Canberra Croatia grabbed three important points in their battle to finish second in the table in the OPC NPLW as they recorded a 5-1 away win over Majura FC in a match that was played at their home ground at Deakin Stadium.
In the unusual position of playing away at home, Croatia went in front when Riley McQueenie’s cross was turned into her own net by Majura defender Halle Nyamekye, before April Hill was on hand at the back post to steer an Elie Raymond pass into the roof of the net.
More was to follow in the second-half as Raymond notched the third, before supplying the opportunity that allowed English striker Hill to perform a sublime turn and finish past Grace New in the Majura goal for 4-0.
Reilly Yuen, off the substitutes bench, lashed home the fifth, but there was time for a Majura consolation as persistent approach work from April van Duren, bursting onto a loose ball and drawing the goalkeeper, allowed Layla Barbour to steer the ball into the empty net for her first every NPLW senior goal.
Belconnen United continued their push for an undefeated season as they put a dent in Canberra Olympic hopes of finishing second in the league with a 4-2 victory at McKellar Park under the floodlights.
The Blue Devils were clinical inside the opening half of the match as they scythed through the Olympic defence, ruthlessly punishing any visiting errors, to rack up a 3-0 lead close to the interval.
Pascale La Hei opened the scoring as she swept home from close range, before Keira Bobbin broke the offside trap to thrash a shot high into the roof of the net. By the time La Hei made it 3-0 a minute before the break the damage had been done.
Tatum Mazis pulled one back in first-half stoppage time with a superbly executed strike from range, but any hopes of a comeback were stymied five minutes into the second-half as Bobbin pounced on a slightly under hit back pass to stab her second of the game, and 35th of the season, past Janet King
A penalty, confidently dispatched by Tianah Miro in the final minute, gave the scoreline some respectability, but Belconnen were worthy winners.
West Canberra Wanderers needed a positive result to remain in the race for finals heading into the final round of the National Premier League Women’s, however, went down 2-1 against Canberra Olympic at Melrose Synthetic.
It didn’t start particularly well for the home side, after Tianah Miro finished putting Olympic 1-0 up inside just 11 first half minutes, after being found superbly by Nicole Kaleb.
The Wanderers only trailed for eleven minutes however, bringing the scores level through Audrey Ward after the midfielder closed down Janet King, and remained composed to finish on the turn, and make it 1-1.
With such high stakes riding on the match the first half was understandably cagey, as West Canberra went in search of a goal that could put them within touching distance of the top four.
Inside just five second half minutes however Olympic spoilt their opponent’s fight-back, as Liana Alves struck a top corner stunner to bring the away side back into the lead, and eventually go on to win her team the game, having kept out a Wanderers side unable to find the goals needed for clinching a finals position.
Gungahlin Enclosed played host to the second match of the round, as Gungahlin United ended Tuggeranong United’s hopes of escaping the bottom of the NPLW table by winning 4-0, in a result that simultaneously secured finals’ football for the fourth-placed club.
Tuggeranong have ended the season with an array of positive displays in the league and continued this theme by keeping out a quality Gungahlin attack for the first 45 minutes, which saw both sides maintain clean sheets heading into the break.
The second period saw the attacking talent of Marcial Munoz’s team come to the fore, however, as a five-minute burst had the Gunners suddenly 3-0 ahead, following strikes from Bonnie Young, Ginger Oliver and Megan Castle.
A late Maddie Perceval header off a set piece condemned Tuggeranong to a 16th defeat of the NPLW season and secured a top four place and entry into the finals’ series.
Over at Deakin Stadium Canberra Croatia put six past Majura FC in a match which moved Musie Elongo’s team closer to obtaining second place in the league, with the score finishing 6-0.
Croatia began the contest in full command, and rightly went ahead after just 13 minutes, as Riley McQueenie placed a superb strike into the bottom corner.
Davide Ruberto’s team did well to keep the home side out for many of the remaining first half minutes, however a late Ellie Raymond finish had Croatia 2-0 up heading into the break.
The leading side continued their relentless attacking surges into the second period, and scored a third after 54 minutes following a Brittany Palombi set piece finding April Hill, who finished coolly, before Palombi herself found the back of the net with a stunner just 14 minutes later.
Two late Jamie Berkeley strikes, the first a thunderbolt, the second a brilliant long-range strike, finalised the three points for Croatia, in what turned out to be an utterly dominant home display.
