Canberra Croatia needs only to avoid defeat next week in Round 20 of the OPC NPL against Tigers FC to be crowned as League winners after a confident 6-2 away win over Gungahlin United at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval.
A magical free-kick from Thomas James, one of a brace of goals to go with a brace of assists for the striker, led Croatia to a superb victory in a game in which they were dominant for the most part, only pegged back by two wonderous goals from home hero Yoshida Shoki.
After James and Shoki had exchanged free-kicks, a stooping header from Jack Peraic-Cullen, in off the post, restored the visitors lead, and when Michael Piccolo lashed in a James cross seven minutes into the second-half, the destination of the points were almost secured.
Shoki hammered home a second for Gungahlin after Daniel Subasic had guided a James corner into the net for 4-1, with the fifth goal converted from the penalty sport by substitute Nick Pratezina, his fifteenth goal of the season.
There was still time for one more as a long clearance from goalkeeper am Brown freed James and he cut inside, sitting down both his marker and the goalkeeper, to slide home a composed second. It was that kind of afternoon for Croatia who rallied to go five points clear with two games remaining.
A goal from Nik Popovich six minutes from time put paid to Monaro Panthers hopes of catching Canberra Croatia at the top of the table and kept alive Tigers FC outside chances of the NPL title as the visitors won 2-1 in their catch-up match played under the lights at Stryda Park.
Popovich latched onto a Michael Southam through ball to round Gerion Mehmetaj in the Panthers goal and slide home the matchwinner as the Tigers came from behind to claim three vital points.
They were required to do so after Monaro had taken the lead early in the second-half. Dylan Deep-Jones met a free-kick inside the area, and his header was rammed home on the turn by Daniel Barac, the Panthers forward celebrating his sixteenth goal of the season.
Tigers did not take long to respond. Josh Milicevic collected a pass and turned Deep-Jones inside out before crashing a shot off the crossbar. Former Panthers midfielder Ben Basser-Silk followed up to guide home the rebound and bring the Tigers back on immediate terms.
That set up the finale with both teams desperately searching for a matchwinner and it was the Tigers who found it as Popovich kept his composure to glide round Mehmetaj who was a long way from home and send the Tigers to within five points of the summit of the table.
Tigers FC closed the gap even further at the top on the weekend as they saw off the challenge of Tuggeranong United at the Australian Institute of Sport with a 4-1 success that possibly flattered the home team in terms of the scoreline.
That’s not to say that the Tigers were not worthy winners, as they were in control of the game from the moment that William Akio skated past a couple of markers inside the area to blaze his finish past Callum Cook.
When Josh Milicevic made it 2-0 ten minutes before half-time, a quite sumptuous strike after receiving a pass form Sam Whithear, turning and placing in a stunning finish, Tigers looked set. United though hit back, a Luke Sakamoto cross gloriously volleyed in by Zac Lawrence.
Willem Lejeune saved brilliantly from Bevan Foxall to preserve the lead, and when Akio was brought down in the area the forward dusted himself off to rattle home the penalty. A fourth, magnificently taken by the dancing feet of Tomohiro Ogawa deep into stoppage time added some gloss to the scoreboard and keeps the season alive.
Monaro Panthers recovered from their midweek disappointment as they rampaged to a 5-0 win over Yoogali SC at Solar Made Stadium in Griffith, making sure that the Panthers were mathematically still in contention heading into the Sundy fixtures.
The match was a personal triumph for Stehen Domenici, the striker scoring a hat-trick of headers, all three supplied by partner in crime Daniel Barac, the first two coming in the opening twelve minutes as Monaro began at a fast pace.
A killer third seven minutes into the second-half secured the points, Connor Mynott-Smith springing Ryan Straub onto a length of the field counterattack with the midfielder confidently finding the bottom corner.
Domenici completed his treble five minutes later, nonchalantly nodding in unmarked at the back post, before Barac grabbed one of his own, his sixteenth goal of the season to help in his personal Golden Boot chase finishing off a precise cross from substitute Mitchell Jervis-Hamilton.
Queanbeyan City moved back into the top four at the expense of Tuggeranong United despite their failure to secure the maximum return from their trip to O’Connor Enclosed, their fixture with the O’Connor Knights ending all square at 0-0.
It might have been even better for Goran Josifovski and his team who had the ball in the net in the 65th minute as Abderrahim Dellahi turned home a flicked on Gabriel Ayuel long throw-in, but the forward had clearly used his hand to steer the ball into the back of the net, and it was rightly disallowed.
The point gave City a tenuous goal difference advantage in the race for the top four over their rivals with two matches remaining.
