A double from striker Lukman Ahmed-Shaibu gave a depleted Tigers FC a gritty, and potentially vital, 2-1 victory over Yoogali SC at Solar Mad Stadium in Griffith on Sunday afternoon.
Ahmed-Shaibu, a mid-season signing from O’Connor Knights, justified his signature with a brace of goals that consigned Yoogali to defeat and overturned an early home lead given to them after Stefan Donadel bundled home after Robert Rimmer saw his header blocked.
Tigers took less than two minutes to draw themselves back on terms as a Shandon Whitehead free-kick caused consternation in the Yoogali defence, the ball dropping for Ahmed-Shaibu to leather a finish that flashed past Luke Armanini in the hosts goal as the scores were level at half-time.
The visitors won the match with seventeen minutes to go as William Akio fired a low cross-shot to the far post where a lunging Ahmed-Shaibu met it at full stretch to divert into the bottom corner and tale the points.
Monaro Panthers rediscovered their form to inflict a third defeat of the season on league leaders Canberra Croatia with an excellent performance in a 2-0 victory under the Deakin Stadium floodlights.
Two goals within ten minutes of each other at the beginning of the second-half brought Monaro back into the title race but, equally as important were a pair of magnificent saves from Gerion Mehmetaj in the Panthers goal.
The custodian repelled Keegan Vucetic from a one-on-one inside two minutes of the match, and then did the same to Maxx Green in the second-half, superbly blocking with his feet. Vucetic also saw a presentable effort clip the top of the bar after good approach work from Green.
Midfielder Zac McLaren opened the scoring just two minutes into the second-half as he reacted fastest to a Christian Kreskas cross-shot, flicking home past Sam Brown, and when Connor Mynott-Smith blazed through a crowd to smash home a second goal, the Panthers had an advantage they were not to relinquish.
Queanbeyan City have moved into fourth place on the table at the expense of Tuggeranong United as the away team won 3-1 in a match that was switched to South Jerrabomberra Regional Sporting Complex after Kambah 2 was deemed unplayable.
United would be wondering how they didn’t win the game, wasting numerous chances, and they found themselves behind after fifteen minutes as Abderrahim Dellahi squared for Nico Abot to turn the ball home at the far post.
Tuggeranong sought a response but were hit again in the second stanza as Abot load off a pass into the path of Misko Naumoski who fired home. Naumoski was later sent off, as was United’s Nic Emanual as both teams were to end the match with only ten players.
There was a glimmer of hope in stoppage time for Tuggeranong as Josh Pedersen fed Zac Lawrence who scored past Nick Middleton at the near post, but the final word went to ex-United defender Jack Leverett who, spotting Callum Cook off his line, launched an audacious lob over the ‘keeper to seal Queanbeyan’s success.
A resurgent Gungahlin United made its three wins in succession with a convincing 5-1 away win over the luckless O’Connor Knights at a cold, and overcast, O’Connor Enclosed.
Thomas Robertson had a field day, scoring twice and creating on a brilliant individual display from the right-back, and it was his lung-bursting run that was illegally halted by Daniel Galic in the fourteenth minute, leading to the opening goal scored from the penalty spot by Giancarlo D’Addario.
Robertson then made the second with a throw-in that found Ayumu Kimura, the midfielder turning to stab home a classy finish close to the half-hour and Robertson completed a memorable half as he rose highest to meet a Yoshida Shoki free-kick eight minutes later.
Aisosa Ihegie pulled one back, scoring for a fourth consecutive match, but later goals from AJ Malauulu, turning home from close range for his first NPL senior goal, and a Robertson lofted chip that arced over a stranded Markus Smith, completed a fine Gunners victory.
RESULTS
ROUND 14
Saturday 12 July
Tuggeranong United 1 (Lawrence 90’) Queanbeyan City 3 (Abot 15’, Naumoski 57’, Leverett 90+7’)
Canberra Croatia 0 Monaro Panthers 2 (McLaren 47’, Mynott-Smith 57’)
Sunday 13 July
O’Connor Knights 1 (Ihegie 68’) Gungahlin United 5 (D’Addario 14’ (p), Kimura 28’, Robertson 36’, 81’, Malauulu 70’)
Yoogali SC 1 (S. Donadel 26’) Tigers FC 2 (Ahmed-Shaibu 28’, 73’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 53 | 15 | +38 | 33 |
| 2 | Tigers FC | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 31 | 23 | +8 | 27 |
| 3 | Monaro Panthers | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 41 | 17 | +24 | 26 |
| 4 | Queanbeyan City | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 24 | -8 | 20 |
| 5 | Tuggeranong United | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 28 | -11 | 17 |
| 6 | Gungahlin United | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 35 | -14 | 15 |
| 7 | O’Connor Knights | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 23 | 43 | -20 | 10 |
| 8 | Yoogali SC | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 18 | 35 | -17 | 6 |
TOP SCORERS
11: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
10: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
8: Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights/Tigers FC), Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United)
7: Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
6: Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC)
5: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Jenno CERUTI (O’Connor Knights), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Own GOALS
4: Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Loick LESPINASSE (Gungahlin United), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United)
3: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Ayumu KIMURA (Gungahlin United), Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers / Canberra Croatia), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Sam WHITEHEAR (Tigers FC)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC / Gungahlin United), Augustine BANGURA (Tigers FC), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Giancarlo D’ADDARIO (Gungahlin United), Dylan DEEP-JONES (Monaro Panthers), Mason DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Josh GASPARI (Gungahlin United), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Zac LAWRENCE (Tuggeranong United), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Phakedi MANDA (Monaro Panthers/O’Connor Knights), Connor MYNOTT-SMITH (Queanbeyan City), Misko NAUMOSKI (Queanbeyan City), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia)
1: Gabriel AYUEL (Queanbeyan City), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Abderrahim DELLAHI (Queanbeyan City), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Luca FLOREZ (Gungahlin United), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Nikola JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Chistian JUNNA (O’Connor Knights), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Alex-Junior MALAUULU (Gungahlin United), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Zac MCLAREN (Monaro Panthers), Nathen MEGIC (Tigers FC), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Alessandro PENA (Tuggeranong United), Euan PETERKIN (Tuggeranong United), Daniel ROBERTS (Queanbeyan City), Joey SEO (Yoogali SC), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Noah VANDERPOL (Queanbeyan City), Hamish WALES (Tigers FC), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
TOP ASSISTS
13: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
9: Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers)
8: Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
7: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia)
5: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United)
4: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Tigers FC), Kobi YARIYARI (O’Connor Knights)
3: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Giancarlo D’ADDARIO (Gungahlin United), Abderrahim DELLAHI (Queanbeyan City), Josh DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Chaise DONETTO (Yoogali SC), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Cole FALCO (Tuggeranong United), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Loick LESPINASSE (Gungahlin United), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Josh PEDERSEN (Tuggeranong United), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Robbie RIMMER (Yoogali SC), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia)
1: Samuel ABA (Queanbeyan City), Niko ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Connor BILL (O’Connor Knights), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Riley BROWN (Gungahlin United), Xabier DAVIES (Tuggeranong United), Bailey DICKENSON (Gungahlin United), Jacob DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Marco GAYER (Monaro Panthers), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), AJ MALAUULU (Gungahlin United), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Max MELLICK (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Charlie RAE (Queanbeyan City), Daniel ROBERTS (Queanbeyan City), Sam ROESTBAKKEN (Monaro Panthers), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Kristian TOKIC (Queanbeyan City), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
