A brace of goals from Zachary Ilijoski ensured that Tigers FC kept up the pressure on league leaders Canberra Croatia in the OPC National Premier League U23 competition as the hosts defeated Tuggeranong United 2-0 at the Australian Institute of Sport on Saturday afternoon.
Both goals came in the first-half of the contest, Ilijoski opening the scoring midway through the stanza as Tuggeranong failed to clear their lines, and the second coming from the penalty spot in the final minute of the half.
The second took the scorer to thirteen goals for the season, and joint second on the leader board for the Golden Boot alongside team mate Cooper Heagney who unfortunately went off with an ankle injury.
O’Connor Knights are waiting in the wings in case of a slip-up from those above them as they earned a hard-fought 4-3 win over an unlucky Queanbeyan City at O’Connor Enclosed.
Sam Aba gave City the lead in the first-half, only for two goals just before half-time from Luka Usljebrka and Marcus Agnello to send the Knights into the changing rooms with a narrow 2-1 advantage.
When Daniel Galic put Knights 3-1 up it appeared to be game over, but two goals in ten minutes from Xavier Bonnett and Nico Buljan drew the teams back on terms. There was still time for a winner though and it was supplied by Ivan Dzaja with fifteen minutes remaining to seal a Knights win.
At the other end of the table a goal in each half allowed Yoogali SC to claim a fifth win of the season with a well-deserved 2-0 success over the visiting Monaro Panthers at Solar Mad Stadium in Griffith.
An own goal form Panthers Jakob Peake put Yoogali ahead in the first-half, and they withstood the visiting team’s response to take the narrow lead into the changing rooms at the end of the opening forty-five minutes.
The home team needed a second, and they got it with three minutes remaining to finally shake off the Panthers resistance as Ethan Donetto struck.
Gungahlin United shocked league leaders Canberra Croatia with a come from behind 4-2 win at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval in the only match played on Sunday afternoon.
Croatia took the lead early in the match as Oliver Hawkins took advantage of Gungahlin misplaced possession to collect and pass and finish accurately. The home side responded though as Hamish Moyle stooped to nod home a set-piece at the far post in the 25th minute.
Parity lasted just three minutes however as James Godding swept Croatia back in front and the leaders missed several presentable chance to extend their advantage, and that was to come back and haunt them.
Gungahlin equalised with fifteen minutes remaining when a free-kick was inadvertently headed past his own goalkeeper by Xavier Cussen, before Fabian Olivares turned home the third. A late fourth, as the Croatian goalkeeper misjudged a Sebastian Munoz free-kick, sealed the win.
RESULTS
ROUND 19
Saturday 16 August
Tigers FC 2 (Ilijoski 22’, 45’ (p)) Tuggeranong United 0
O’Connor Knights 4 (Usljebrka 43’, Agnello 45’, Galic 51’, Dzaja 75’) Queanbeyan City 3 (Aba 25’, X. Bonnett 60’, Buljan 70’)
Yoogali SC 2 (Peake 26’ (og), E. Donetto 87’) Monaro Panthers 0
Sunday 17 August
Gungahlin United 4 (Moyle 25’, Cussen 76’ (og), Olivares 81’, Munoz 90’) Canberra Croatia 2 (Hawkins 3’, Godding 28’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 19 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 49 | 34 | +15 | 39 |
| 2 | Tigers FC | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 53 | 23 | +30 | 38 |
| 3 | O’Connor Knights | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 45 | 28 | +17 | 36 |
| 4 | Tuggeranong United | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 36 | 27 | +9 | 28 |
| 5 | Gungahlin United | 17 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 33 | -9 | 23 |
| 6 | Monaro Panthers | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 26 | 39 | -13 | 19 |
| 7 | Yoogali SC | 18 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 19 | 44 | -25 | 18 |
| 8 | Queanbeyan City | 19 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 27 | 51 | -24 | 10 |
TOP SCORERS
16: Anthony ANTONIAK (Tuggeranong United)
13: Cooper HEAGNEY (Tigers FC), Zachary ILIJOSKI (Tigers FC)
8: Jebediah JEFFERY (Canberra Croatia), Own GOALS
7: Alexander EVANS (Queanbeyan City), Oliver HAWKINS (Canberra Croatia), Ayham NASSER (Monaro Panthers), Fabian OLIVARES (Gungahlin United)
6: Rocco DI PLACIDO (O’Connor Knights), Leo DONALD (Tuggeranong United), Thinley DORJI (Tigers FC)
5: Elliot ALBERTO (Tigers FC), Ivan DZAJA (O’Connor Knights), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), James GODDING (Canberra Croatia), Jack JANKE (O’Connor Knights), Owen LEARMONTH (Canberra Croatia), Darcy MIDDLETON (Canberra Croatia), Anthony RAKIC (Canberra Croatia), Luka USLJEBRKA (O’Connor Knights)
4: Daniel ANDERSON (O’Connor Knights), Zia BAIRD (Monaro Panthers), Kaide CASTLE (Yoogali SC), Sebastian MUNOZ (Gungahlin United), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Leo VANDERPOL (Monaro Panthers)
3: Samuel ABA (Queanbeyan City), Jack BITANI (Queanbeyan City), Xavier BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Jake FATTORE (Tigers FC), Luka JUKIC (Canberra Croatia), Jacob KITE (Gungahlin United), Daniel OBST (Queanbeyan City), Samuel RACITI (Yoogali SC), Andrija RAKIC (Canberra Croatia), Timothy SANTOS (Tuggeranong United), Sam SHEEDY (Tuggeranong United)
2: Joshua AMOAH (Tigers FC), Thomas BARBATANO (Gungahlin United), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Stephen CERNI (Gungahlin United), Zachary COLSON (Tigers FC), Kye COSSETTINI (Tigers FC), Marcus CRISPE (Tigers FC), Sivamsh DEEVI (Gungahlin United), Ethan DONETTO (Yoogali SC), Jack ELLWOOD (Monaro Panthers), Mitchell JERVIS-HAMILTON (Monaro Panthers), Lemar KATAWAZAI (Canberra Croatia), Alexander LULIC (Monaro Panthers), Ivica MAJETIC (Canberra Croatia), Hamish MOYLE (Gungahlin United), Ahmed MUBAIDEEN (Tigers FC), Nikola PERINOVIC (O’Connor Knights), Kris RAAD (Tuggeranong United)
1: Marcus AGNELLO (O’Connor Knights), Joshua AMOAH (Tigers FC), Cos ARENA (O’Connor Knights), Luke ARMANINI (Yoogali SC), Daniel BARBATANO (Queanbeyan City), Nico BULJAN (Queanbeyan City), Tanatswa BVIRAKARE (Tigers FC), Fabian CACOPARDO (Yoogali SC), Samson CARR (Tigers FC), Marcos DA SILVA (Canberra Croatia), Aleksandar DORDEVIC (Queanbeyan City), Tomer DORON (O’Connor Knights), Jydon FIELD (Tuggeranong United), 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), Kyah MILIN (O’Connor Knights), Ibrahim OBEID (O’Connor Knights), Samuel PALIC (Queanbeyan City), Nicholas PIVA (Yoogali SC), Nicolas PULCIANI (Tigers FC), 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), Archie VARNES (Tuggeranong United), Ryan ZANATTA (Yoogali SC)
