PLAYSTATION 4 NATIONAL PREMIER LEAGUES: CANBERRA
MATCHDAY 1
Saturday 2nd April 2016

FFA COE 5 (Bryce Bafford 7’, 16’, Jaidon Seldon 11’, 41’, Marc Tokich 22’) Tuggeranong United 2 (Dominic Colucciello 66’ (pen), 82’ (pen))
(Australian Institute of Sport)

Tuggeranong United’s winless streak in the PS4 NPL continued as FFA COE romped to an opening day victory at the Australian Institute of Sport defeating last season’s cellar-dweller 5-2. All the damage was done in the first half as the FFA COE swarmed all over their opponents and led 5-0 at the interval. The rout began inside the opening seven minutes as centre-forward John Roberts got in down the channel and fed a delightful curling ball into the danger area where Bryce Bafford arrived to half-volley a finish across Sean Burke and into the top corner of the net. 

Four minutes later it was two as Mirza Muratovic created havoc down the right flank and centred low for Jaidon Seldon who arrived to slot past Burke from close range. It got worse for Tuggeranong just past the quarter hour when a well-rehearsed set-play paid dividends for the home team. Marc Tokich created the goal, clipping a chip to the far post for Roberts whose header back across goal was bundled into the net by Bafford. Shortly after Muratovic set up another as he shook off his marker and squared across the face of goal for Tokich who blasted home from six-yards. 

And it was five before the break as another slick move ended with Seldon finishing confidently with a drive from range that Burke ought to have done better with. Tuggeranong emerged after the break with the bit between their teeth and played a little better, although it must be said that the FFA COE lost their way a little after the departure of Muratovic, substituted through injury, and became sloppy in possession. That was evidenced in the brace of goals that Tuggeranong netted both from the penalty spot, converted by midfielder Dominic Colucciello after shirt-pulls on Andrew Slavich. But it was scant consolation for Tuggeranong who were well-beaten and distinctly second best in the day. 

FFA COE: 1. Matthew SUTTON, 2. James FLETCHER, 3. Patrick SCIBILO, 5. Joel KING, 6. Kai TREWIN, 9. John ROBERTS, 11. Mirza MURATOVIC, 15. Luke CALLEN, 20. Bryce BAFFORD, 22 (24). Jaidon SELDON, 23. Marc TOKICH
Substitutes used: 8. Eduardo CASTENEDA, 10. Lachlan BROOK, 16. Ben OBST
Tuggeranong United: 1. Sean BURKE, 2. Cameron DOHERTY, 3. Jonathan REIS, 5. Nick FAUST, 8. Daniel ROBERTS, 9. Aaron CASHMAN, 12. Dominic COLUCIELLO, 13. Tim ANDERSON, 14. Andrew SLAVICH, 15. Liam HIGHMORE, 16. Eddie COGGAN
Substitutes used: 6. Sean KIDDEY, 7. Ohio ASIKHIA, 11. Marco GAYER
YELLOW CARDS: 9. John ROBERTS, 15. Luke CALLEN (FFA COE), 3. Jonathan REIS, 13. Tim ANDERSON, 14. Andrew SLAVICH, 15. Liam HIGHMORE (Tuggeranong United)
RED CARDS: Nil
Match Officials: Alex MCCONACHIE (referee), Lashan PERERA, Nathan MACKAY

Belconnen United 8 (Dustin Wells 20’, Sam Smith 26’, 29’, 43’, 81’, 90’, Jason Ugrinic 65’, 75’) CU Academy 1 (Josh Gulevski 52’)
(McKellar Park)

A dominant display from Belconnen United saw the Blue Devils ease to a 8-1 win over the CU Academy on the opening day of the PS4 NPL season with striker Sam Smith grabbing a first half hat-trick on the way to a five-goal haul. The Academy could have opened the scoring inside the first ten minutes but when Daniel Fabrizio broke the Belconnen offside trap he shot straight at the advancing Adam Perakovic with his finish lacking conviction. And the visitors were made to pay a very heavy price for their failure to take the lead as the home side found a three-goal blitz in nine minutes to take the game away. 

The first goal was vintage Dustin Wells. Awarded a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area Wells rolled back the years to strike a trademark effort up and over the wall and into the back of the net. Six minutes later it was two as young forward Sam Smith got in front of his marker to meet a low Jason Ugrinic cross and steer the ball inside the near post. And it should have been three a minute later as Ugrinic was given the freedom of the penalty area to control a cross but could only stab his shot wide of the post. It mattered little as sixty seconds later it was 3-0. Smith was found with a slide-rule pass and opened up his body to curl a wonderful finish past Academy stopper Sam Brown and into the net. 

