Riverina Rhinos 0 def. by Woden-Weston 1 (Luke Dark 78’)

A blunder at the back late in the game cost the Riverina Rhinos a valuable point as Luke Dark’s second half goal helped Woden-Weston to escape Griffith with all three points on Saturday.

Oliver Corbitt had an early chance for Woden-Weston only to have his shot saved in the third minute, and shortly after the Rhinos came close as confusion reigned at a corner.

Michael Perre couldn’t get full power behind an effort 18 minutes in for the hosts and Mitch Bagiante tried his luck from range as the Rhinos pushed hard for an initial goal.

Neither side could find a breakthrough ahead of the break and it was all to play for in the second half, and the visitors found the breakthrough with a touch of fortune 12 minutes from full-time.

Dark received the ball unmarked in space on the left from a corner, and lofted a high ball into the area which dropped in just under the crossbar and forced Mitchell Woods into action.

He could only parry the ball into the post though and it rebounded in to give Woden-Weston an unexpected lead. They held on from there to see out the game and give the Wanderers their second win of the season and leave the Rhinos as the only side without a win after three rounds.

 

Monaro Panthers 2 (Josh Gulevski 8’, Adam Neou 35’) def. by Canberra FC 4 (Daniel Barac 53’, 74’, 84’, Daniel Colbertaldo 59’)

By Tim Warren

 

Canberra FC rekindled some of their 2018 form as they completed an impressive second half fightback, defeating the Monaro Panthers 4-2 on Saturday night at the official unveiling of the newly refurbished Riverside Stadium.

A flawless second half performance by the Deakin side, led by a Daniel Barac hat-trick, spurred the team to overturn a 2-0 half-time deficit to record their first win of the 2019 Capital NPL campaign.

The game started with plenty of sparks as Canberra FC’s Ryan Keir was shown a yellow card within 30 seconds after a clumsy challenge on his opponent.

Monaro looked powerful early, opening the scoring in just the 8^th minute through Josh Gulevski when he calmly slotted the ball past Canberra keeper Jordan Thurtell from the edge of the box.

The Panthers should have doubled their advantage in the 29^th minute when Gulevski became one on one with the keeper however his dinked shot over the keeper didn’t come down in time, sailing over the bar for a goal kick.

However, Monaro didn’t go on to rue their missed chances, as Adam Neou extended the Panthers to a 2-0 lead when he smashed the ball into the top corner in the 35^th minute following a wonderfully weighted through ball.

With Monaro seemingly taking a comfortable 2-0 advantage into the break, Canberra FC stole the momentum back early in the second half, with Barac calmly finishing past Nathan Alferink in the 53^rd minute.

Daniel Colbertaldo equalised the scores minutes later with his sensational free-kick curling past the wall and into the side netting, in arguably the highlight of the extremely entertaining match.

Canberra FC took the lead for the first time in the game in the 74^th minute when Barac picked up his second goal with a well-hit volley that rocketed into net.

Luka Ujdur’s men sealed the 4-2 win, and therefore the three points, when Barac rounded the keeper and slotted the goal for his hat-trick in the 84^th minute.

After two consecutive 3-0 losses to start the season, Canberra FC will take some confidence in claiming a come from behind win on the road. While Monaro would be disappointed they let such a commanding hold on the game slip, as they were in need of a win following last week’s 2-0 loss to Tigers FC.

Both teams will be looking for their second win of the 2019 Capital Football NPL season in round four next weekend, as the Monaro Panthers clash with Gungahlin United next Sunday. While Canberra FC will be looking to continue their good form facing Belconnen United at Deakin Stadium.

Tigers FC 3 (Mark Shields 14’, Nico Abot 32’, 78’)def. Belconnen United 2 (60’, Dustin Wells 90+6’)

Tigers FC continued their perfect start to the campaign with a third win from three matches at Nijong Oval on Sunday afternoon.

Mark Shields got Tigers off to a strong start when he converted from close range just before a quarter of an hour had elapsed, and Nico Abot doubled the lead just after the 30-minute mark,

Given too much time and space in the box, Abot had time to set himself and place a finish calmly past Finn Jurak in the Belconnen United goal and give his side a 2-0 advantage at half-time.

But Belconnen hit back 15 minutes into the second half when Phil Borgeaud ghosted into the area to head home past Jakob Cole, but Tigers pushed the lead back to two goals thanks to Nic Abot’s conversion from the penalty spot just over 10 minutes away from full-time.

A second penalty from Abot was saved by Finn Jurak to give Belconnen a fighting chance entering the final stage of the game.

United looked to fight back late on regardless and Dustin Wells scored a screamer in stoppage time to cut the deficit, collecting the ball outside the 18-yard area and curling a lovely strike beyond the reach of Cole and into the far corner.

Tigers remain on top of the table leading into a round four match with Woden-Weston at Melrose, while Belconnen United face Canberra FC at Deakin Stadium.

 

Gungahlin United 2 (Jeremy Habtemariam 52’, Michael John 84’) def. Tuggeranong United 0

Gungahlin United picked up an important first win of the season as two second-half goals were enough to see off Tuggeranong United at the AIS.

An uninspiring first-half saw chances few and far between for both halves, but Marcial Munoz was forced into an early change as Ross Constanzo left the field, and Jack Green almost had to be replaced as well after a heavy clash.

But the sides reached the break level and it took seven second half minutes for Munoz’ side to take the lead.

Michael John picked up the midfield and drove towards goal before being muscled off the ball, but not before he slipped a pass through to Riley Angelosante in the Tuggeranong area. He turned and slipped a ball across the box to an unmarked Jeremy Habtemariam ghosting in at the back post to tuck home an emphatic finish and give his side the lead.

Tuggeranong looked to create chances but struggled with key players out, and Gungahlin killed off the game in the final 10 minutes as Tuggeranong turned the ball over going forward.

Josh Gaspari played a long ball through the middle to Angelosante whose touch pass set John free into the area and he calmly smashed the ball past Jakeb Wiseman to seal the victory.