot fell into the path of Riley McQueenie to open the scoring.
Just one minute later McQueenie was at it again, after a well-placed ball from Michaela Thornton found the winger in behind the Tuggeranong defence, who skipped clear of Maja Dodt and tapped home into an empty net to make it two in two minutes.
The home team responded well to their early setback however, and pulled back a goal on 18 minutes, after a misplaced pass from Sofia Merkoureas was hit first time by Mollie Jonsson from outside the box, in a superb shot that soared over Ellie Summers into the back of the net.
Having scored two goals early in the first half Croatia couldn’t manage another strike in the second, ending the match with a one-goal winning margin, despite having plenty of opportunities to extend their lead in the final 45 minutes of the match.
The final match of the NPLW round saw leaders Belconnen United replicate their cup result against Majura FC by beating them 8-0 at Ainslie Field 2, to maintain their six-point lead over the chasing pack.
A deep-lying Majura outfit made things difficult for Scott Conlon’s team early in the match, however the league’s highest scorers eventually broke through 30 minutes in, after an Isabella Hindmarsh delivery found Leila Billington to make it 1-0.
Hindmarsh remained influential throughout the first half, scoring seven minutes after Belconnen’s first by driving a low freekick into the net off the post, before setting up Ailish McDonagh’s improvised effort with another quality corner delivery.
Not once this season have the Blue Devils dropped off when comfortably ahead, and in keeping with that trend, the league’s top side continued to relentlessly push for more goals into the second period.
It was 5-0 just ten minutes after the break, following a left-footed stunner from Liliana Altamore curling into the back of the net off the post, before soon after Altamore was there again to make it six, supplied by an expert Anneke Corry cross.
Following a Corry goal three minutes later, Altamore capped off her clinical performance with a hat-trick, this time scoring a stunner with her right foot from the top of the box, to round the total to seven.
With 73 minutes played the Blue Devils summed up their efficiency in front of goal with an eighth, after Grace New’s goal kick was picked up by Keira Bobbin, who responded by striking from long range out of the reach of Majura’s goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
RESULTS
ROUND 6
Sunday 18 May
Majura FC 0 Belconnen United 8 (Billington 30’, Hindmarsh 37’, McDonagh 43’, Altamore 55’, 58’, 65’, Corry 61’, Bobbin 73’)
Tuggeranong United 1 (Jonsson 18’) Canberra Croatia 2 (McQueenie 4’, 5’)
West Canberra Wanderers 1 (Halpin 83’) Gungahlin United 1 (Chao 65’)
Canberra Olympic 5 (Carnegie 22’, Burridge 40’, Brown 52’, 54’, Cachia 61’) ANU WFC 0
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Belconnen United | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 6 | +36 | 18 |
| 2 | Canberra Croatia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 12 |
| 3 | Canberra Olympic | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 12 | +6 | 12 |
| 4 | Gungahlin United | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 6 | +17 | 10 |
| 5 | West Canberra | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 7 | +13 | 10 |
| 6 | Majura FC | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 28 | -21 | 3 |
| 7 | Tuggeranong United | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 34 | -29 | 3 |
| 8 | ANU WFC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 33 | -33 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
11: Tamara COCHRANE (West Canberra Wanderers)
8: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United)
7: Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United)
6: Bonnie YOUNG (Gungahlin United)
5: Liliana ALTAMORE (Belconnen United), Megan CASTLE (Gungahlin United)
4: Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Anneke CORRY (Belconnen United), Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers), Carmel LYNCH (Majura FC)
3: Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Leah CARNEGIE (Canberra Olympic), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Alex MARTENS (Belconnen United), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Own GOALS
2: Acacia ARGENTO (Tuggeranong United), Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Sofia FURLANETTO (Majura FC), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Alyse JENSEN (Canberra Olympic), Ailish MCDONAGH (Belconnen United), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra Croatia), Sofia MERKOUREAS (Canberra Croatia), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Nikita PERRY (Canberra Olympic), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Croatia)
1: Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Angelina BABIC (Canberra Croatia), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Olympic), Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Lisa CARY (Belconnen United), Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Elvein IBRAHIM (West Canberra Wanderers), Mollie JONSSON (Tuggeranong United), Tarah MANTHONGSY (Tuggeranong United), Sofia MARTINIELO (Majura FC), Jessica MITCHELL (Tuggeranong United), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Olympic), Perri NASH (West Canberra Wanderers), Eliza-Jane NORRIS (Canberra Croatia), Madeliene PERCEVAL (Gungahlin United), Lauren PRESTON (Belconnen United), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United), Ellie RAYMOND (Canberra Croatia), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Maddison SAWKINS (Belconnen United), Maddie STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), Rachel VAN AALST (Gungahlin United), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
TOP ASSISTS
7: Anneke CORRY (Belconnen United)
6: Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia)
5: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United), Bonnie YOUNG (Gungahlin United)
4: Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Audrey WARD (West Canberra Wanderers)
3: Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers), Perri NASH (West Canberra Wanderers),
2: Megan CASTLE (Gungahlin United), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Tamara COCHRANE (West Canberra Wanderers), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United), Chelsea HATELY (Gungahlin United), Alex MARTENS (Belconnen United), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Olympic), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United), Abigail RICHARDS (Majura FC), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
1: Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Esperance ANDERSON (Tuggeranong United), Eliza BAKER (Majura FC), Jamie BERKLEY (Canberra Croatia), Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Olympic), Tiana BOOTS (Canberra Croatia), Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Olivia BUYTEWEG (Gungahlin United), Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Rhiannon DAVIS (Canberra Olympic), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Olivia HICKS (West Canberra Wanderers, Alyse JENSEN (Canberra Olympic), Ariana KASHAN (Majura FC), Claire KENNEDY-SPENCER (Tuggeranong United), Tarah MANTHONGSY (Tuggeranong United), Olivia MARTINIELLO (Majura FC), Ailish MCDONAGH (Belconnen United), Amy MOORE (Gungahlin United), Demi NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Stephenie NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Nikita PERRY (Canberra Olympic), Lauren PRESTON (Belconnen United), Madison SAWKINS (Belconnen United), Allegra SENTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Croatia), Rachel VAN AALST (Gungahlin United),
Words: Sam Watson
