Canberra Olympic 4 (Tim. Bobolas 36’, Michael John 63’, Robbie Cattanach 87’, Jeremy Habtemariam 90+’) def. Riverina Rhinos 2 (Darren Bailey 43’, Artur Rattel 73’)

A big second-half from Canberra Olympic helped them to a 4-2 victory over the Rhinos at O’Connor to jump to equal first on the table.

A cagey opening saw Olympic arguably on top but unable to make the most of chances until a Tim Bobolas header gave them the lead just seven minutes out from the half-time break. It looked like that lead would remain too until the Rhinos were awarded a penalty, and Darren Bailey struck truly from the spot just before the break to level proceedings.

The second half began in much the same way for around 20 minutes, but Michael John raced through and finished calmly to give his side the lead once more, but 10 minutes later Artur Rattel evened the game up again to set up a big finish.

As he has routinely this season though, Robbie Cattanach came up big in the dying stages and scored the go-ahead goal with only minutes to go, and Jeremy Habtemariam sealed the deal with a fourth from the spot in stoppage time as Rhinos had Jacob Donadel and Bailey dismissed from the pitch.

The result is a third straight loss for the Rhinos in all competitions and leaves them outside the top four, while Olympic share top spot with Canberra FC ahead of an important meeting with Gungahlin United next week.

 

Gungahlin United 4 (Antoni Timotheou 17’, 44’, Michael Rinaudo 66’, Tom Krklec 68’)def. Tuggeranong United 2 (Aisosa Ihegie 15’, Marco Gauer 90’)

Gungahlin United picked up their first win of the season and condemned Tuggeranong to a second loss in a row with a 4-2 victory at the AIS.

Tuggeranong were aiming to bounce back from a loss last weekend and struck first as Aisosa Ihegie raced through on goal and slotted home past Jason Denham to give his side the lead.

It lasted a mere two minutes though with Antoni Timotheou finding the back of the net to draw his side level early on. The hosts began to take the ascendancy as the half wore in, and Timotheou gave Gungahlin the lead on the stroke of half-time with a screamer.

United lead by a goal at the break last week before being pegged back late on, but Michael Rinaudo looked to trample down any similar fears as he poked home the ball from a scramble in the area with 24 minutes left to play.

Tom Krklec scored lovely strike from outside the area just two minutes later, and it looked as though the hosts could run rampant. But Tuggeranong bunkered down and looked to fight back, but struggled to create any major chances with time winding down.

Marco Gayer found space to fire home in the final minute of regular time, but it was too little too late as Gungahlin finished on top by two goals.

They now face a big test against Canberra Olympic next week, while Tuggeranong will sit out the weekend with the bye.

 

 

Canberra FC 7 (Daniel Subasic 13’, Thomas James 20’, 55’, 79’, Kofi Danning 77’, Ryan Keir 86’, 89’)def. Tigers FC 2 (Nicolas Villafane 11’, 38’)

A five-goal second half from Canberra FC has helped them to extend their perfect start to the season in a 7-2 win over Tigers on Sunday.

Full report here.

 

Monaro Panthers 0 def. by Belconnen United 1 (Lucas Mauragis 74’)

Monaro slumped to a fourth straight defeat in the league as a stunner from Lucas Mauragis handed Belconnen United a 1-0 victory at Riverside.

Both sides came in to the match needing a form reversal after some tough times of late, but it was a scrappy contest early with both struggling to create chances.

However the hosts missed the best chance of the first half just before the 20 minute mark, as Sam Smith raced through on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat, but Finn Jurak was up to the task and made a brilliant save to deny the hosts, and the scores remained locked right through to the end of the game.

The second half began with much of the same play, neither side able to break through the opposition on a tough pitch, and the clash seemed almost destined to end in a goalless draw.

But with just over 15 minutes to play that forecast changed with a piece of brilliance from Lucas Mauragis for the visitors.

The youngster found himself in enough space to get off a shot on the right hand edge of the area, and unleashed a stinging drive into the corner that had Mitch Weeden beaten.

That proved to be enough for United as they held on, and they will now face a crunch clash against Canberra FC at home next week, while Monaro look to break their losing streak against Woden-Weston.