NPL1 Round 10 Preview
Belconnen United v Woden-Weston | Saturday, 3pm @ McKellar Park
A crunch clash in the context of top four takes place at McKellar Park on Saturday afternoon as Belconnen United host Woden-Weston. The two sides are in the logjam on the edge of the top four, tied on ten points and with a win boosting them to equal fourth on points. When these teams met earlier in the season it was Woden-Weston who finished as 2-0 winners, and Rey Castro will be relishing the chance to complete a double over the Blue Devils. They have struggled with consistency, although a win over Tuggeranong and a draw against Monaro in their last two matches give them some momentum here. They have the pace to trouble the Belconnen United backline but also need to ensure they are tight themselves, given they will need to improve their goal difference before it matters at the pointy end of the season.
Belconnen sat out the previous round with a bye but delivered a strong 4-0 win over Monaro the week prior to reach 10 points, and a win here would lift them above Canberra FC on goal difference for fourth spot, although Monaro also have the chance to move to 13 when they take on the Rhinos. Jayde James-Ward has joined United in the window while Steve Forshaw has lost Daniel Sparrow to Canberra Olympic, so it will be interesting to see what changes are made to how United start. If their young brigade can fire as they did against the Panthers then they will give Woden-Weston plenty of problems in this outing.
Monaro Panthers v Riverina Rhinos | Saturday, 5pm @ Riverside Stadium
The Rhinos will continue the search for their first win on Saturday evening when they take on the Panthers at Riverside Stadium. When these two met in round one the Panthers were convincing on the road with a 4-2 win and they are now ten points ahead of their opponents. Their last outing saw them salvage a 1-1 draw with Woden-Weston and before that they were soundly beaten by Belconnen and their last win came in round six against Tuggeranong United. Josh Gulevski scored the equaliser against Woden-Weston with a lovely individual effort and will be important here, and the forward line should have plenty of room to work with against a defence that has struggled to shut down anyone this season.
Riverina were beaten 3-0 by Tuggeranong last round and are still yet to pick up a point this season. They are nine points off eighth spot and seemingly resigned to the drop but will still be out on the park at Riverside looking for a result. They created chances against Tuggeranong but too often wasted good moves, while some lapses in concentration cost them badly at the back. A win here would still allow them a glimmer of hope as they enter the back half of the season, but it is hard to see them troubling a side which had their number in round one. An interesting clash awaits regardless to see if the Rhinos can get off the mark.
Tuggeranong United v Tigers FC | Sunday, 3pm @ Greenway
Top of the table Tigers head to Greenway on Sunday afternoon, fresh off the success of their Federation Cup triumph over Canberra FC last week. Goran Josifovski has re-signed with the outfit, Christian Junna has re-joined them and they can move four points clear of Canberra Olympic with a win in this outing. Jakob Cole put in an inspired performance and will be important here with Tuggeranong’s forward line looking better last round, while up front Mark Shields and Nico Abot continue to be one of the form duos in the league. When these two met in round one Tigers finished as convincing 3-0 victors and they will be favourites to grab the points here again.
Tuggeranong played well in a 3-0 win over the Rhinos in round nine but before that fell meekly to Woden-Weston and they will need to show an improved performance to get by a strong Tigers team. Mitch Stevens is believed to have recruited a secret weapon from State League to play upfront, and it will be interesting to see how Stevens utilises him this weekend. Despite being second from bottom Tuggeranong are only four points outside a finals spot and points here would draw them further into the mix as we approach the pointy end of the season.
Canberra Olympic 0 def. by Canberra FC 2 (Jason Ugrinic 12’, Daniel Colbertaldo 90+3’)
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