Belconnen United v Tuggeranong United

Belconnen United can maintain or even extend their lead at the top of the PS4 NPLW Capital Football on Saturday as they take on Tuggeranong United at McKellar Park. United have not dropped a point since Tuggeranong defeated them in Round Two, and the reigning Premiers have looked stronger every week. A clinical, clean-sheet win over Gungahlin United last weekend showed the competition where they are at, and they will be confident of taking the points here at home.

After a fast start to the season including their win over Belconnen, Tuggeranong stumbled, but a 3-0 win over Canberra FC last weekend showed they are still serious about competing at the top end. Tuggies sit outside the Top Four on goal difference only, and another result against the hosts here would be a huge one in the scope of their season. With Meg McLaughlin back in the line-up and in form Tuggies have a number of options up front, and will test the home defence, but making sure they are strong on the other end will prove just as important against the best attack in the competition.

 

Canberra FC v Monaro Panthers

Canberra FC will look to rebound from their defeat to Tuggeranong as they face Monaro on Sunday at Deakin, and will likely be confident despite the tough result last weekend. Mark Risteski’s side has been in and out of full strength for most of the season, yet they remain in fourth place on the table within striking distance of second and third. A strong performance here and some other results going their way could push them as high as second; an outcome that would be favourable with the second cycle of matches this season now underway.

The Panthers pulled back Canberra Olympic last week to grab a second draw in as many weeks, but will face a tougher test to get points this time. Zoe Szeremet was once more the hero for Panthers after her hat-trick the week before, but the side will need to stop creating problems in the first half this week. Two weeks in a row the Panthers have relied on big second half performances, including four goals against Tuggeranong recently, to pull them back into matches but conceding an early lead to Canberra FC will not be a good idea.

 

Woden-Weston v Gungahlin United

Woden-Weston’s strong win over the Academy last weekend has left them poised nicely in third spot, and they can capitalise on that with a good performance against Gungahlin at Woden Park. A team effort across the board was what counted in that win, however it was tough going at the end as the hosts threatened to come back. A complete 90 minute performance is needed against United and Diego Elmoudawar’s side will be looking forward to showing that they can compete with the better sides in the competition.

For Diego Iglesias, his side were outgunned by Belconnen last weekend and a rebound performance is needed here. His side sit somewhat unusually in sixth position, despite having the equal second-best defence in the league. Only two points back from third place, the situation is far from dire, and a win would send them over the top of this weekend’s opponents. With one of the best attacks in the league they still sit in a great position overall, and having taken the win over Woden-Weston earlier in the season, may be confident of doing the job once more.

 

Canberra United Academy v Canberra Olympic

The Canberra United Academy will look to bounce back from their third loss in a row as they face Canberra Olympic. Those three losses came after a run of five straight wins so the young side will be hoping to jump back on the winners list here. The result of this matchup last time was a 15-2 win, but the score this time should be a lot closer given the trajectories of the two side since that clash earlier this season. 

For Olympic, they picked up their first point of the season last weekend against Monaro, but their football has steadily improved since the last time these sides met. That big loss was a setback for Olympic, but also was a display that they can be dangerous going forward, and will look to punish mistakes by the young defence this weekend. Any result here would be a huge bonus for Olympic but they may struggle to assert themselves on this match, particularly on the synthetic surface at Hawker.