O’Connor Knights recorded a third win of the season as they stunned title-chasing Tigers FC with a 2-1 victory against the odds at the Australian Institute of Sport courtesy of a double from striker Jenno Ceruti.
The Knights, having lost several players in the transfer window, dug deep into their reserves of character and determination to shock the Tigers, a brace of goals within two minutes of each other in the shadow of half-time doing the damage.
Kobi Yariyari created both goals, first from a square pass originating from a Knights free-kick, Ceruti in the right place to side-foot past Kristian Nel from close-range. Moments later, Yariyari sent a delightful pass over the back of the Tigers defence and Ceruti outmuscled his marker to score with a superb lob.
There was a goal back for the Tigers in stoppage time, Lukman Ahmeds-Shaibu heading home from Archie McGregor’s purposeful run and cross, but Knights had done enough to claim the win.
A late goal from Giancarlo D’Addario earned Gungahlin United a 2-2 draw with Queanbeyan City at High Street as Argentinean striker Nico Abot pounced twice for the home team in an excellent contest.
Gungahlin, featuring new signings Loick Lespinasse and Ayumu Kimura, started strongly and took the lead when Josh Gaspari arrived unchecked to steer home a cross from Riley Brown in the twentieth minute.
City responded magnificently and equalised from a touch of Abot magic, the South American spectacularly back-heeling home from inside the box six minutes before the break. And he had his team in front by half-time as the forward converted confidently from a penalty awarded for handball against Thomas Robertson.
The dismissal of Marko Savkovic twenty minutes from time swung the match in favour of Gungahlin and Queanbeyan were finally undone five minutes from time. Yoshida Shoki stung the palms of Nick Middleton with a fierce drive and D’Addario reacted fastest to stroke home the leveller.
Canberra Croatia made the long journey to Griffith and came away with a 3-1 success at Solar Mad Stadium against Yoogali SC to briefly move nine points clear at the top of the table, a lead later cut to eight.
The visitors were far from their fluid self but were ahead on twenty minutes with a quite superb goal. Midfielder Marko Jadric met a Nick Pratezina cross with a spectacular diving header that flashed past Michael Di Paoli and into the far corner.
Yoogali were on the back foot and Croatia struck again four minutes later. Pratezina was again the provider, cutting the ball back for Ryan Keir, and the experienced central midfielder swept a high-class finish over a cluster of players that dipped over the head of Di Paoli.
The visitors secured the points within ten minutes of the second-half as Daniel Colbertaldo reacted fastest to a Daniel Sparrow free-kick that Di Paoli pushed onto the crossbar, meaning that Joey Seo’s goal, from a Darren Bailey cross, was a mere consolation.
Over at Kambah 2 a goal from Christian Kreskas just past the midway point of the first-half was enough for Monaro Panthers to record a narrow 1-0 win over Tuggeranong United on a freezing cold, gloomy, afternoon.
The goal arrived from a set-piece, the delivery from Ryan Straub from the right-flank met by a crisp volley from Kreskas that flashed past Callum Cook and snuck inside the goalkeeper’s left-hand post.
Chances were few and far between, Panthers goalkeeper Gerion Mehmetaj making his first start of the season largely unemployed with Josh Pedersen going closest for the home side.
Monaro thought they had a second when Daniel Barac curled home after being slid in by Phakedi Manda, but the Assistant Referee ruled the Golden Boot leader offside.
RESULTS
ROUND 10
Sunday 14 June
Tigers FC 1 (Ahmed-Shaibu 90’) O’Connor Knights 2 (Ceruti 41’, 43’)
Queanbeyan City 2 (Abot 39’, 45’ (p)) Gungahlin United 2 (Gaspari 20’, D’Addario 85’)
Sunday 15 June
Yoogali SC 1 (Seo 80’) Canberra Croatia 3 (M. Jadric 20’, Keir 24’, Colbertaldo 55’)
Tuggeranong United 0 Monaro Panthers 1 (Kreskas 21’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 8 | +35 | 27 |
| 2 | Monaro Panthers | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 13 | +19 | 19 |
| 3 | Tigers FC | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 24 | 17 | +8 | 18 |
| 4 | Tuggeranong United | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 19 | -8 | 11 |
| 5 | Queanbeyan City | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 18 | -10 | 11 |
| 6 | O’Connor Knights | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 27 | -10 | 10 |
| 7 | Gungahlin United | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 27 | -20 | 6 |
| 8 | Yoogali SC | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 5 |
TOP SCORERS
10: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers)
9: Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
7: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
6: Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
5: Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights/Tigers FC), Jenno CERUTI (O’Connor Knights), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers)
4: Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC)
3: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Own GOALS
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Augustine BANGURA (Tigers FC), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Josh GASPARI (Gungahlin United), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Phakedi MANDA (Monaro Panthers/O’Connor Knights), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Sam WHITEHEAR (Tigers FC)
1: Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Giancarlo D’ADDARIO (Gungahlin United), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Luca FLOREZ (Gungahlin United), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Nikola JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Chistian JUNNA (O’Connor Knights), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Nathen MEGIC (Tigers FC), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Alessandro PENA (Tuggeranong United), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Joey SEO (Yoogali SC), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Nim TANESKI (Tigers FC), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
TOP ASSISTS
12: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
7: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia, Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
6: Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers)
5: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers),
4: Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Kobi YARIYARI (O’Connor Knights)
3: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), William AKIO (Tigers FC), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Chaise DONETTO (Yoogali SC), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Tigers FC)
1: Samuel ABA (Queanbeyan City), Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Riley BROWN (Gungahlin United), Xabier DAVIES (Tuggeranong United), Josh DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Bailey DICKENSON (Gungahlin United), Jacob DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Cole FALCO (Tuggeranong United), Marco GAYER (Monaro Panthers), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Max MELLICK (Monaro Panthers), Josh PEDERSEN (Tuggeranong United), Nicholas PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Charlie RAE (Queanbeyan City), Robbie RIMMER (Yoogali SC), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Kristian TOKIC (Queanbeyan City), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