The 18-year-old wasn’t finished yet and he claimed the match-ball in the first-half bagging his treble with a finish full of swagger and confidence, cutting inside his marker and sending Brown the wrong way with a cracking finish. The goals continued to flow in the second half as the Academy pulled one back through Joshua Gulevski, firing between the legs of Adam Perakovic in the Blue Devils goal, but that just steered the Blue Devils into more goal-hungry action. Jason Ugrinic slotted in a brace within ten minutes of each other, his pace proving too much for the CU Academy rear guard, before Smith rounded off his personal goal-fest blazing a shot in off the base of the post with nine minutes to go and netting a fifth in stoppage time. 

Belconnen United: 20. Adam PERAKOVIC, 3. Dustin WELLS, 4. Matt GRBESA, 7. Nicholas RATHJEN, 8. Conor NOLAN, 9. Sam SMITH, 10. Jason UGRINIC, 11. Goran MUKEVSKI, 13. Philippe BORGEAUD, 16. Cameron REINHART, 17. Jack BLACKLEY 
Substitutes used: 5. Toby RICHTER, 12. Aisosa IHEGIE, 14. Callum BEATON 
CU Academy: 1. Sam BROWN, 2. Ross COSTANZO, 4. Antoni TIMOTHEOU, 5. Niko KRESIC, 6. Thomas MILICEVIC, 7. Joshua GULEVSKI, 8. Adrian MACOR, 10. Daniel FABRIZIO, 13. Daniel SUBASIC, 15. Lachlan GRIFFITHS, 18. Jonathan TUREK
Substitutes used: 9. Sam WHITHEAR, 14. Niko UDJUR, 20. David CARDER
YELLOW CARDS: 10. Jason UGRINIC (Belconnen United), 8. Adrian MACOR, 18. Jonathan TUREK (CU Academy)
RED CARDS: Nil
Match Officials: Matt CROPPER (referee), Duncan MCLAREN, Hamish RAE

Sunday 3rd April 2016
Canberra FC 3 (Josip Jadric 42’, Robbie Deeley 68’, Nikola Barisic 73’) Monaro Panthers 2 (Mark Shields 18’ (pen), Ed McCarthy 51’)
(Deakin Stadium)

Champions Canberra FC recorded an expected first round win against Monaro Panthers at Deakin Stadium but were given an almighty scare by their visitors who twice led and threatened to cause an upset. Goals from Mark Shields and Ed McCarthy had the Panthers support in good voice but a stunning equaliser from Robbie Deeley, and a late winner from substitute Nikola Barisic, turned the tables.

The Panthers lined up in what was a disciplined 4-1-4-1 formation and they admirably kept their shape and structure throughout the majority of the match with the hosts finding it difficult to break through the packed lines of the Panthers defence, marshalled superbly by debutant Alan Murphy and Captain Chris Ruiz. Playing ostensibly on the break, and ceding huge swathes of possession to FC, it was Monaro who created the best chance when Shields headed wide when picked out in front of goal. The Panthers hitman would make amends in the 18th minute as he calmly put his team ahead from the penalty spot after being upended. It was a lead they tenaciously clung to and would have held going into the break but for a moment’s lapse in the shadows of half-time. Darian McGarry-Watson telegraphed a back-pass to ‘keeper Nathan Alferink, but there was still time to clear the danger. The young stopper dawdled however and was robbed in possession by Josip Jadric who kept his cool to equalise. 

After the break the Panthers regained the initiative when Ed McCarthy connected at the near post with a cute back-heel flick, reminiscent of England striker Jamie Vardy’s goal in Germany, that completely flummoxed Canberra FC goalkeeper Rory Larkin. And that goal looked like it would prove to be the match-winner until Deeley struck gold in the 68th minute. Jadric created it, dancing past a couple of challenges and laying the ball off to the central midfielder some 30 metres out. Deeley met the ball on the full and thumped an unstoppable swerving shot with the outside of his right foot that arrowed away from Alferink into the side of the net. And the Champions won it five minutes later. Domenic Giampaolo almost scored, his volley being well saved by Alferink, but the rebound fell kindly for substitute Barisic, who had only been on the field thirty seconds, and he slammed in the winner. 

