Canberra United Academy v Canberra Olympic | Saturday, 5pm

The Canberra United Academy will look to pencil themselves in for second spot when they take on Canberra Olympic at Hawker on Saturday evening. They hold a two-point lead thanks to a recent win against Canberra FC, but will face a tough test here against fourth placed Olympic who troubled Belconnen United for much of Tuesday night’s Federation Cup outing. The Academy will welcome back Karly Roestbakken and Sarah Morgan after they missed the cup win against Canberra FC, and they will provide a big boost to a side that struggled in midfield at Deakin. Aoife Colvill will miss the clash through a suspension from Wednesday’s game and Ryan Grogan will need to find someone to fill the 42 goal sized boots up front.

For Olympic they went down during the week in the Federation Cup but proved a strong challenger to Belconnen United and can secure their finals spot once and for all with at least a point here. Grace Maher returned during the week and should be ready for action at Hawker, while the spine of Bec Kiting, Sally Rojahn, Grace Field and Meg McLaughlin all featured and were in the thick of the action on Wednesday. This clash serves as a good indicator of what to expect in the finals and could be a potential matchup depending on how the cards are played. Needing only a single point the visitors may look to sit back and absorb pressure knowing their opponents will also be trying to secure a position.

 

Canberra FC v Tuggeranong United | Sunday, 2pm @ Deakin Stadium

Canberra FC will face Tuggeranong United on Sunday already knowing whether or not they can finish the campaign in second spot. The result the previous evening will either leave them five points off second or two, or three, and only the middle option leaves them with a chance. A midweek loss to the Academy in the Federation Cup was a setback but Mark Risteski’s focus can be solely on the league now and they have a strong record of results so far against Tuggeranong this year, with two wins against them in the league and one in the cup as well. A win here will provide the team with good momentum heading into a much-needed weekend off before finals and give them a boost against whoever they take on in the first weekend of the finals.

For Tuggeranong this represents a chance to close out a disappointing season on a high note, having closed the gap to Canberra FC as the season has gone on. United lost 5-0 early on before going down swinging by a goal in round 14 but face last season’s Champions at Deakin Stadium for the first time this year. United have struggled at both ends of the pitch throughout the campaign but mostly upfront, where they have been unable to improve throughout. They have scored more than once on only one occasion in the league, and will be up against the second best backline in the league here so it is tough to see them changing that.

 

Woden-Weston v Monaro Panthers | Sunday, 2pm @ Woden Park

Woden-Weston and Monaro will wrap up their seasons on Sunday when they meet at Woden Park, with the visitors having the chance to jump their opponents into sixth spot. The Wanderers went down narrowly to Gungahlin United last weekend after losing to Belconnen United a week before, and suffered a five-goal defeat in the Federation Cup in between those two outings. They have not tasted victory since a round 15 win over Tuggeranong United and have been hit hard by injuries and unavailability in the latter stages of the season. Diego Elmoudawar and his side will be keen to finish the season on a winning note and avoid a repeat of the round 14 loss to the Panthers.

Monaro have the opportunity to finish as high as sixth if they can pick up a win here, but after a forfeit last weekend it remains to be seen who is available for this clash. They won the weekend before that with a 1-0 triumph over Tuggeranong United and have arguably performed better than expected this season with five wins to their name. This match represents the opportunity to finish the season on a strong note and build for next season, but Ian Worthington will need to keep his side motivated, and not just viewing it as finally being over. Their major problem will be keeping out Woden-Weston having conceded a league worst 82 goals across the season and scoring just 16, so don’t expect this to turn into a shootout.

 

Gungahlin United v Belconnen United | Sunday, 3pm @ Kaleen Enclosed

Gungahlin United will know by 3pm on Sunday whether they can mathematically take over fourth spot; sitting three points behind Canberra Olympic as it stands heading into the final weekend. Even with an Olympic loss, the nearly 20 goal margin in the goal difference column stands as something of an obstacle for them if they were to overcome a strong Belconnen United side, and this outing may well just be the finish of their season. Diego Iglesias did well with a squad that was largely new and had not played together, beginning slowly before building momentum and consistency as the season wore on. However dropping points in one or two key games towards the end of the season proved to be what hurt them. They will provide Belconnen with a strong challenge this week being the only side to take points off them so far this season in a 1-1 draw, and away from McKellar Park may back themselves for a result.

For Belconnen, this is their second last game in the regular season with a catch up game still to play next weekend against the Academy, and ahead of their Federation Cup Final date with the same team during the week. They scraped past Canberra Olympic in their semi-final and Antoni Jagarinec will be hoping for a more polished performance in this outing. With a big week of matches ahead their may be temptation for him to rest some players but the depth in this squad means that it will still be close to full strength even with changes. Jagarinec will still want his side to push for a win though with a near perfect season on the line and has never been one to conserve energy instead of chasing points. This will be an interesting match but the visitors should still be favourites, knowing that Gungahlin are chasing a result.