A hat-trick from Nicholas Pratezina helped Canberra Croatia prepare for their midweek Australia Cup Round of 32 match with MetroStars from South Australia with a 3-2 derby day win over O’Connor Knights at Hawker Football Centre.
The league leaders appeared to have opened the deadlock after quarter-of-an-hour as Nikola Jadric turned home following a parry by Knights’ goalkeeper Cameron Brown of a Pratezina shot, only for the assistant referee’s flag to curtail the visitors’ celebrations.
When Croatia next found the net, midway through the half, this one stood. Nick Pratezina played a ball to Keegan Vucetic who lofted a superb return delivery over the head of the retreating Knights defence allowing Pratezina to stroll onto it, and steer into the net.
Within nine minutes it was two. There was a sense of inevitability that Thomas James would be involved, the striker setting up his eighteenth goal of the season with a square pass for Pratezina to slide home from the top of the six-yard box.
Trailing by two at the break the Knights needed a sharp start, and they got one as Michael John and Aisosa Ihegie swapped passes for John to finish on the turn, in off the base of the post. But, only four minutes later, Pratezina completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot.
Knights pulled one back with three minutes to go, substitute Marko Rathouski heading in after excellent work from Ihegie down the left but were unable to replicate their U23 teams and force the equaliser.
The scheduled match at Stryda Park between third-place Monaro Panthers, and their visitors Tigers FC, who entered the weekend in second spot on the league table, was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
On Sunday, a brace of goals from Steve Nealon helped Tuggeranong United to a 2-1 win over Gungahlin United on a wet, and cold, afternoon at Hawker Football Centre, a result that allowed Tuggeranong to keep in touch with the top four.
Nealon thought he had given Tuggeranong the lead in the first-half when his free-kick dropped into the back of the net, although the officials deemed there to be an offside in the process.
Nealon did make the breakthrough later, collecting a wonderful pass from Bevan Foxall and rifling home from just outside the area, and the forward was to move onto ten goals for the season when he adroitly lobbed Munford from inside the box after a penetrating run from Nic Emanuel.
Gunners had a brief glimmer of hope when Yoshida Shoki steered home a header from a Thomas Robertson cross and might have been awarded a penalty late-on when Shoki was upended in the area, but Tuggeranong could point to a penalty shout of their own as the game ended in a victory for the ‘home’ team.
A solitary goal from Misko Naumoski proved enough for Queanbeyan City to maintain their place in the top four and inflict another league defeat on Yoogali SC, as City won 1-0 at Solar Mad Stadium.
Naumoski struck after twenty minutes, turning his marker inside out to finish past Luke Armanini, after collecting a pass from substitute Steven Kreskas. Jacob Donadel was cautioned in the lead-up to the goal for a late challenge on the early replacement and was later sent off after receiving a second yellow card.
City might have scored a second but spurned their best chance when veteran Vasko Petrovski blazed a penalty high over the crossbar. It mattered not though as Queanbeyan got the three points to continue their dreams of finals football in their debut season at the top level.
RESULTS
ROUND 16
Saturday 26 July
O’Connor Knights 2 (John 50’, Rathouski 87’) Canberra Croatia 3 (Pratezina 22’, 31’, 54’ (p))
Monaro Panthers v Tigers FC – Match Postponed
Sunday 27 July
Tuggeranong United 2 (Nealon 42’, 53’) Gungahlin United 1 (Shoki 57’)
Yoogali SC 0 Queanbeyan City 1 (Naumoski 20’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 16 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 63 | 18 | +45 | 39 |
| 2 | Tigers FC | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 32 | 23 | +9 | 30 |
| 3 | Monaro Panthers | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 45 | 17 | +28 | 29 |
| 4 | Queanbeyan City | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 25 | -8 | 23 |
| 5 | Tuggeranong United | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 20 | 36 | -16 | 20 |
| 6 | Gungahlin United | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 22 | 41 | -19 | 15 |
| 7 | O’Connor Knights | 15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 25 | 48 | -23 | 10 |
| 8 | Yoogali SC | 16 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 20 | 36 | -16 | 9 |
TOP SCORERS
14: Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
13: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers)
12: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
11: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia)
10: Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United)
8: Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights/Tigers FC), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
6: Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC)
5: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Jenno CERUTI (O’Connor Knights), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Own GOALS
4: Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Loick LESPINASSE (Gungahlin United), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC)
3: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Ayumu KIMURA (Gungahlin United), Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers), Phakedi MANDA (Monaro Panthers/O’Connor Knights), Connor MYNOTT-SMITH (Monaro Panthers), Misko NAUMOSKI (Queanbeyan City), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers / Canberra Croatia), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Sam WHITEHEAR (Tigers FC)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC / Gungahlin United), Augustine BANGURA (Tigers FC), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Giancarlo D’ADDARIO (Gungahlin United), Dylan DEEP-JONES (Monaro Panthers), Mason DONADEL (Yoogali SC), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Josh GASPARI (Gungahlin United), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC), Zac LAWRENCE (Tuggeranong United), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia)
1: Gabriel AYUEL (Queanbeyan City), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Seth BONNETT (Queanbeyan City), Abderrahim DELLAHI (Queanbeyan City), Isaac DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Luca FLOREZ (Gungahlin United), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Nikola JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Chistian JUNNA (O’Connor Knights), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Alex-Junior MALAUULU (Gungahlin United), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Zac MCLAREN (Monaro Panthers), Nathen MEGIC (Tigers FC), Alessandro PENA (Tuggeranong United), Euan PETERKIN (Tuggeranong United), Daniel ROBERTS (Queanbeyan City), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Joey SEO (Yoogali SC), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Noah VANDERPOL (Queanbeyan City), Hamish WALES (Tigers FC), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
TOP ASSISTS
18: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
9: Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers)
8: Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
7: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia)
6: Phakedi MANDA (Monaro Panthers/O’Connor Knights)
5: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia)
4: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Tigers FC), Kobi YARIYARI (O’Connor Knights)
3: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Giancarlo D’ADDARIO (Gungahlin United), Abderrahim DELLAHI (Queanbeyan City), Josh DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Chaise DONETTO (Yoogali SC), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Cole FALCO (Tuggeranong United), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Loick LESPINASSE (Gungahlin United), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Josh PEDERSEN (Tuggeranong United), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Robbie RIMMER (Yoogali SC), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
1: Samuel ABA (Queanbeyan City), Niko ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Connor BILL (O’Connor Knights), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Riley BROWN (Gungahlin United), Xabier DAVIES (Tuggeranong United), Bailey DICKENSON (Gungahlin United), Jacob DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Marco GAYER (Monaro Panthers), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Steven KRESKAS (Queanbeyan City), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Zac MCLAREN (Monaro Panthers), AJ MALAUULU (Gungahlin United), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Max MELLICK (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Charlie RAE (Queanbeyan City), Daniel ROBERTS (Queanbeyan City), Sam ROESTBAKKEN (Monaro Panthers), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Kristian TOKIC (Queanbeyan City)
