A brace of goals from South Sundanese international William Akio helped steer Tigers FC to a maiden Grand Final success in the NPL era, and only their third in their history, as the orange-clad heroes proved too good for Monaro Panthers in the OPC NPL showdown at McKellar Park.
The Battle of the Big Cats promised much in the build-up, and a healthy crowd packed the home of Belconnen United, to watch this highly anticipated fixture. What no-one present expected was Tigers to have one hand on the trophy after only even minutes of the match.
It took Ali Efe’s team just 100 seconds to break the deadlock, netting with their first attack of the match. Josh Milicevic created it, scything through the Panthers midfield line and sliding a perfectly-weighted pass in for Akio who coolly slotted past the advancing Heath Ilitch.
If that was a dream start, it was to only get better five minutes later. This time it was Shandon Whitehead, who would later be dismissed for receiving a second yellow card, who orchestrated the opening.
The full-back advanced up the park and fed Akio whose burst of acceleration allowed him to create sufficient space to open his body and curl an exquisite right-footed finish around Ilitch and into the far corner of the net. It was the dashing winger’s thirteenth of the season, both celebrated in trademark back-flip style.
Shell-shocked, the Panthers responded reasonably well. Daniel Barac was his usual determined self, tirelessly running the channels, but neither Christian Kreskas or Nikos Kalfas out wide could weave their magic to serve the twenty-goal striker and his dangerous teammate, Stephen Domenici.
The game might have been all over before the break had Akio’s magnificent header, bulleted home from a delicious Milicevic cross, been allowed to stand, but it was flagged offside, a decision that divided opinion amongst the half-time chatter.
The Panthers needed A second-half boost; however it was the Tigers bench that had sharper claws, and it was the introduction of one of those impact finishers that was to ultimately decide the destination of the silverware.
Before that moment Tigers FC goalkeeper Willem Lejuene stepped up to the plate. When the Panthers were awarded a free-kick twenty-five metres from goal, Connor Mynott-Smith arced a shot towards the top corner. Lejeune, diving full length to his right, plucked it out of the top corner amidst the sound of breaking Monaro hearts.
The encounter was sealed with eight minutes to play. Ilitch, whose brilliance had helped Monaro reach the decider, misjudged a Michael Southam ball forward allowing Japanese schemer Tomohiro Ogawa the opportunity to roll the ball home into the gaping goal, and as it did, heal the wounds of 2024 and spark manic celebrations on the pitch, on the bench, and in the stands for those in Tigers orange.
STATISTICS
GRAND FINAL
Saturday 20 September
Tigers FC 3 (Akio 2’, 7’, Ogawa 82’) Monaro Panthers 0
THE LINE-UPS
Tigers FC: 99. Willem LEJUENE, 2. Noah STEINACKER, 3. Michael SOUTHAM, 5. Shandon WHITEHEAD, 6. Josh MILICEVIC (22. Augustine BANGURA 56’), 8. Sam WHITHEAR, 11. Nik TANESKI (9. Nik POPOVICH 69’), 15. Ben BASSER-SILK (14. Tomohiro OGAWA 56’), 18. Angus PITKIN, 30. William AKIO (23. Nathen MEGIC 77’)
Substitute not used: 35. Samson CARR
Monaro Panthers: 1. Heath ILITCH, 3. Marco GAYER, 4. Dylan DEEP-JONES, 5. FERNANDO, 8. Connor MYNOTT-SMITH, 9. Christian KRESKAS (13. Jack ELLWOOD 77’), 10. Nikos KALFAS (19. Patrick MITCHELL 67’), 12. Ryan STRAUB (14. Mitchell JERVIS-HAMILTON 83’), 22. Daniel BARAC, 23. Stephen DOMENICI, 91. Zac MCLAREN (20. Giuseppe TINE 77’)
Substitute not used: 18. Gerion MEHMETAJ
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Nathan SHAKESPEAR
Assistant Referees: Thomas GELLATLY, Joshua ESIER
Fourth Official: Gareth BIGGS
DISCIPLINE
Yellow Cards: 3. Marco GAYER, 4. Dylan SEEP-JONES, 5. FERNANDO, 9. Christan KRESKAS, 13. Jack ELLWOOD, 20. Giuseppe TINE, 22. Daniel BARAC, 91. Zac MCLAREN (all Monaro Panthers)
Red Card: 5. Shandon WHITEHEAD (Tigers FC)
TOP SCORERS
20: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
16: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
15: Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United)
13: William AKIO (Tigers FC)
12: Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers)
10: Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United)
9: Connor MYNOTT-SMITH (Monaro Panthers)
8: Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights/Tigers FC), Ayumu KIMURA (Gungahlin United), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
7: Jenno CERUTI (O’Connor Knights), Own GOALS
6: Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Danny REID (Yoogali SC)
5: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Giancarlo D’ADDARIO (Gungahlin United), Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Phakedi MANDA (Monaro Panthers/O’Connor Knights), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers)
4: Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers/Tigers FC), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers), Loick Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), LESPINASSE (Gungahlin United), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers / Canberra Croatia), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC)
