A huge weekend of National Premier League football awaits where, depending on results, the title could all but be decided, and the relegation issues might well also be nearly completed. For that to happen however, all the results would have to fall in favour of both Tuggeranong United and O’Connor Knights.
Sitting seven points ahead of the chasing pack, O’Connor Knights know that a victory over Monaro Panthers would hand them a maiden NPL crown if the Tigers and Canberra Olympic fail to secure maximum points in their fixtures.
That is much easier said than done though against a Panthers team who are searching for a top-four position of their own and are seeking the points to achieve the feat. Their need is just as great, and the team from Queanbeyan will be confident that they can overcome the obstacles in their way to do so.
The two best defences in the NPL lock horns in this one, and its difficult to predict which one will break. Expect a fast-paced contest with goals as neither side knows how to back down or take a backward step.
Tigers FC form has taken something of a nosedive recently and midweek injuries to leading scorer Nik Taneski and defensive lynchpin Kyle Senior will leave them up against it once again as they welcome Gungahlin United to the Australian Institute of Sport for a Saturday afternoon match-up.
The hosts come into the game off the back of a chastening 5-1 hammering at Deakin Stadium against Canberra Croatia, a result that was a far cry from their dramatic 3-2 victory at the same venue earlier in the season.
The Gunners had a big match of their own in midweek, heading to the Riverside Stadium for a massive match against the Panthers, the beginning of a duo of fixtures that could make or break their campaign. Gungahlin are favourites on form, but that is usually thrown away when this pair meet.
Canberra Olympic are waiting in the wings for any slip-up from the Knights, having inherited second place on the league table following Tigers loss to Canberra Croatia. Goal difference is currently Olympic’s friend, and they will be heavily backed to keep the race alive when they travel to Kambah 2 to take on Tuggeranong United.
After stuttering through after the cup final loss, Olympic have rediscovered their forma t just the right time and are looking good for the finals and have an outside chance of even going better and finishing top.
Tuggeranong is almost safe. Eight points clear of relegation with twelve points to play for, their matches with Olympic have been close fought affairs and they also took a point from the 2-2 draw at O’Connor Enclosed.
The round concludes on Sunday as Canberra Croatia meet West Canberra Wanderers, a team that has rarely beaten them down the years. The 1-0 win in 2021 secured by a Gabe Cole penalty, was Wanderers only ever win over Croatia at Deakin and one of only two in their history, the other a 4-1 win in Round 13, 2013.
Croatia have scored 48 goals in home matches against Wanderers, and 88 in 26 competitive fixtures across all competitions against the Woden men and have scored fifteen times in their last four NPL meetings with West Canberra Wanderers and have conceded just four in reply.
With points required for both teams, for differing reasons of course, expect this one to be an affair to keep an eye on and a clash which might well dictate the future direction of both football clubs.
FIXTURES
ROUND 18
Saturday 12 August
Tigers FC v Gungahlin United
Tuggeranong United v Canberra Olympic
Monaro Panthers v O’Connor Knights
Sunday 13 August
Canberra Croatia v West Canberra Wanderers
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | O’Connor Knights | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 46 | 17 | +29 | 39 |
| 2 | Canberra Olympic | 17 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 39 | 25 | +14 | 32 |
| 3 | Tigers FC | 17 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 32 |
| 4 | Gungahlin United | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 46 | 35 | +11 | 30 |
| 5 | Monaro Panthers | 17 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 30 | 22 | +8 | 28 |
| 6 | Canberra Croatia | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 45 | 28 | +17 | 26 |
| 7 | Tuggeranong United | 17 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 17 | 53 | -36 | 8 |
| 8 | West Canberra Wanderers | 17 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 13 | 67 | -54 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
17 Maxx GREEN (Gungahlin United)
12 Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC)
11 Roko STRIKA (Monaro Panthers)
10 Stephen DOMENICI (Canberra Croatia), Josh GULEVSKI (Tigers FC), Nik POPOVICH (Canberra Olympic)
9 Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (Canberra Croatia)
8 Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Aisosa IHEGIE (O’Connor Knights), Own GOALS
7 Josh GASPARI (Gungahlin United)
6 Amilio KISTA (Tigers FC), Connor MYNOTT-SMITH (Monaro Panthers)
5 Philippe BERNABO-MADRID (Gungahlin United), Luca FLOREZ (Canberra Olympic), Thomas JAMES (Canberra Olympic), Niko KRESIC (O’Connor Knights), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights), Sam WALKER (Tuggeranong United), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC)
4 Daniel BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Clancy HISLOP (Tuggeranong United), Alen JAMES (Canberra Olympic), Patrick O’ROURKE (O’Connor Knights), Regan WALSH (O’Connor Knights)
3 Jenno CERUTI (Monaro Panthers), Jack GREEN (Gungahlin United), Micheal JOHN (Monaro Panthers), Luca MACOR (Canberra Olympic), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Adam NEOU (Canberra Olympic), Michael PICCOLO (Canberra Croatia), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Jason UGRINIC (Canberra Croatia)
2 Riley ANGELOSANTE (O’Connor Knights), Connor BILL (O’Connor Knights), Daniel COLBERTALDO (Canberra Croatia), FERNANDO Jorquera (Gungahlin United), Lachlan FIELDS (O’Connor Knights), Beau HARVEY (Monaro Panthers), Nikos KALFAS (Tigers FC), Ryan KEIR (Canberra Croatia), Ed MCCARTHY (Tigers FC), Tom MCLACHLAN (Gungahlin United), Nathen MEGIC (Canberra Olympic), Jackson PAESLER (Gungahlin United), Kaz PATAFTA (Canberra Croatia), Kyle SENIOR (Tigers FC), Patrick SHORE (West Canberra Wanderers), Callum SMITH (Canberra Olympic), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Antoni TIMOTHEOU (Gungahlin United), Noah VANDERPOL (Canberra Croatia)
1 Badreldin ABBAS (Gungahlin United), Joaquin ABOT (Tuggeranong United), Angus BAILEY (West Canberra Wanderers), Jake BISHOP (Tigers FC), Julian BORGNA (Tigers FC), Riley BROWN (West Canberra Wanderers), Lachlan CAMPBELL (O’Connor Knights), Kofi DANNING (Canberra Olympic), Elie DARWICH (Canberra Olympic), Dylan DEEP-JONES (Monaro Panthers), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Dom GIAMPAOLO (Gungahlin United), Franc GRECO (Canberra Croatia), Sam HABTEMARIAM (Gungahlin United), Patrick HISLOP (Tuggeranong United), Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers), Tyson LIVERMORE (O’Connor Knights), Tony MADAFFARI (Tigers FC), Archie MCGREGOR (Monaro Panthers), Lewis MCKINNEY (Tuggeranong United), Zac MCLAREN (Monaro Panthers), Max MELLICK (Canberra Olympic), Misko NAUMOSKI (Gungahlin United), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Lasse OLRIK (Canberra Olympic), Harrison PALIC (O’Connor Knights), George PAVESE (West Canberra Wanderers), Euan PETERKIN (Tuggeranong United), Jordan REZEK (Tuggeranong United), Jayden RIPPON (West Canberra Wanderers), Nicholas ROUFOGALIS (West Canberra Wanderers), David SESELJA (Canberra Croatia), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Daniel SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Hristjan TANOSKI (Tigers FC), George TIMOTHEOU (Gungahlin United), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Harry TRUMAN (West Canberra Wanderers), Liam VICKERS (West Canberra Wanderers), Atiya WARAGA (Canberra Croatia), Doug WOODIWISS (West Canberra Wanderers), Joshua YOUNG (West Canberra Wanderers)