A consummate performance from Monaro Panthers saw them destroy an outgunned Gungahlin United with a magnificent seven-goal salvo at Stryda Park in the National Premier League Round 7.
The Panthers kept chase at the top of the league table with a scintillating display that the Gunners had no answer to, a brace of goals within two minutes of each other setting the scene as early as the eleventh minute of the match.
Daniel Barac got the scoring underway, scoring his 100th NPL goal with a left-flank cross that eluded Aiden Munford and dropped into the net. Moments later Barac turned provider with his cross from the left side met on the half-volley by Robert Tkatchenko who steered home a brilliant goal.
Relentless Monaro continued to attack and from a Christian Kreskas corner, Tkatchenko lashed home the third. There was time for one more before the half-time break, Barac whipping home hie eighth of the season from Luca Macor’s incisive pass.
After the interval it took just two minutes before Kreskas crashed home goal number five, Luca Macor made it six with six minutes to play, and substitute Ben Basser-Silk headed home the seventh from a Barac cross in the second minute of stoppage time.
Tigers FC returned to the top of the table at the end of Saturday evening as they came from behind to win 2-1 against Queanbeyan City in a repeat of their Hahn Australia Cup Qualifying semi-final at High Street.
Much like the cup tie, it was Queanbeyan who took the lead early on and, just as on Tuesday at South Jerrabomberra Regional Sporting Complex, it was Argentinean striker Nico Abot who got it.
Angus Pitkin’s back-pass to Gabe Taurasi, making his first start in Tigers colours, was too high and the ‘keeper’s touch allowed Abot to nick in and steal the ball, rolling it into the empty net from close range.
Tigers responded with a fine goal of their own. Nikos Kalfas was freed into the left channel, and he beautifully delayed his finish, slipping his shot underneath Nick Middleton to make it 1-1.
City wasted numerous chances to get themselves in front in the second-half, Abot uncharacteristically missing a pair of good opportunities, and they were made to pay fourteen minutes from time when Angus Bailey took advantage of a mistake from Gabriel Ayuel to curl home the winner.
O’Connor Knights jumped from last to fourth at the end of Saturday evening after they demolished Yoogali SC 5-1 in a match that was switched from O’Connor Enclosed to the artificial surface at Hawker Football Centre.
There was little indication of what was to follow as Yoogali took the lead in just the second minute of the fixture. A long throw from Robbie Rimmer was adroitly volleyed home by Jayce Dotson, the sixth goal of the season for the American striker.
The Knights didn’t take long to respond, Lukman Ahmed-Shaibu collecting a pass inside the penalty area, dragging the ball the back to create the space, and firing a low finish beyond the reach of Michael Di Paoli.
Knights hit the lead just before the half-hour, a Niko Kresic corner helped on by Daniel Galic and turned past his own goalkeeper by the unfortunate Isaac Donadel. The third goal, converted by Kresic after excellent build-up play involving Ahmed-Shaibu and Phakedi Manda was crucial giving O’Connor a 3-1 half-time lead.
There was more to come after the break as Ahmed-Shaibu added two more to complete a treble. The first was tapped in from inside the six-yard box after Galic had made inroads down the left, and the hat-trick was his when the striker smashed home a James Driscoll cross with eighteen minutes to play.
Canberra Croatia returned to the top of the table on Sunday afternoon as they defeated Tuggeranong United 5-0 under the blue skies of Deakin Stadium on an afternoon that coincided with the home teams Junior Gala Day.
The youngsters in attendance were off their seat in only the tenth minute as Thoams James converted a Nick Pratezina cross into the box, and Pratezina himself made it two only seven minutes later as he stabbed home a cutback from the impressive Maxx Green.
There was a third before the interval as Pratezina ran on to a Green chest-off to slide home under Callum Cook, Tuggeranong in reply seeing a Romeo Jambrek goal chalked out for offside.
Xabier Davies hit the bar in the second-half for Tuggeranong, but Croatia were in cruise control and had a fourth when Riley Zsuzsa followed up after James had seen his fierce shot beaten away by Cook. There was time for a fifth in stoppage time as the ball cannoned across the penalty area and substitute Daniel Sparrow swept home.
RESULTS
ROUND 7
Saturday 24 May
Queanbeyan City 1 (Abot 8’) Tigers FC 2 (Kalfas 39’, Bailey 76’)
O’Connor Knights 5 (Ahmed-Shaibu 5’, 54’, 72’, I. Donadel 27’ (og), Kresic 41’) Yoogali SC 1 (Dotson 2’)
Monaro Panthers 7 (Barac 9’, 41’, Tkatchenko 11’, 27’, Kreskas 47’, Macor 84’, Basser-Silk 90+2’) Gungahlin United 0
Sunday 25 May
Canberra Croatia 5 (James 10’, Pratezina 17’, 36’, Zsuzsa 60’, Sparrow 90+4’) Tuggeranong United 0
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 4 | +24 | 18 |
| 2 | Tigers FC | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 11 | +10 | 17 |
| 3 | Monaro Panthers | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 8 | +19 | 15 |
| 4 | O’Connor Knights | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 17 | -3 | 7 |
| 5 | Tuggeranong United | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 16 | -9 | 7 |
| 6 | Queanbeyan City | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 16 | -11 | 6 |
| 7 | Yoogali SC | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 5 |
| 8 | Gungahlin United | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 21 | -18 | 5 |
TOP SCORERS
8: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers)
6: Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
5: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia), Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
4: Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers)
3: Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City), 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), Jenno CERUTI (O’Connor Knights), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia)
1: Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Luca FLOREZ (Gungahlin United), Josh GASPARI (Gungahlin United), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Nikola JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Chistian JUNNA (O’Connor Knights), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Nathen MEGIC (Tigers FC), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Alessandro PENA (Tuggeranong United), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Nim TANESKI (Tigers FC), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Sam WHITEHEAR (Tigers FC), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
TOP ASSISTS
8: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
5: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers)
4: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
3: Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), William AKIO (Tigers FC), Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Chaise DONETTO (Yoogali SC), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Tigers FC), Kobi YARIYARI (O’Connor Knights)
1: Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Xabier DAVIES (Tuggeranong United), Josh DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Jacob DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Marco GAYER (Monaro Panthers), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Max MELLICK (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Charlie RAE (Queanbeyan City), Robbie RIMMER (Yoogali SC), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Kristian TOKIC (Queanbeyan City), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC)
