Gungahlin United secured an important 1-0 victory over Queanbeyan City under the floodlights at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval on Friday Night as they pushed themselves back into top fur contention in the OPC National Premier League U23 competition.
In a tight contest, the moment that mattered came four minutes into the second-half as Fabian Olivares struck for the home team, his fifth goal of the season, which ultimately proved decisive in the final outcome.
City remain bottom of the table, but were competitive and compact throughout, whilst Gungahlin went fifth ahead of closest competitors Tuggeranong United and Monaro Panthers meeting twenty-four hours later.
Tigers FC hopes of retaining top-place in the division were dealt a blow as O’Connor Knights turned the title race into a three-team sprint to the line with a narrow 1-0 success at O’Connor Enclosed.
Ivan Dzaja struck the winning blow, thirteen minutes into the second-half, turning home after a corner had caused problems inside the penalty area, and that was enough to push the Knights to within four points of their opponents.
Canberra Croatia took full advantage to return to the top of the table, albeit having played a game more than their chasers, as they dismantled Yoogali SC 8-0 at Deakin Stadium.
A double from Oliver Hawkins put Croatia in firm command of the contest in the first-half, and the home team did not let up after the break as the goals flowed from the 54th minute onwards.
Anthony Rakic claimed a brace, Owen Learmonth and Luca Jukic both scoring in between these goals as Croatia sord three in four minutes. Darcy Middleton and Lemar Katawazai rounded out the scoring with twelve and three minutes remaining respectively.
At Kambah 2 on a cold and blustery afternoon, Tuggeranong United and Monaro Panthers were forced to share the points as an even and entertaining match ended all-square at 1-1.
The Panthers, chasing a top four place, took the lead in the first-half after they were awarded a penalty which Ayham Nasser confidently converted, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Tuggeranong levelled though past the hour when Anthony Antoniak scored for the fourteenth time this season, taking the lead in the race for the Golden Boot and earning his team a draw.
RESULTS
ROUND 17
Friday 1 August
Gungahlin United 1 (Olivares 49’) Queanbeyan City 0
Saturday 2 August
Tuggeranong United 1 (Antoniak 62’) Monaro Panthers 1 (Nasser 20’ (p))
O’Connor Knights 1 (Dzaja 58’) Tigers FC 0
Canberra Croatia 8 (Hawkins 8’, 17’, Anthony Rakic 54’, 65’, Learmonth 61’, Jukic 63’, Middleton 78’, Katawazai 87’) Yoogali SC 0
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 17 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 44 | 28 | +16 | 36 |
| 2 | Tigers FC | 16 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 50 | 22 | +28 | 34 |
| 3 | O’Connor Knights | 16 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 24 | +13 | 30 |
| 4 | Tuggeranong United | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 25 |
| 5 | Monaro Panthers | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 25 | 33 | -8 | 19 |
| 6 | Gungahlin United | 15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 19 | 30 | -11 | 19 |
| 7 | Yoogali SC | 16 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 40 | -24 | 15 |
| 8 | Queanbeyan City | 17 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 22 | 44 | -22 | 10 |
TOP SCORERS
14: Anthony ANTONIAK (Tuggeranong United)
13: Cooper HEAGNEY (Tigers FC)
11: Zachary ILIJOSKI (Tigers FC)
8: Jebediah JEFFERY (Canberra Croatia)
7: Alexander EVANS (Queanbeyan City)
6: Rocco DI PLACIDO (O’Connor Knights), Leo DONALD (Tuggeranong United), Thinley DORJI (Tigers FC), Oliver HAWKINS (Canberra Croatia), Ayham NASSER (Monaro Panthers), Fabian OLIVARES (Gungahlin United), Own GOALS
5: Elliot ALBERTO (Tigers FC), Owen LEARMONTH (Canberra Croatia), Darcy MIDDLETON (Canberra Croatia), Anthony RAKIC (Canberra Croatia)
4: Daniel ANDERSON (O’Connor Knights), Zia BAIRD (Monaro Panthers), Kaide CASTLE (Yoogali SC), Ivan DZAJA (O’Connor Knights), James GODDING (Canberra Croatia), Jack JANKE (O’Connor Knights), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Luka USLJEBRKA (O’Connor Knights), Leo VANDERPOL (Monaro Panthers)
3: Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Jake FATTORE (Tigers FC), Jacob KITE (Gungahlin United), Sebastian MUNOZ (Gungahlin United), Daniel OBST (Queanbeyan City), Samuel RACITI (Yoogali SC), Timothy SANTOS (Tuggeranong United), Sam SHEEDY (Tuggeranong United)
2: Samuel ABA (Queanbeyan City), Joshua AMOAH (Tigers FC), Thomas BARBATANO (Gungahlin United), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Xavier BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Stephen CERNI (Gungahlin United), Zachary COLSON (Tigers FC), Kye COSSETTINI (Tigers FC), Marcus CRISPE (Tigers FC), Jack ELLWOOD (Monaro Panthers), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Mitchell JERVIS-HAMILTON (Monaro Panthers), Luka JUKIC (Canberra Croatia), Lemar KATAWAZAI (Canberra Croatia), Alexander LULIC (Monaro Panthers), Ivica MAJETIC (Canberra Croatia), Ahmed MUBAIDEEN (Tigers FC), Nikola PERINOVIC (O’Connor Knights), Kris RAAD (Tuggeranong United)
1: Cos ARENA (O’Connor Knights), Luke ARMANINI (Yoogali SC), Daniel BARBATANO (Queanbeyan City), Jack BITANI (Queanbeyan City), Tanatswa BVIRAKARE (Tigers FC), Fabian CACOPARDO (Yoogali SC), Samson CARR (Tigers FC), Marcos DA SILVA (Canberra Croatia), Sivamsh DEEVI (Gungahlin United), Ethan DONETTO (Yoogali SC), Aleksandar DORDEVIC (Queanbeyan City), Tomer DORON (O’Connor Knights), Michael GALIC (Queanbeyan City), Dominic GALLUZZO (Yoogali SC), Aston GOODWIN (Canberra Croatia), Joshua HEDDITCH (Monaro Panthers), Joshua KEENAN (Yoogali SC), Marcus LAU (Gungahlin United), Jure LEMEZINA (Monaro Panthers), Alexei MARDIYANTS (Monaro Panthers), Mohammad MAZRAEH (Tuggeranong United), Leon MCLEAN (Canberra Croatia), Joseph MIKAHEL (Monaro Panthers), Hamish MOYLE (Gungahlin United), Ibrahim OBEID (O’Connor Knights), Samuel PALIC (Queanbeyan City), Nicholas PIVA (Yoogali SC), Nicolas PULCIANI (Tigers FC), Andrija RAKIC (Canberra Croatia), Jayden RIPPON (Gungahlin United), Abdin SAID (Tuggeranong United), Ali SOHANI (Monaro Panthers), Ethan SAUNDERS (O’Connor Knights), William TWEEDIE (O’Connor Knights), Josip UJDUR (O’Connor Knights)
