National Premier Leagues: Capital Football
Round 17 – Preview

Saturday 16th August
Tuggeranong United v Woden Valley (Kambah 2-1)
FFA Cup heroes Tuggeranong United return to National Premier Leagues: Capital Football action on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Woden Valley to Kambah 2 for their penultimate fixture in the competition this season. Having the bye last weekend was probably a good thing for a United team recovering after their South Hobart excursion but whilst there is still hope of a finals place the hard work must continue. Canberra Olympics’ point at Belconnen last week means that United trails Olympic by five points with two rounds remaining and must win both matches, and hope their rivals slip up, if they are to sneak into the top four. Either way they will need to continue the form shown in Tasmania in order to see off a Woden team that is surely going to up for the battle in the Southside derby. Woden fell to a 0-1 defeat to Monaro Panthers in Round 16 and will be keen to turn their form back around. Youngsters Rowan Blake and Ryan Johnson made their debut in first grade against the Panthers and may be called upon again to tackle Tuggeranong in this one. United squeezed home 2-1 in the previous meeting between the pair, on a quagmire of a field at Kaleen Enclosed. And the match promises to be as close again this time around.

Monaro Panthers v FFA COE (Riverside Stadium)
Monaro Panthers host the FFA COE at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday afternoon in Round 17 of the National Premier Leagues: Capital Football competition in the knowledge that a win would see them overtake their opponents and go into sixth place on the ladder, their highest position of 2014. The FFA COE would still have a game in hand on the Panthers, to be played in midweek against Woden Valley, but the result would give Monaro a welcome boost following their win last time out. They will enter the fixture without the services of striker Thomas James who struck the match-winner from the penalty spot in the 1-0 win over Woden Valley at Kaleen Enclosed in Round 16. James was subsequently sent off for a rash challenge and will miss at least this match. In the previous meeting in Round 8 the FFA COE cruised to a 5-1 victory but the playing surface at the Riverside Stadium could be a leveller in this regard. Indeed, the FFA COE has only managed one win away from home all season, a stark contrast to their home form which has seen them drop only four points in a loss to Belconnen United and a 2-2 draw with Cooma Tigers last week. Monaro will hustle their opponents for the full ninety and will not let their opponent’s rest on the ball meaning we should be in for a few goals.

Sunday 17th August
Cooma Tigers v Belconnen United (Nijong Oval)
A huge match is in prospect on Sunday afternoon as the top two clubs meet at Nijong Oval with Cooma Tigers welcoming Belconnen United for a summit showdown. The simple facts of the matter are thus. If the Tigers win they will claim the League Championship crown and a place in the end of season National Premier Leagues Finals Series against the champions of NSW. Alternatively, a Blue Devils victory would see them leap over Cooma heading into the final round courtesy of a goal difference that is already three better and giving us the fascinating prospect of a final day battle for the silverware. A draw would, obviously, preserve the status quo and would leave the title in Cooma’s grasp. The Tigers won a high scoring encounter in Round 8 at McKellar Park, coming off 4-2 winners with Robbie Cattanach scoring twice, and the free-scoring home team will be looking to their talisman to lead them to glory here. Cooma has never won the League Championship, the closest they have come a couple of seasons ago when an unfortunate administrative error, ironically against Belconnen, cost them a crucial three points. As such they are hungry for success. The carrot of representing the ACT in the Australia-wide finals is huge. Two squads are assembled ready for action. This has the potential to be a blockbuster of epic proportions.

Canberra Olympic v Canberra City (O’Connor Enclosed)
Canberra Olympic could secure their place in the end of season finals on Sunday afternoon with a victory against Canberra City at O’Connor Enclosed for the annual Robin Waring Shield. No matter what closest challenger Tuggeranong United achieve in their Saturday afternoon fixture with Woden Valley, the maximum return would cement Olympic in the top four heading into the final week. Indeed, even a draw would probably do what with their superior goal difference. And yet there is the outside chance that City could upset the apple-cart. Last weekend saw the club rooted to the bottom of the league table pull of an outstanding 2-0 victory over Canberra FC at Hawker Football Centre with goals from Sam McDonald and Jeremy Hegarty. It was a thoroughly deserved win for City who defended well and broke rapidly against an FC side who were out of sorts. A similar game-plan could provide dividends once more for Nick Palagyi and his team who still harbour ambitions of lifting themselves off the foot of the table by the conclusion of the National Premier Leagues: Capital Football competition. The Round 8 meeting between the clubs ended in a 6-1 hammering for City with Mark Shields and Robbie Deeley both scoring twice for Olympic. A similar return would see Olympic home and hosed and in with a chance of defending their Grand Final crown.

TABLE

LEADING SCORERS
12 Alex OLORIEGBE (Canberra FC)
11 Mark SHIELDS (Canberra Olympic), Robbie CATTANACH, Stephen DOMENICI, Goran JOSIFOVSKI (Cooma Tigers)
10 Jason UGRINIC (Belconnen United), Daniel BENNETT (Canberra FC)
8 Dustin WELLS (Belconnen United)
7 Tom McLACHLAN (Belconnen United), Robbie DEELEY (Canberra Olympic), Own GOALS
6 Goran MUKEVSKI (Belconnen United), Philippe BERNABO-MADRID (Canberra FC), Jamal REINERS (FFA COE)
5 Michael TAURASI (Belconnen United), Misko NAUMOSKI (Canberra City), Domenic GIAMPAOLO (Canberra FC), Julian BORGNA (Cooma Tigers), Peter KEKERIS, Daniel MASKIN (FFA COE), Thomas JAMES (Monaro Panthers)
4 Gimale ESSACU (Canberra City), Aaron EVANS (Canberra FC), Jordan LANDO (Cooma Tigers), Josh CALABRIA, Darian McGARRY-WATSON (Monaro Panthers), Daniel COLBERTALDO, Jon TOOLE, Muad ZWED (Tuggeranong United)
3 Marty RAINES (Belconnen United), Adam SPALETA (Canberra FC), Callum SMITH, Oliver WIEDERKEHR (Canberra Olympic), Daniel ARZANI (FFA COE), Michael JOHN (Tuggeranong United), Lukas COLE, Regan WALSH (Woden Valley)
2 Jack BLACKLEY, Jack GREEN, Aisosa IHEGIE (Belconnen United), Sam McDONALD (Canberra City), Ian GRAHAM, Josip JADRIC (Canberra FC), Daniel BARAC, Josh GASPARI, Michael REEVE (Canberra Olympic), Nicholas D’AGOSTINO, Kosta PETRATOS (FFA COE), Deng PADIET, Pepe VARGA (Monaro Panthers), Matt MENSER (Tuggeranong United), Marco GAYER, John GIBSON, Andrew SLAVICH (Woden Valley)
1 Taylor BEATON, David KEMP (Belconnen United), Adam DOBELL, Jeremy HEGARTY (Canberra City), James FIELD, Anthony GIORGI, Ryan KEIR (Canberra FC), Nick BOBOLAS, Daniel FULTON, Adam ROGIC, Nathan TIDMARSH (Canberra Olympic), Lianel LAUPER (Cooma Tigers), Charlie DEVEREUX, Jamie DIMITROFF, Kye ROWLES, Zak WATERS (FFA COE), Kamal AHMED, Martin DENG (Monaro Panthers), Sean KIDDEY, Harry PETTIT, Ethan MUNSTER, Zac MUNSTER (Tuggeranong United), Tom HIRST, Conor NOLAN, Mitch STEENBERGEN, Liam WALSH (Woden Valley)