RESULTS
ROUND 12
Tuesday 19 August
Majura FC 1 (Barbour 82’) Canberra Croatia 5 (Nyamekye 18’ (og), Hill 25’, 57’, Raymond 51’, Yuen 76’)
ROUND 16
Wednesday 20 August
Belconnen United 4 (La Hei 22’, 44’, Bobbin 42’, 50’) Canberra Olympic 2 (Mazis 45+1’, Miro 89’ (p)
ROUND 20
Sunday 24 August
Canberra Croatia 6 (McQueenie 13’, Raymond 45+2’, Hill 54’, Palombi 68’, Berkeley 76’, 84’) Majura FC 0
West Canberra Wanderers 1 (Ward 20’) Canberra Olympic 2 (Miro 11’, Alves 50’)
Gungahlin United 4 (Young 48’, Oliver 52’, Castle 53’, Perceval 89’) Tuggeranong United 0
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Belconnen United | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 115 | 11 | +104 | 54 |
| 2 | Canberra Croatia | 17 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 65 | 19 | +46 | 37 |
| 3 | Canberra Olympic | 17 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 58 | 32 | +26 | 33 |
| 4 | Gungahlin United | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 59 | 27 | +32 | 30 |
| 5 | West Canberra | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 50 | 33 | +17 | 26 |
| 6 | Majura FC | 17 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 12 | 79 | -67 | 7 |
| 7 | Tuggeranong United | 18 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 9 | 125 | -116 | 4 |
| 8 | ANU WFC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 42 | -42 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
25: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United)
21: Tamara COCHRANE (West Canberra Wanderers)
15: Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia)
14: Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United)
13: Megan CASTLE (Gungahlin United)
12: Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Bonnie YOUNG (Gungahlin United)
11 Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers),
10: Anneke CORRY (Belconnen United), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Olympic), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United), Own GOALS
9: Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United)
7: Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), April HILL (Canberra Croatia), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
6: Liliana ALTAMORE (Belconnen United), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Tianah MIRO (Canberra Olympic), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United)
5: Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Alyse JENSEN (Canberra Olympic), Pascale LA HEI (Belconnen United), Carmel LYNCH (Majura FC), Alex MARTENS (Belconnen United)
4: Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Perri NASH (West Canberra Wanderers), Ellie RAYMOND (Canberra Croatia), Reilly YUEN (Canberra Croatia)
3: Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Olympic), Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Leah CARNEGIE (Canberra Olympic), Sofia FURLANETTO (Majura FC), Olivia GURNEY (Canberra Olympic), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra Croatia), Sofia MERKOUREAS (Canberra Croatia), Madeliene PERCEVAL (Gungahlin United), Nikita PERRY (Canberra Olympic)
2: Acacia ARGENTO (Tuggeranong United), Liana ALVES (Canberra Olympic), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Hannah BOURKE (Canberra Croatia), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Olivia HICKS (West Canberra Wanderers), Claire KENNEDY-SPENCER (Tuggeranong United), Olivia MARTINIELO (Majura FC), Ailish MCDONAGH (Belconnen United), Pia MCGHIE (Canberra Croatia), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Croatia), Audrey WARD (West Canberra Wanderers)
1: Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Angelina BABIC (Canberra Croatia), Layla BARBOUR (Majura FC), Lisa CARY (Belconnen United), Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Tayla HAMPSON (Canberra Olympic), Elvein IBRAHIM (West Canberra Wanderers), Nicole KALEB (Canberra Olympic), Mollie JONSSON (Tuggeranong United), Tarah MANTHONGSY (Tuggeranong United), Audrey MCLAREN (West Canberra Wanderers), Jessica MITCHELL (Tuggeranong United), Abigail MOSS (West Canberra Wanderers), Demi NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Saskia NEWMAN (Canberra Croatia), Eliza-Jane NORRIS (Canberra Croatia), Lauren PRESTON (Belconnen United), Maddison SAWKINS (Belconnen United), Maddie STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Rachel VAN AALST (Gungahlin United), Jane VANZINO (Canberra Olympic), Lauren WATT (Tuggeranong United), Maggie WRIGHT (Majura FC)
TOP ASSISTS
15: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United)
11: Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia)
10: Bonnie YOUNG (Gungahlin United)
9: Anneke CORRY (Belconnen United), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United)
8: Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia)
7: Tamara COCHRANE (West Canberra Wanderers), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers)
6: Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Alex MARTENS (Belconnen United), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), Audrey WARD (West Canberra Wanderers)
5: Megan CASTLE (Gungahlin United), Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Olympic), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra Croatia), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United), Jane VANZINO (Canberra Olympic)
4: Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United), Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), April HILL (Canberra Croatia), Ailish MCDONAGH (Belconnen United)
3: Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Tiana BOOTS (Canberra Croatia), Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Lisa CARY (Belconnen United), Olivia GURNEY (Canberra Olympic), Tianah MIRO (Canberra Olympic), Perri NASH (West Canberra Wanderers), Nikita PERRY (Canberra Olympic), Madison SAWKINS (Belconnen United), Madeleine STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
2: Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Olympic), Olivia BUYTEWEG (Gungahlin United), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Annaliese GROVE (Gungahlin United), Alyse JENSEN (Canberra Olympic), Tayla HAMPSON (Canberra Olympic), Chelsea HATELY (Gungahlin United), Olivia HICKS (West Canberra Wanderers), Claire KENNEDY-SPENCER (Tuggeranong United), Jada LAMOND (Gungahlin United), Carmel LYNCH (Majura FC), Tarah MANTHONGSY (Tuggeranong United), Amy MOORE (Gungahlin United), Eliza-Jane NORRIS (Canberra Croatia), Madeliene PERCEVAL (Gungahlin United), Ellie RAYMOND (Canberra Croatia), Abigail RICHARDS (Majura FC), Juliana ROBERTSON (West Canberra Wanderers), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Croatia), Rachel VAN AALST (Gungahlin United)
1: Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Liana ALVES (Canberra Olympic), Esperance ANDERSON (Tuggeranong United), Eliza BAKER (Majura FC), Layla BARBOUR (Majura FC), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Lena CHRISTOPHERSON (Tuggeranong United), Lucy D’ARCY (Gungahlin United), Rhiannon DAVIS (Canberra Olympic), Nicole KALEB (Canberra Olympic), Ariana KASHAN (Majura FC), Pascale LA HEI (Belconnen United), Stefi LEJINS (Belconnen United), Olivia MARTINIELLO (Majura FC), Pia MCGHIE (Canberra Croatia), Saskia NEWMAN (Canberra Croatia), Demi NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Stephenie NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Lauren PRESTON (Belconnen United), Ariana RATHOUSKI (Belconnen United), Allegra SENTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Caitlyn SKILLICORN (West Canberra Wanderers), Ivy STEVENS (Gungahlin United), Sonja TOMANOVITS (West Canberra Wanderers), April VAN DUREN (Majura FC), Maggie WRIGHT (Majura FC)
Words: Russ Gibbs / Sam Watson