3: Mason DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC/Monaro Panthers), Zac LAWRENCE (Tuggeranong United), Joshua MILICEVIC (Tigers FC), Misko NAUMOSKI (Queanbeyan City), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Sam WHITEHEAR (Tigers FC)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Gabriel AYUEL (Queanbeyan City), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC / Gungahlin United), Augustine BANGURA (Tigers FC), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Dylan DEEP-JONES (Monaro Panthers), Abderrahim DELLAHI (Queanbeyan City), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Josh GASPARI (Gungahlin United), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Zac MCLAREN (Monaro Panthers), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Sam RACITI (Yoogali SC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Sam WALKER (Tuggeranong United)
1: Connor BILL (O’Connor Knights), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Fabian CACOPARDO (Yoogali SC), Isaac DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Cole FALCO (Tuggeranong United), Luca FLOREZ (Gungahlin United), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Jack GREEN (Gungahlin United), Nikola JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Chistian JUNNA (O’Connor Knights), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Alex-Junior MALAUULU (Gungahlin United), Nathen MEGIC (Tigers FC), Alessandro PENA (Tuggeranong United), Jack PERAIC-CULLEN (Canberra Croatia), Euan PETERKIN (Tuggeranong United), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Daniel ROBERTS (Queanbeyan City), Joey SEO (Yoogali SC), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Daler TOKHIROV (Yoogali SC), Noah VANDERPOL (Queanbeyan City), Hamish WALES (Tigers FC), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Tigers FC), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
TOP ASSISTS
24: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
10: Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers)
9: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers), Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia)
8: Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Phakedi MANDA (Monaro Panthers/O’Connor Knights), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
7: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United)
6: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC)
5: Connor MYNOTT-SMITH (Monaro Panthers), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Tigers FC)
4: Joshua MILICEVIC (Tigers FC), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers/Canberra Croatia), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC), Kobi YARIYARI (O’Connor Knights)
3: Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Giancarlo D’ADDARIO (Gungahlin United), Josh DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Chaise DONETTO (Yoogali SC), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Cole FALCO (Tuggeranong United), Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights/Tigers FC), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Riley BROWN (Gungahlin United), Nikita BYRNES (Gungahlin United), Abderrahim DELLAHI (Queanbeyan City), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC), Loick LESPINASSE (Gungahlin United), AJ MALAUULU (Gungahlin United), Josh PEDERSEN (Tuggeranong United), Alessandro PENA (Tuggeranong United), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Robbie RIMMER (Yoogali SC), Daniel ROBERTS (Queanbeyan City), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
1: Samuel ABA (Queanbeyan City), Niko ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Augustine BANGURA (Tigers FC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Connor BILL (O’Connor Knights), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Sam BROWN (Canberra Croatia), Fabian CACOPARDO (Yoogali SC), Nick DAHL (O’Connor Knights), Xabier DAVIES (Tuggeranong United), Dylan DEEP-JONES (Monaro Panthers), Bailey DICKENSON (Gungahlin United), Jacob DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), Jack ELLWOOD (Monaro Panthers), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Marco GAYER (Monaro Panthers), Matt GRBESA (Canberra Croatia), Hayden HOLLINGER (Yoogali SC), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Mitchell JERVIS-HAMILTON (Monaro Panthers), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Ayumu KIMURA (Gungahlin United), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Steven KRESKAS (Queanbeyan City), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Zac MCLAREN (Monaro Panthers), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Max MELLICK (Monaro Panthers), Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United), Ibrahim OBEID (O’Connor Knights), Deacon PALOMBI (Gungahlin United), Nicholas PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Charlie RAE (Queanbeyan City), Sam ROESTBAKKEN (Monaro Panthers),Luke SAKAMOTO (Tuggeranong United), Tim SANTOS (Tuggeranong United), Vincent SANCHEZ (O’Connor Knights), Cassidy SCHLESINGER (Tuggeranong United), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Kristian TOKIC (Queanbeyan City), Archie VARNES (Tuggeranong United), Sam WALKER (Tuggeranong United)
