O’Connor Knights were crowned OPC NPL23 League Champions by getting the win that they needed on the weekend as they triumphed 4-0 on the road with victory over Yoogali SC at Solar Mad Stadium.
Needing a victory to keep Tigers FC at bay, the Knights broke the deadlock with a goal converted from the penalty spot by Marko Rathouski. When Jordan Bavaresco put through his own net ten minutes later the Knights were well on their way.
Ironically, it was a second own goal, this one steered into his own goal by the luckless Rueben Donadel, that’s sealed the title, the Knights taking an insurmountable lead no matter what Tigers achieved at the AIS.
Tigers FC ensured they would keep up their end of the bargain in the race for the title as they swamped Queanbeyan City 5-1 at the Australian Institute of Sport to set up next weekend’s Qualification Final against the Knights.
Three goals in five first-half minutes took the match away from Queanbeyan as the Tigers hit their straps with an Angus Wales opener after just twenty-six minutes of the match. Almost immediately Jake Fattore made it two, before Zachary Ilijoski completed the swift run of goals.
Sam Aba pulled one back for City in the second-half, before Zachary Colson made it four for the home team. Ilijoski bagged his second, and his fifteenth of the season, to finalise a big Tigers victory.
Tuggeranong United secured their spot in the OPC NPL23 Finals series with a 2-1 win against Gungahlin United in atrocious conditions at Kambah 2 on a wet and wild Wednesday evening.
The home team took the lead in just the seventh minute, and it was no surprise that it was top scorer Anthony Antoniak who provided it. Released through the middle by Nikolas Manatas, Antoniak clipped his finish past the ‘keeper and then reacted fastest when the ball bounced back off the post.
As the wind howled down and the rain came down in buckets, Tuggeranong scored again five minutes before the break. Coen Storer collected a loose pass and smashed a shot from range beyond the Gunners custodian. Gungahlin pulled one back late on, but Tuggeranong claimed the points.
Gungahlin United bounced back from midweek disappointment with a flurry of late goals as they saw off Monaro Panthers in a 5-0 victory at Stryda Park on Saturday afternoon.
Having led through a first-half goal from Fabian Olivares, it took Gungahlin United until past the hour to go two-nil ahead, as Sebastian Munoz struck to break Monaro Panthers stern resistance.
With the game petering to a conclusion, Gunners ended their season in style with three goals in seven minutes. Marcus Lau made it 3-0 win the 80thn minute before Sivamsh Deevi netted five minutes later, Just three minutes after that Stephen Cerni added another as Gunners finished with a flourish.
Canberra Croatia cruised to a comfortable 9-0 home win over Tuggeranong United in the final regular season match of the season at Deakin Stadium.
With nothing riding on the game for either team, the pair will meet again in the Elimination Final next weekend, and players rested on both sides, it was understandably something of a tame affair, Croatia finally breaking the deadlock when James Godding manoeuvred space to score.
That set the tone and moments later Croatia scored again, Luka Jukic breaking clear and finishing unerringly underneath the goalkeeper. Jukic added a third twelve minutes later, finishing off a rebound to double his tally as Croatia took control of the match.
Jebediah Jeffery added the fourth and Oliver Hawkins the fifth as Croatia ran riot. After the break, an Anthony Rakic penalty brought up half-a-dozen, and Jukic completed his hat-trick with eighteen minutes remaining. Marcos Da Silva slipped in the eighth before Jukic added his fourth for nine.
