Tuggeranong United moved another step closer to a return to the National Premier League with a sensational come-from-behind win over Queanbeyan City at High Street, overturning a 0-2 deficit to claim a substantial 6-2 success and move nine points clear at the top of the Capital Premier League standings.
City, who went into the game seven points behind Tuggeranong, knowing that a win would be the only thing that would keep them in contention for the one promotion spot, came out of the blocks like an Olympic sprinter with striker Michael Mensah in red-hot form.
The forward gave his team the lead after only two minutes and doubled the lead twelve minutes later as the City fans raucously got behind their team and Tuggeranong appeared to be visibly rattled, perhaps for the first time in the 2022 season. And yet, this United side knows only one way to respond. With goals.
And it wasn’t just with one. Tuggeranong rocked Queanbeyan with a seven minute spell before the interval that yielded an astonishing four goals, the first coming directly from a Luke Stevens corner. After conceding that, City visibly wilted, and the league leaders scented blood.
Harrison Buesnel gave them the lead with his seventh league goal of the season before Golden Boot leader Sam Walker headed home his 18th of the campaign to increase the advantage even further. Incredibly, there was time for more, Stevens taking his league tally to a round dozen in stoppage time.
After that, there was little doubt as to the outcome. City saw Juan Mancilla dismissed in the 83rd minute and, barely sixty seconds later, Patrick Hislop netted for the 10th time in 2022 to bring up five. For the second week in succession Queanbeyan shipped six as John Hajdu grabbed the last, City slipping to third, United moving ever upwards.
ANU FC slipped into second place, nine points behind Tuggeranong, with an impressive 3-1 away win over Brindabella Blues, two goals in three minutes in the second half allowing the University side to claim the maximum return.
After a goalless opening stanza, ANU FC suddenly burst into life eight minutes after the resumption of hostilities. Chase Deans, so often in the past the inspiration behind ANU FC’s success, cracked home his twelfth of the season to allow the visitors to break the deadlock and settle a few nerves.
Three minutes later Liam Neeson struck the second as the Blues suffered a quick one-two sucker-punch. However, the home side are made of stern stuff and Isaac Weekley pulled them back into the contest just past the hour.
Any hopes of forcing an equaliser, and a share of the points, was negated two minutes from time as the elegant Max Mottl bagged the third ANU FC goal of the afternoon, to secure the win and keep the team in with a slim chance of hauling in Tuggeranong United at the summit.
Wagga City Wanderers, wearing their new ‘Stampede Stigma’ kits celebrated in some style with a scarcely credible 9-2 battering of Yoogali SC in the Riverina Derby at Gissing Oval to move seven points clear in of White Eagles in fourth place.
The Wanderers were simply irresistible in the second half of a contest which was as good as you’re likely to see in the Capital Premier League. Both sides gave as good as they got as Andrew Vitucci gave Yoogali the lead only for Jake Ploenges to equalise. Samson Lucas restored the home advantage before Vitucci made it 2-2.
The dismissal of Dean Armanini in the 26th minute swung the match back in favour of the Wanderers and Morris Kadzola moved onto ten for the season when he gave Wagga a 3-2 lead heading into the dressing rooms at half-time.
There was loads more to come after the restart. Jacob Ochieng made it 4-2 before Ploenges added a brace to complete a hat-trick. And still they weren’t done. James Thomson struck twice, either side of a goal from Logan Flanagan as the Wanderers entered dreamland, a huge victory in the derby and a finals place in their hands.
White Eagles meanwhile suffered another slip-up as a resurgent Weston-Molonglo FC chalked up a fourth point in two matches as they secured a creditable 1-1 draw against their highly rated opponents.
The Eagles find themselves seven points adrift of the top four but do have a pair of games in hand albeit testing fixtures against Tuggeranong United and Brindabella Blues, starting with Tuggeranong on Wednesday.
In this fixture they were forced to dig deep and find the resilience inside themselves as Weston-Molonglo went ahead five minutes after a scoreless first half with Tom Pagett putting the Magpies in front.
Eagles have been reliant on their goal machine up front in Cuneyt Caglar and he delivered again, scoring his 17th goal of the season to level the match and earn the Eagles a point. Whether its one gained, or two lost, remains to be seen.
RESULTS
ROUND 17
Saturday 13 August
Wagga City Wanderers 9 (Ploenges 8’, 55’, 68’, Lucas 20’, Kadzola 30’, Ochieng 52’, Thomson 78’, 88’, Flanagan 85’) Yoogali SC 2 (Vitucci 2’, 24’)
Weston-Molonglo FC 1 (Pagett 50’) White Eagles 1 (Caglar 78’)
Brindabella Blues 1 (Weekley 61’) ANU FC 3 (Deans 53’, Neeson 56’, Mottl 88’)
Queanbeyan City 2 (Mensah 2’, 16’) Tuggeranong United 6 (Stevens 38’, 45+1’, Buesnel 42’, Walker 44’, Hislop 84’, Hajdu 90+1’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Tuggeranong United | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | +51 | 40 |
| 3 | ANU FC | 17 | 10 | 1 | 6 | +15 | 31 |
| 2 | Queanbeyan City | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | +8 | 30 |
| 4 | Wagga City Wanderers | 17 | 9 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 28 |
| 5 | White Eagles | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | +17 | 21 |
| 6 | Brindabella Blues | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | -6 | 21 |
| 7 | Yoogali SC | 17 | 4 | 3 | 10 | -19 | 15 |
| 8 | Weston-Molonglo FC | 17 | 1 | 1 | 15 | -54 | 4 |
