Let’s check out the mini reviews from Round 3 of the National Premier Leagues Capital Football Men’s competition.
A goal six minutes into stoppage time from central defender Marko Milutinovic gave Tigers FC all three points in an epic encounter against Canberra Croatia, the visitors earning the 3-2 victory with a late response to an equaliser from the hosts deep into time added on themselves.
In what was a sensational advertisement for the National Premier League, Canberra Croatia began the brightest and might have taken the lead inside the opening ten minutes when Milutinovic hauled down Stephen Domenici inside the penalty area, the home side awarded a spot-kick.
Jakob Cole had already saved a penalty this season, and did so again, stopping an admittedly tame effort from Domenici who had bagged two penalties in the previous seven days. The prolific striker wasn’t to be denied though and gave Croatia the lead just before the half-hour, steering home a deflected finish following a sublime dummy from Franc Greco.
That goal was the difference at the half-time interval, and it was the Tigers who got back on terms in the 67th minute via a set-piece. Milutinovic was on hand to nod back across goal to his centre defensive partner Kyle Senior who headed home from close range.
It looked as if Tigers had won it four minutes from time when Amilio Kista burst onto a loose ball on the edge of the area to crash a low shot through a crowded penalty area, netting against his former team, but there was to be more twists and turns before the match was complete.
On the day of his 30th birthday, NPL Golden Boot winner from 2022 Daniel Barac, reacted quickest to a loose ball inside the area in the 94th minute, following a free-kick from Jason Ugrinic that caused consternation in the Tigers rear guard. Barac prodded home and wheeled away to celebrate, the goal appearing to settle the match with a share of the spoils.
But Milutinovic, and the Tigers, has other ideas and the defender popped up in the opposition penalty area two minutes later to win it with the latest of late headers.
A routine victory for Monaro Panthers moved the Queanbeyan-based side up the table as they recorded a 2-0 win over West Canberra Wanderers at Melrose Synthetic, leaving the home side winless after three games and having conceded fourteen goals in the process.
Wanderers had two glorious opportunities of their own, Doug Woodiwiss heading over from inside the six-yard box when unmarked, and Harry Truman being denied by Jordan Thurtell in the Panthers goal when the fleet-footed forward broke the high Panthers offside trap in the second stanza.
By then though, the Panthers were already comfortably in charge of the fixture. Michael John might have scored earlier, skewing an effort wide when well placed in front of goal, but he made no mistake at the second time of asking, controlling at the top of the six-yard box before spinning to strike home.
And Monaro sealed the win with a second just sixteen minutes later. Roko Strika was upended in the penalty area when poised to shoot and the midfield playmaker picked himself up to confidently despatch the resultant spot-kick.
Tuggeranong United’s early season woes on their return to the NPL continued, as they suffered a third heavy defeat, succumbing to a rampant O’Connor Knights outfit who won 5-1 at O’Connor Enclosed.
The Knights had full control of this fixture by half-time as they led 3-0 and looked dangerous with each and every attack. Micheal Adams got them off and running eleven minutes from the break, calmly finishing after being found by Phakedi Manda in acres of space inside the penalty area.
Manda added the second himself, drilling home at the end of a typically penetrating run, before Connor Bill turned home the third from close in as the first-half hit stoppage time. Tuggeranong pulled one back through a massively deflected shot, a Euan Peterkin effort cannoning off substitute Clancy Hislop to give Seb Arranz no chance.
But it was the Knights who looked more likely and when Riley Angelosante made if four, scrambling the ball over the line from a couple of yards out, it was game over. A late strike, well taken by Manda, put the icing on the cake of an excellent Knights performance.
A sensational stoppage time winner also sorted the result at the Australian Institute of Sport as Gungahlin United substitute Domenic Giampaolo settled a five-goal thriller in favour of the hosts who saw off Canberra Olympic 3-2.
Giampaolo teed himself up perfectly to send a delightful, lobbed volley over the head of Olympic goalkeeper Sebastian Usai who could do nothing to prevent it arcing into the far corner. The goal was worthy of winning any match and got the Gunners out of jail after they had coughed up a two-goal lead to their previously unbeaten opposition.
Antoni Timotheou drove Gungahlin ahead in the eleventh minute with their first attack, the midfielder finding space to steer home from outside the area, and it was to get even better midway through the half as Maxx Green met a perfectly weighted cross from Misko Naumoski to make it 2-0.
The visitors got back into the match with goals either side of the break. Firstly, Thomas James was played in behind the Gungahlin defence and scored with a fine shot across Jacob Quinn in off the post right on half-time, and the striker turned provider three minutes after the restart hen his fierce cross was acrobatically turned home via the head of Luca Florez, the header looping perfectly over Quinn.
That set the scene for the dramatic denouement as Giampaolo arrived from the bench to steal the points.
FIXTURES
Saturday 22 April
West Canberra Wanderers 0 Monaro Panthers 2 (John 24’, Strika 40’ (p))
O’Connor Knights 5 (Adams 34’, Manda 40’, 90’, Bill 45+1’, Angelosante 60’) Tuggeranong United 1 (C. Hislop 54’)
Canberra Croatia 2 (Domenici 29’, Barac 90+4’) Tigers FC 3 (Senior 67’, Kista 86’, Milutinovic 90+6’)
Sunday 23 April
Gungahlin United 3 (Timotheou 11’, M. Green 22’, Giampaolo 90+2’) Canberra Olympic 2 (James 45’, Florez 48’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Tigers FC | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 9 |
| 2 | Canberra Olympic | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 6 |
| 3 | Gungahlin United | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 6 |
| 4 | Monaro Panthers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Canberra Croatia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 4 |
| 5 | O’Connor Knights | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 |
| 7 | Tuggeranong United | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 0 |
| 8 | West Canberra Wanderers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | -13 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
5 Luca FLOREZ (Canberra Olympic), Josh GULEVSKI (Tigers FC)
3 Stephen DOMENICI (Canberra Croatia), Maxx GREEN (Gungahlin United), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights)
2 Daniel BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Micheal JOHN (Monaro Panthers), Connor MYNOTT-SMITH (Monaro Panthers), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Jason UGRINIC (Canberra Croatia)
1 Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Riley ANGELOSANTE (O’Connor Knights), Connor BILL (O’Connor Knights), Jake BISHOP (Tigers FC), Riley BROWN (West Canberra Wanderers), Elie DARWICH (Canberra Olympic), Josh GASPARI (Gungahlin United), Jack GREEN (Gungahlin United), Dom GIAMPAOLO (Gungahlin United), Sam HABTEMARIAM (Gungahlin United), Clancy HISLOP (Tuggeranong United), Thomas JAMES (Canberra Olympic), Amilio KISTA (Tigers FC), Ed MCCARTHY (Tigers FC), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Lasse OLRIK (Canberra Olympic), Jackson PAESLER (Gungahlin United), Kaz PATAFTA (Canberra Croatia), Euan PETERKIN (Tuggeranong United), Nik POPOVICH (Canberra Olympic), Kyle SENIOR (Tigers FC), Roko STRIKA (Monaro Panthers), Hristjan TANOSKI (Tigers FC), Antoni TIMOTHEOU (Gungahlin United), Sam WALKER (Tuggeranong United), Own GOALS