PS4 NPL Capital Football Round 12 Review

Belconnen United jumped into third place on the table with an important win, while Canberra Olympic and the FFA COE continue to lead the competition.

FFA Centre of Excellence 4 (Mirza Muratovic 30’, 60, Lleyton Brooks 41’, Summersby-Mitchell 14’ (OG)) def. Monaro Panthers 0

The FFA Centre of Excellence continued Monaro’s winless run with a dominant 4-0 win at Googong.

The youngsters got off to the perfect start when Sebastian Summersby-Mitchell turned the ball into his own net after 14 minutes, and that set the tone for the first half as the Centre of Excellence piled on the pressure.

Mirza Muratovic finished tidily on the half-hour mark to grab his first of the afternoon, before Lleyton Brooks capped off a brilliant first half for the visitors as he snuck home a goal four minutes ahead of the interval.

Ryan Moxon did his best to keep his side in the match in the second half as he found his goal peppered by the Centre of Excellence, but he could do little as the Panthers defence folded and Muratovic was able to tuck home his second of the day and seal the match. 

Things got worse for Lloyd Hewitt’s side as Captain Chris Ruiz was given his marching orders with ten minutes to go, but the Centre of Excellence were unable to make any use of the numerical advantage as the match finished 4-0. 

The result leaves the COE level on points still with Canberra United up the top of the table, while Monaro still look for their first points of the 2017 season.

 

Riverina Rhinos 0 def. by Woden-Weston 3 (Daniel Crkvoski 14', 47', Martin Deng 35')

Woden-Weston picked up their fourth win in five matches and another clean sheet on Saturday as they defeated Riverina 3-0 on the road in Griffith.

Tony Olivera’s side went into the match on the back of a big win over Gungahlin last weekend, and showed no signs of slowing down as they came out of the blocks firing.

The on-fire Daniel Crkovski put Woden-Weston into an early lead with his 10th goal of the season, and left the hosts reeling as they fell behind.

The visitors continued to pile on the pressure and Martin Deng doubled the advantaged ten minutes before the half-time break with a nice goal as Woden-Weston went into the sheds two goals to the good.

Crkovski bagged another just two minutes into the second half as Olivera's men put their foot down, and that effectively sealed the match. The home side struggled to make headway throughout the second stanza as the Wanderers ran away with the match, and Wanderers now sit seven points ahead of their opposition on the table.

Canberra FC 1 (Niko Kalfas 15') def. by Belconnen United 2 (Dustin Wells 36', Izach Clements 77')

Belconnen United staked their claim for the top four on Sunday with an important 2-1 win over Canberra FC at Deakin Stadium.

The home side took the initiative as they were looking to close the gap on Canberra Olympic at the top of the table, and new signing Niko Kalfas put them in the lead after 15 minutes.

Jordan Lamb’s cross from the wing found Kalfas flying high, and his looping header tucked into the corner out of the reach of Finn Jurak in goals. While the match was an even one, United took their time working back into it but Dustin Wells brought them level nine minutes from the interval as he raced in behind the home defence to tidily finish a through ball.

With scores level at the break the game was anyone’s for the taking in the second half, but took a turn as Marko Vrkic was sent off after receiving his second yellow card, giving the visitors the numerical advantage with just under 30 minutes left.

United made good on that advantage as Izach Clements got the final touch to a ball in the 18-yard box to beat Sam Brown in goals with 13 minutes left, and that proved to be the winner.

Matt Grbesa was also given his marching orders with ten minutes to go, but Canberra FC were unable to capitalise on been back to even numbers as the game petered out. The win lifts Belconnen United into third spot, six points behind Canberra Olympic and the FFA COE, while Canberra FC drop to fourth spot.

 

Tuggeranong United 3 (Andrew Slavich 35’, Alex Oloriegbe 41’, Riley Angelosante 89’) def. Gungahlin United 1 (Misko Naumoski 26’)

Gungahlin United slipped in their chase of the top four once more on Sunday, going down to an energetic Tuggeranong side at Kambah.

Full report here.

 

Canberra Olympic 2 (Josh Gulevski, Robbie Cattanach) def. Tigers FC 0

Canberra Olympic continued their fine run in the PS4 NPL on Sunday with a clinical 2-0 victory over Tigers FC at O’Connor.

Olympic got off to a great start as Josh Gulevski put them on the board early, firing home to give them the lead. The home side settled well as they looked to control the match, and Tigers struggled to work their way into the match. The first half carried on in similar fashion, and Olympic went into the break a goal to the good and in control.

After the break Olympic remained on top of Tigers despite chances going both ways, and with twenty minutes to go Robbie Cattanach stood up and finished off a great move to double the home side’s advantage and all but seal the match.

Tigers looked to hit back as they chased the game but were unable to find the back of the net, and the match petered out with the same scoreline. 

The result leaves Olympic tied with the FFA COE on 28 points, six ahead of Belconnen United and with a game in hand.

Tigers remain in sixth place, three points out of the top four as the season begins to heat up.