NPL1 Round 11 Wrap
Canberra Olympic Football Club 1 (Rohan-Jones 90’) v West Canberra Wanderers 0
It was a close contest at Hawker Football Centre with Canberra Olympic clutching victory against the West Canberra Wanderers 1-0.
The first goalscoring chance of the game came from the Wanderers with Jackson Paesler clipping the bar early into the first half.
On the stroke of half time, Olympic’s James Crawford found space but was denied one-on-one by Wanderers goalkeeper Mason Interlandi.
Interlandi went on to make some decisive saves that kept West Canberra in the game up until stoppage time.
However, it was in the 90th minute that Aisosa Ihegie was brought down by Interlandi conceding a penalty, souring what would have been a perfect performance from the goalkeeper.
It was Simon Rohan-Jones who stood up to take the kick as he smashed it into the top right while Interlandi lay face down in regret.
Gungahlin United Football Club 2 (Naumoski 35’, Bernabo-Madrid 66’) v Tuggeranong United Football Club 1 (Richards 81’)
The floodlights shone bright for the Round 11 clash between Gungahlin and Tuggeranong at AIS Synthetic.
Gungahlin opened the scoring in the 34th minute after Misko Naumoski found himself in acres of space at the top of the Tuggeranong United box, allowing him to slot his strike into the bottom corner.
Gungahlin United made it 2 to the good on the 65th minute after a counter attack was incisively put away by Gungahlin United number 9 Philippe Bernabo-Madrid.
Despite being 2 down Mitch Steven’s side refused to go down without a fight and continued to create opportunities in Gungahlin’s defensive third.
On the 80th minute Tuggeranong United managed to pull one back through debutant striker Mark Richards, who at 17 years old is the next product of youth talent at Tuggeranong United joining the likes of Harrison Buesnel, Tarisayi Mbogo and Jack Rowley in the senior squads of Tuggeranong United.
Tuggeranong United continued to bombard Joshua Lagudah and the Gungahlin goal but were unable to change the scoreline as the game finished 2-1, Tuggeranong United still remain winless in the 2021 campaign.
Tuggeranong United will face 3rd place West Canberra Wanderers in their Round 12 clash who recently dropped points at the hands of Canberra Olympic who bested the Woden side in the 90th minute to win 1-0 at the Hawker Football Centre.
While Gungahlin United will face Monaro Panthers at Riverside which will be a crucial match for both teams as it could see Gungahlin United begin to cement a spot in finals football with a win and a win for Monaro could see the Panthers emerge as contenders for a top 4 spot and leave Tuggeranong United in a spot of bother in the relegation zone.
Tigers FC 1 (Timotheou 44’) v Belconnen United Football Club 0
It was a 2nd vs 4th clash when the Blue Devils made the trip to Nijong Oval for Round 11.
After a 2-1 victory over Tuggeranong United last week Tigers were hungry to show Fabian Miceli’s Belconnen side that they were still in contention for that top spot.
Tigers broke the deadlock in the 44th minute after putting Jordan Thurtell and the Belconnen defence under pressure for the first half. The goal was scored after Tigers FC found the ball out wide and delivered a cross into the box to be finished first time by Antoni Timotheou.
The second half saw the attacks go from one goal to the other with both Tigers and Belconnen hitting one another with quick counter attacks. Neither team was able to change the score line thanks to brilliant saves from the goalkeepers at either end, with the match finishing 1-0 to Tigers FC.
Tigers win sees them remain in 2nd place only 4 points away from Canberra Croatia and the lucrative number 1 spot.
Ryan Grogan’s Tigers FC will travel to O’Connor Enclosed this weekend for their Round 12 clash against a fired up Canberra Olympic side fresh off a 90th minute win against West Canberra Wanderers FC.
Canberra Croatia FC 2 (Kista 29’ (p), Pilkington 49’) v Monaro Panthers FC 1 (Woods 22’)
It was a heated afternoon between Canberra Croatia FC and Monaro Panthers, with both sides seeing red at Deakin Stadium on Sunday.
With pressure coming from both teams, the first goal came from the Monaro Panthers in the 22nd minute. A long ball from Evan Alexandrow-Ridley was perfectly received by Seb Woods who slotted the ball past Croatia’s goalkeeper into the bottom left hand corner.
Woods was quick to go for his second, in a one-on-one attempt but it went straight into the hands of Croatia’s goal keeper Sam Brown.
A penalty was awarded to Canberra Croatia FC in the 29th minute, which was taken by Aimilio Kista who ensured the hosts levelled the score.
A sea of yellow was then seen across the board before both sides retired to the sheds for half time.
Coming out for the next 45 and Canberra Croatia FC was quick to score their second, with a corner kick headed in by Luke Pilkington.
The win sees Croatia further extend their lead in the competition, with the Panthers sitting in 7th place.
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