RESULTS
ROUND 15
Tuggeranong United 2 (Antoniak 7’, Storer 40’) Gungahlin United 1 (Olivares 88’)
ROUND 21
Saturday 30 August
Yoogali SC 0 O’Connor Knights 3 (Rathouski 25’ (p), Bavaresco 35’ (og), R. Donadel 57’ (og))
Tigers FC 5 (A. Wales 26’, Fattore 28’, Ilijoski 31’, 90’) Colson 65’, Queanbeyan City 1 (Aba 57’)
Monaro Panthers 0 Gungahlin United 5 (Olivares 24’, Munoz 62’, Lau 80’, Sivamsh 85’, Cerni 87’)
Sunday 31 August
Canberra Croatia 9 (Godding 22’, Jukic 26’, 38’, 72’, 83’, Jeffrey 43’, Hawkins 45’, Anthony Rakic 58’ (p), Da Silva 77’) Tuggeranong United 0
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | O’Connor Knights | 21 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 54 | 30 | +24 | 45 |
| 2 | Tigers FC | 21 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 63 | 31 | +32 | 44 |
| 3 | Canberra Croatia | 21 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 65 | 35 | +30 | 41 |
| 4 | Tuggeranong United | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 38 | 40 | -2 | 31 |
| 5 | Gungahlin United | 21 | 8 | 3 | 19 | 34 | 40 | -6 | 27 |
| 6 | Monaro Panthers | 21 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 26 | 53 | -27 | 19 |
| 7 | Yoogali SC | 21 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 21 | 49 | -28 | 19 |
| 8 | Queanbeyan City | 21 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 33 | 56 | -23 | 13 |
TOP SCORERS
17: Anthony ANTONIAK (Tuggeranong United)
15: Zachary ILIJOSKI (Tigers FC)
13: Cooper HEAGNEY (Tigers FC)
10: Fabian OLIVARES (Gungahlin United), Own GOALS
9: Oliver HAWKINS (Canberra Croatia), Jebediah JEFFERY (Canberra Croatia)
8: Owen LEARMONTH (Canberra Croatia)
7: Alexander EVANS (Queanbeyan City), Luka JUKIC (Canberra Croatia), Ayham NASSER (Monaro Panthers), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights)
6: Rocco DI PLACIDO (O’Connor Knights), Leo DONALD (Tuggeranong United), Thinley DORJI (Tigers FC), James GODDING (Canberra Croatia), Anthony RAKIC (Canberra Croatia)
5: Elliot ALBERTO (Tigers FC), Ivan DZAJA (O’Connor Knights), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Jack JANKE (O’Connor Knights), Darcy MIDDLETON (Canberra Croatia), Sebastian MUNOZ (Gungahlin United), Andrija RAKIC (Canberra Croatia), Luka USLJEBRKA (O’Connor Knights)
4: Samuel ABA (Queanbeyan City), Daniel ANDERSON (O’Connor Knights), Zia BAIRD (Monaro Panthers), Thomas BARBATANO (Gungahlin United), Xavier BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Kaide CASTLE (Yoogali SC), Stephen CERNI (Gungahlin United), Jake FATTORE (Tigers FC), Marcus LAU (Gungahlin United), Samuel PALIC (Queanbeyan City), Leo VANDERPOL (Monaro Panthers)
3: Jack BITANI (Queanbeyan City), Fabian CACOPARDO (Yoogali SC), Zachary COLSON (Tigers FC), Kye COSSETTINI (Tigers FC), Sivamsh DEEVI (Gungahlin United), Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Jacob KITE (Gungahlin United), Daniel OBST (Queanbeyan City), Samuel RACITI (Yoogali SC), Timothy SANTOS (Tuggeranong United), Sam SHEEDY (Tuggeranong United)
2: Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (Tigers FC), Joshua AMOAH (Tigers FC), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Marcus CRISPE (Tigers FC), Marcos DA SILVA (Canberra Croatia), Ethan DONETTO (Yoogali SC), Jack ELLWOOD (Monaro Panthers), Aston GOODWIN (Canberra Croatia), Mitchell JERVIS-HAMILTON (Monaro Panthers), Lemar KATAWAZAI (Canberra Croatia), Alexander LULIC (Monaro Panthers), Ivica MAJETIC (Canberra Croatia), Kyah MILIN (O’Connor Knights), Hamish MOYLE (Gungahlin United), Ahmed MUBAIDEEN (Tigers FC), Nikola PERINOVIC (O’Connor Knights), Kris RAAD (Tuggeranong United), Ethan SAUNDERS (O’Connor Knights)
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), Samson CARR (Tigers FC), Alexander DAVIDS (Queanbeyan City), Aleksandar DORDEVIC (Queanbeyan City), Tomer DORON (O’Connor Knights), Jydon FIELD (Tuggeranong United), Michael GALIC (Queanbeyan City), Dominic GALLUZZO (Yoogali SC), Joshua HEDDITCH (Monaro Panthers), Joshua KEENAN (Yoogali SC), Jure LEMEZINA (Monaro Panthers), Alexei MARDIYANTS (Monaro Panthers), Mohammad MAZRAEH (Tuggeranong United), Leon MCLEAN (Canberra Croatia), Joseph MIKAHEL (Monaro Panthers), Ibrahim OBEID (O’Connor Knights), Nicholas PIVA (Yoogali SC), Nicolas PULCIANI (Tigers FC), Jayden RIPPON (Gungahlin United), Abdin SAID (Tuggeranong United), Ali SOHANI (Monaro Panthers), Coen STORER (Tuggeranong United), William TWEEDIE (O’Connor Knights), Josip UJDUR (O’Connor Knights), Archie VARNES (Tuggeranong United), Angus WALES (Tigers FC(), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Tigers FC), Ryan ZANATTA (Yoogali SC)