Canberra FC: 1. Rory LARKIN, 6. Ryan KEIR, 7. Robbie DEELEY, 8. Ian GRAHAM, 10. Dominic GIAMPAOLO, 11. Marko VRKIC, 14. Josip JADRIC, 15. Jordan LAMB, 16. James FIELD, 17. Aidan BRUNSKILL, 18. Misko NAUMOSKI
Substitutes used: 3. Anthony GIORGI, 13. Kye EDWARDS, 21. Nikola BARISIC
Monaro Panthers: 21. Nathan ALFERINK, 2. Tony SPASESKI, 3. Daniel HEARLE, 5. Chris RUIZ, 6. Alan MURPHY, 7. Daniel FELLIZZI, 8. Sam ROESTBAKKEN, 9. Lachlan HUNTER, 10. Mark SHIELDS, 11. Darian MCGARRY-WATSON, 13. Ed MCCARTHY
Substitutes used: 2. Kwan HAP LEE, 4. Luka MARKULIN, 20. Caleb CULLEN-RUA 
YELLOW CARDS: 10. Dominic GIAMPAOLO, 11. Marko VRKIC (Canberra FC)
RED CARDS: Nil
Match Officials: Gary VANDEBURGT (referee), Ben COWAN, Nia SOUTHWELL

Canberra Olympic 3 (Tim Bobolas 38’, Jordan Tsekenis 45’, Jeremy Habtemariam 90+1’) Gungahlin United 0
(O’Connor Enclosed)

By David Jordan

Canberra Olympic began their PlayStation® 4 National Premier Leagues: Canberra Grand Final trophy defence in the best possible way on Sunday, with a convincing 3-0 win over Gungahlin United at O’Connor Enclosed. First half strikes from Tim Bobolas and Jordan Tsekenis set the tone going into  the break, before second-half substitute Jeremy Habtemariam put the icing on  the cake with a well-taken finish in the 91st minute. Both sides began the match slowly, with Gungahlin easily the underdogs against  the reigning champs. But the visitors fired the first shot in anger, with Mitch Steenbergen forcing a great save out of Olympic goalkeeper Angelo Konstantinou as the ball rifled towards the top corner from range. The game seemed fiery from the outset, with both sides snapping into tackles, with United’s Alex Moscaritolo booked in the eight minute for a second crunching foul.

As the half wore on, Olympic began to control the game, not only in the midfield but exploiting space on the flanks as well. Gungahlin goalkeeper Jason Denham kept them out with a number of good saves, however his distribution was poor throughout the first half, and United found themselves back under the pump repeatedly. The pressure told in the 38th minute as Bobolas rose highest at a corner to tuck his header inside Denham’s near post with little pressure around him. The visitors nearly had their deficit doubled as they surrendered possession from kickoff almost immediately, but Denham did enough to stop the ensuing one-on-one contest.

With both sides looking for the half time whistle, Tsekenis popped up behind a lax United defence to poke home his side’s second on the stroke of the interval and give Olympic the clear ascendancy heading into the sheds. The home side came out hot to start the second half, pressing high from the outset, and it began to look like only one team would be scoring in this match. Olympic were presented with a great chance after Liam Walsh crashed into Callum Smith outside the box, but Robbie Cattanach could do little but blaze his shot into orbit. United began to struggle even further when Habtemariam was introduced to the game in the 57th minute, and Jake Wilsener struggled to contain the speedster at full-back. After creating chances aplenty down the right throughout the last half hour, Habtemariam got his own reward when Cattanach cleared long from a failed United corner in the final minute. His outlet ball found Philippe Bernabo-Madrid down the right and with a two-on-one against Wilsener, his cross found Habtemariam to volley home from the penalty spot and seal the win.

Canberra Olympic: 20. Angelo KONSTANTINOU, 2. Tim BOBOLAS, 4. Daniel COLBERTALDO, 5. Phil YARNOLD, 8. Bernard RENE, 10. Robbie CATTANACH, 12. Adam ROGIC, 14. Callum SMITH, 15. Tom MCLACHLAN, 17. Nick BOBOLAS, 18. Jordan TSEKENIS
Substitutes used: 6. Jeremy HABTEMARIAM, 9. Philippe BERNABO-MADRID, 11. Michael REEVE
Gungahlin United: 1. Jason DENHAM, 2. Alex MOSCARITOLO, 3. David DEXTER, 7. Regan WALSH, 8. Michael KITA, 9. Nathan DUCK, 10. Marcial MUNOZ, 11. Jake WILSENER, 12. Mitch STEENBERGEN, 14. Liam WALSH, 15. David JENKINS
Substitutes used: 4. Christian JUNNA, 6. Justin RANKINE, 16. Lucas MONTANA 
YELLOW CARDS: 2. Alex MOSCARITOLO, 11, Jake WILSENER, 12. Mitch STEENBERGEN (Gungahlin United)
RED CARDS: Nil
Match Officials: Bruno KEHL, Matt SCHOFIELD, Hamish RAE

