William Akio announced himself into NPL Capital Football with a brilliant hat-trick as Tigers FC secured a second successive 4-0 victory, this time comfortably seeing off Gungahlin United at South Jerrabomberra Regional Sporting Complex.
Superb approach work from Angus Bailey created the opening goal of the encounter, the midfielder tiptoeing his way through some half-hearted Gungahlin challenges to cut the ball back for William Akio. The South Sudanese international made no mistake with the finish, a crisp low shot past Aiden Munford into the corner of the net.
Akio was to double his total in the second-half with another well-taken strike, firing low and hard beyond Munford from just outside the penalty area following excellent work from Tomohiro Ogawa.
Ogawa cracked home a wonderful fourth from range later on, before Akio completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot, drilling home after Ogawa had been upended inside the penalty area.
A four-goal first-half blitz helped Canberra Croatia to a crushing 5-0 win over Queanbeyan City at Deakin Stadium, continuing the home team’s unbeaten start to the season as they took their goal tally to thirteen NPL goals in just three matches.
The contest was over by half-time as a ruthless Croatia netted four times before the interval, the goal rush begun when Thomas James turned home a low pass from Nick Pratezina after only thirteen minutes.
Pratezina then bagged himself a quick-fire brace, the second beautifully created by the pace of Maxx Green, and Green was to add a second assist thirteen minutes before the break as he streaked clear and unselfishly squared a pass for Keegan Vucetic who had the simple task of tapping into the empty net.
There was to be one more after the break as substitute Daniel Sparrow slid home a low Nichols Subasic cross for his third goal of the season, the visitors ending the match with ten men as Sam Aba was sent off for receiving a second yellow card as the game entered stoppage time.
Relentless Monaro Panthers scored four second-half goals as they piled the misery on winless O’Connor Knights, turning a 1-0 half-time lead into a convincing 5-0 victory by the full-time whistle at Stryda Park.
On an evening when tennis superstar Nick Kyrgios turned up at Stryda Park replete with Panthers scarf, the hosts were in no mood to let their goal-laden start to the season slip, and they went in front just before the break.
Christian Kreskas curled a cross into the penalty box that Daniel Barac met with a form header, Knights goalkeeper Kristian Nel only able to palm the ball back into the path of the onrushing Michael Piccolo who could not miss from close range.
It was 2-0 ten minutes after the break as Barac, who went on to claim a hat-trick, streaked clear onto a Stephen Domenici pass to clip a precise finish across Nel. And, when the same player was picked out by a Robert Tkatchenko cross seven minutes later, it was game over.
Barac had his hat-trick with almost a carbon copy goal with fifteen minutes to play, Domenici the provider this time, in between Tkatchenko posted his own goal of the season candidate, collecting a Barac pass to ram a stunning, powerful, shot across the reach of Nel and right into the top corner.
The dismissal of Lukman Ahmed-Shaibu for O’Connor, the American striker picking up a second yellow card for a lunging challenge that went wrong, summed up the visitors evening.
Steve Nealon bagged a brace for Tuggeranong United as they claimed a first victory of the season with a narrow 2-1 win over Yoogali SC at Solar Mad Stadium, the home team unlucky not to come away with something from the match.
United went in front on eighteen minutes as Luke Stevens arced a superb ball round the back of the home defence, allowing Nealon to clash with Luke Armanini in the Yoogali goal, and come away to steer the loose ball into the empty net.
Yoogali’s equaliser was somewhat similar. Jacob Donadel sent a searching ball over the top and Jayce Dotson chased, gaining a fortunate ricochet off Callum Cook and the covering defender to slot home his third goal of the season.
The visitors won it in the second-half from the spot. Stevens was upended by Armanini and Nealon took the situation under control, sliding home his second league goal of the season, and fifth in all competitions, to seal the win.
FIXTURES
ROUND 3
Saturday 26 April
Tigers FC 4 (Akio 17’, 67’, 90+ 4’ (p), Ogawa 80’) Gungahlin United 0
Canberra Croatia 5 (James 13’, Pratezina 23’, 25’, Vucetic 32’, Sparrow 60’) Queanbeyan City 0
Monaro Panthers 5 (Piccolo 42’, Barac 55’, 62’, 75’, Tkatchenko 64’) O’Connor Knights 0
Sunday 27 April
Yoogali SC 1 (Dotson 44’) Tuggeranong United 2 (Nealon 18’, 62’ (p))
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Monaro Panthers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | +13 | 9 |
| 2 | Canberra Croatia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 9 |
| 3 | Tigers FC | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 6 |
| 4 | Tuggeranong United | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 4 |
| 5 | Gungahlin United | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 2 |
| 6 | Queanbeyan City | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 2 |
| 7 | Yoogali SC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 2 |
| 8 | O’Connor Knights | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 | -12 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
5: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers)
4: Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
3: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
2: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Own GOALS
1: Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights), Augustine BANGURA (Tigers FC), Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Nikola JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Alessandro PENA (Tuggeranong United), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia)
TOP ASSISTS
5: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
3: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
2: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia)
1: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), William AKIO (Tigers FC), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Jacob DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC)