RESULTS
ROUND 16
Tuesday 12 August
Monaro Panthers 1 (Barac 53’) Tigers FC 2 (Basser-Silk 56’, Popovich 84’)
ROUND 19
Saturday 16 August
Tigers FC 4 (Akio 6’, 83’ (p), Milicevic 35’, Ogawa 90+4’) Tuggeranong United 1 (Lawrence 57’)
O’Connor Knights 0 Queanbeyan City 0
Yoogali SC 0 Monaro Panthers 5 (Domenici 8’, 12’, 57’, Straub 52’, Barac 85’)
Sunday 17 August
Gungahlin United 2 (Shoki 25’, 66’) Canberra Croatia 6 (James 22’, 82’, Peraic-Cullen 29’, Piccolo 52’, D. Subasic 57’, Pratezina 75’ (p))
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 19 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 73 | 23 | +50 | 45 |
| 2 | Tigers FC | 19 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 46 | 30 | +16 | 40 |
| 3 | Monaro Panthers | 19 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 57 | 23 | +34 | 36 |
| 4 | Queanbeyan City | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 31 | -12 | 24 |
| 5 | Tuggeranong United | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 26 | 42 | -16 | 24 |
| 6 | Gungahlin United | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 30 | 52 | -22 | 19 |
| 7 | Yoogali SC | 19 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 23 | 46 | -23 | 12 |
| 8 | O’Connor Knights | 18 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 29 | 57 | -28 | 11 |
TOP SCORERS
17: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers)
15: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
14: Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United)
13: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia),
9: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United)
8: Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights/Tigers FC), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
7: Own GOALS
6: Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Jenno CERUTI (O’Connor Knights), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC)
5: Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Ayumu KIMURA (Gungahlin United), Connor MYNOTT-SMITH (Monaro Panthers), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers)
4: Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers/Tigers FC), Giancarlo D’ADDARIO (Gungahlin United), Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers), Loick LESPINASSE (Gungahlin United), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers / Canberra Croatia)
3: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Mason DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Stefan DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Zac LAWRENCE (Tuggeranong United), Phakedi MANDA (Monaro Panthers/O’Connor Knights), Misko NAUMOSKI (Queanbeyan City), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Sam WHITEHEAR (Tigers FC)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Gabriel AYUEL (Queanbeyan City), Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC / Gungahlin United), Augustine BANGURA (Tigers FC), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Dylan DEEP-JONES (Monaro Panthers), Abderrahim DELLAHI (Queanbeyan City), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Josh GASPARI (Gungahlin United), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Joshua MILICEVIC (Tigers FC), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia)
1: Connor BILL (O’Connor Knights), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Seth BONNETT (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), Jack PERAIC-CULLEN (Canberra Croatia), Euan PETERKIN (Tuggeranong United), Sam RACITI (Yoogali SC), 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), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
TOP ASSISTS
20: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
9: Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers)
8: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers), Phakedi MANDA (Monaro Panthers/O’Connor Knights), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
7: Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Yoshida SHOKI (Gungahlin United)
6: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers)
5: Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC)
4: Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Thomas ROBERTSON (Gungahlin United), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Tigers FC), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC), Kobi YARIYARI (O’Connor Knights)
3: Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), Josh DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Cole FALCO (Tuggeranong United), Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Connor MYNOTT-SMITH (Monaro Panthers), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Riley ZSUZSA (Canberra Croatia)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Nikita BYRNES (Gungahlin United), Giancarlo D’ADDARIO (Gungahlin United), Abderrahim DELLAHI (Queanbeyan City), Chaise DONETTO (Yoogali SC), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Nic EMANUEL (Tuggeranong United), Bevan FOXALL (Tuggeranong United), Daniel GALIC (O’Connor Knights), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Loick LESPINASSE (Gungahlin United), AJ MALAUULU (Gungahlin United), Joshua MILICEVIC (Tigers FC), Josh PEDERSEN (Tuggeranong United), Marko RATHOUSKI (O’Connor Knights), Robbie RIMMER (Yoogali SC), Daniel ROBERTS (Queanbeyan City), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Keegan VUCETIC (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), Sam BROWN (Canberra Croatia), Xabier DAVIES (Tuggeranong United), Dylan DEEP-JONES (Monaro Panthers), Bailey DICKENSON (Gungahlin United), Jacob DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Marco GAYER (Monaro Panthers), Matt GRBESA (Canberra Croatia), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Mitchell JERVIS-HAMILTON (Monaro Panthers), Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), 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), 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), Cassidy SCHLESINGER (Tuggeranong United), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Kristian TOKIC (Queanbeyan City), Sam WALKER (Tuggeranong United)