Tigers FC 5 (Nicolas Abot 9’, 83’ Osman Fofanah 36’, Stephen Domenici 42’, 44’) Woden-Weston FC 1 (Tom Hirst 51’)
(Nijong Oval)

Tigers FC got their season off to the perfect start with a convincing 5-1 defeat of Woden-Weston FC at Nijong Oval. The Tigers had the game well and truly in their pocket by half-time leading a new look Woden-Weston by four clear goals having demonstrated their pace and movement to great effect. The visitors improved after the break as the Tigers, quite naturally, took their foot off the pedal, but by that stage the damage had well and truly been done. 

It took the home team just nine minute to take the lead and it was one of their new recruits who did it. Argentinean striker Nicolas Abot, signed in the off-season from the Indonesian Super League, gave notice of his quality as he scored on debut. But it was a nine minute spell before the break that ultimately did for Woden-Weston who, after conceding early, had defended resolutely. They could do little however about the stunner struck by Osman Fofanah from distance in the 36th minute. Not to be outdone Stephen Domenici, on his return to the club after a season at Gungahlin United, scored twice in two minutes to make it 4-0 at the break.

Woden-Weston FC improved immeasurably in the second half and pulled a goal back when Tom Hirst finished off a neat move but despite their best endeavours to force an unlikely comeback they didn’t look like they would undertake the mother of all comebacks. Indeed, it was the Tigers who wrapped things up with seven minutes to go as Abot netted his second of the match to complete a good first day’s work for one of the favourites. 

Tigers FC: 1. Jakob COLE, 2. Nahuel GUERREO, 3. Milan POPOVICH, 4. Osman FOFANAH, 5. Julian BORGNA, 6. Alan GASTON, 7. Goran JOSIFOVSKI, 8. Jeremias IBARRA, 9. Daniel BARAC, 14. Nicolas ABOT, 17. Stephen DOMENICI
Substitutes used: 3. Hussein FUREJE, 15. Dejan SANTRAC, 16. Alex OLORIEGBE
Woden-Weston FC: 0. Kris TRAJANOSKI, 2. Bradley OLIVERA, 3. Adam DE FRANCESCHI, 4. Mitch KORDA, 6. Ben GRIEG, 7. Matthew WATERS, 8. Richy HURTADO LORA, 10. Caleb BROWN, 11. Bensah AFIABO, 12. Tim DEHELEAN, 14. Tom HIRST
Substitutes used: 5. Nick ROUFAGALIS, 9. Daniel DI-SALVATORE, 17. Nathan SHAKESPEARE
YELLOW CARDS: 7. Goran JOSIFOVSKI, 8. Jeremias IBARRA (Tigers FC), 2. Bradley OLIVERA, 3. Adam DE FRANCESCHI, 4. Mitch KORDA, 8. Richy HURTADO LORA (Woden-Weston FC)
RED CARDS: Nil
Match Officials: Brett WOODFORD (referee), Delfina DIMOSKI, Jose IZURIETA

TABLE

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Belconnen United	1	1	0	0	8	1	+7	3
2	Tigers FC	1	1	0	0	5	1	+4	3
3	FFA COE	1	1	0	0	5	2	+3	3
4	Canberra Olympic	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	3
5	Canberra FC	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	3
6	Monaro Panthers	1	0	0	1	2	3	-1	0
7	Gungahlin United	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0
8	Tuggeranong United	1	0	0	1	2	5	-3	0
9	Woden-Weston FC	1	0	0	1	1	5	-4	0
10	CU Academy	1	0	0	1	1	8	-7	0

LEADING SCORERS 
5 Sam SMITH (Belconnen United)
2 Jason UGRINIC (Belconnen United), Bryce BAFFORD, Jaidon SELDON (FFA COE), Nicolas ABOT (Tigers FC), Domenic COLUCCIELLO (Tuggeranong United)
1 Dustin WELLS (Belconnen United), Nikola BARISIC, Robbie DEELEY, Josip JADRIC (Canberra FC), Tim BOBOLAS, Jeremy HABETMARIAM, Jordan TSEKENIS (Canberra Olympic), Joshua GULEVSKI (CU Academy), Marc TOKICH (FFA COE), Ed MCCARTHY, Mark SHIELDS (Monaro Panthers), Stephen DOMENICI, Osman FOFANAH, Goran JOSIFOVSKI (Tigers FC), Tom HIRST (Woden-Weston FC)