A solitary goal, netted past then hour-mark from Hattie Cram gave Belconnen United a vital victory over Canberra Olympic at McKellar Park and may have shifted the momentum of the title race back in the direction of the Blue Devils following a dramatic weekend of action in the Women’s National Premier League.
The hosts’ performance all over the park was nothing short of impressive, heralded as usual by their captain Talia Backhouse. The round of observation was short lived at McKellar, both teams clearly understanding the importance of the first goal when the two best defences face each other.
The Blue Devils were the most dangerous in the first half, albeit not always catching the target. A free kick at the edge of the box taken by Backhouse – with her left foot – rattled Janet King’s crossbar, and other attempts from distance kept the keeper on alert.
Unsurprisingly with these two teams, the defences impressed the most. Elke Aitolu on one side and Sophia Doumos on the other, to somewhat unfairly pick out one from two strong collective performances, always found a way to put their body on the line for their team.
The deadlock was finally broken twenty minutes into the second act. Another scrappy situation in the midfield ended with Hattie Cram putting her toe on the ball to escape Leah Carnegie, then running away from Aitolu before her left footed effort in a narrow angle perfectly found the top left corner.
Canberra Croatia and Canberra United Academy ended up splitting the spoils at the end of an entertaining afternoon at Deakin Stadium on Sunday, the teams sharing four goals. The point is enough for Canberra Croatia to sit at the top of the table but will feel like a missed opportunity for Zoran Glavinic’s team.
Shots from up close, direct corner kicks, long distance efforts, crosses, any attempt at threatening Eliza Evans was either met by a solid defence, an inspired goalkeeper…or her woodwork. Dominated for most of the first half but brave as can be defensively, the Academy still found the time to test Chloe Lincoln from afar.
The deadlock was finally broken in the dying moments of the first half, when a cross by Brittany Palombi flew past everyone in the box to find the back of the net. Back from the break the game evened out more, with the Academy still finding ways through the Deakin defence.
They got their reward halfway through the second act. A scramble in Croatia’s defence benefitted Perri Nash, happy to slot the ball through a forest of players for the equaliser. Three minutes later, Sofia Christopherson was galloping down the left wing, and found Tamara Cochrane in the box. The forward managed to keep the ball despite Amy McLachlan and her powerful shot could not be stopped by Lincoln.
So close to getting an upset, the Academy would unfortunately finish the game with ten players when Latisha Babic fouled Palombi, who had just stolen the ball from her, while in position of last defender, ten minutes before the final whistle. A minute later, Palombi’s cross found Sienna Birnie at the far post and the teams were once again level, a result the Academy would keep despite the numerical disadvantage.
Gungahlin United got the job done at home against West Canberra Wanderers, while keeping a third consecutive clean sheet in a 2-0 victory. Andrew Woodman’s troops knew a win was needed against the Wanderers, to confirm their important success against Belconnen last week and their midweek result against Tuggeranong.
The Gunners wasted no time, and with a bit of luck, were ahead after a mere 20 seconds. Their first half opportunity saw Maddie Perceval shot deflected by Ellen Brown in her own net. Surprised cold, the Wanderers did well to regroup, and the result remained unchanged until the break.
The Gunners kept pushing all along however and were finally rewarded at the hour mark. A good build-up on the right wing between Perceval, Ayla Robertson and Sharon Chao ended with a Ginger Oliver incursion in the box. From a narrow angle, Gungahlin’s most prolific attacking threat this season managed to score her team’s second goal.
Karen Clarke almost added a third of the game, after a set piece at the 80th minute, then almost offering a lifeline to the Wanderers in the dying embers of the game, but the goal was denied for offside.
Tuggeranong United got all three points and jumped two spots on the table after defeating ANU WFC at Kambah, 3-1. The Tuggies leave the bottom place of the table they have been stuck to for weeks.
Samantha Wood highlighted all her talent on Sunday. A quarter of an hour in, she was found in the box, and in a move any striker would be jealous of, eliminated her defender before smashing the ball into Claire Joseph’s net. The ANU pushed to equalise without success and were instead punished by Wood again seconds before the break.
A free kick from the right side, taken by the forward with her left foot had the perfect trajectory, and dipped right between the crossbar and Joseph’s hands. Comfortably ahead at half time, Tuggeranong would do what it takes to keep their advantage.
Every player made defensive efforts to constantly deny the ANU’s attempts, and Paulo Romero’s team also managed to bring the danger in counterattack and by playing direct football. A lucky third goal came sealing the fate of the game.
A corner kick taken by Wood with ten minutes left dipped at the near post and was deflected into their own net by the ANU defence. Down by three goals, the visitors did not give up, instead offering the crowd one of the goals of the season. Far from her center back position, Ailish McDonagh drove the ball inside from the right wing, and armed a missile from her left foot that cleaned the cobweb in the top left corner of Amy Wiggan’s goal.
RESULTS
ROUND 16
Saturday 29 July
Belconnen United 1 (Cram 66’) Canberra Olympic 0
Sunday 30 July
Canberra Croatia 2 (Palombi 45+1’, Birnie 81’) Canberra United Academy 2 (Nash 71’, Cochrane 73’)
Gungahlin United 2 (E. Brown 1’ (og), Oliver 60’) West Canberra Wanderers 0
Tuggeranong United 3 (Wood 14’, 25’, Eaglesham 67’ (og)) ANU WFC 1 (McDonagh 87’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 40 | 15 | +25 | 33 |
| 2 | Canberra Olympic | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 35 | 9 | +26 | 32 |
| 3 | Gungahlin United | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 34 | 17 | +17 | 32 |
| 4 | Belconnen United | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 41 | 10 | +31 | 31 |
| 5 | Canberra United Academy | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 27 | -11 | 20 |
| 6 | Tuggeranong United | 15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 15 | 45 | -30 | 10 |
| 7 | ANU WFC | 15 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 34 | -21 | 9 |
| 8 | West Canberra Wanderers | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 49 | -37 | 8 |
TOP SCORERS
15 Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia)
11 Bessie RIETHMULLER (Belconnen United)
8 Hattie CRAM (Belconnen United)
7 Nicole JALOCHA (Canberra Olympic), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Croatia), Charli MITCHELL (Canberra Croatia), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
6 Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United)
5 Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United), Olivia GURNEY (Canberra Olympic), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Olympic), Madelyn WHITTALL (Canberra Olympic), Own GOALS
4 Jade BROWN (Gungahlin United), Maddison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Roxie SWART (ANU WFC),
3 Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Canberra United Academy), Rhiannon FENSOM (Canberra Croatia), Alyse JENSEN (West Canberra Wanderers), Erika PENNYFIELD (Gungahlin United), Nikita PERRY (West Canberra Wanderers/Canberra Croatia), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), Samantha WOOD (Tuggeranong United)
2 Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Ella-Rose BROWN (Gungahlin United), Cara CERUTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Tamara COCHRANE (Canberra United Academy), Rachael CORBETT (Gungahlin United), Lauren HALL (West Canberra Wanderers), Michelle HEYMAN (Gungahlin United), Sheridan MCELLIGOTT (ANU WFC), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra United Academy), Alexandra NEALAND (Canberra United Academy), Rainey NILES (Tuggeranong United), Marija RATHOUSKI (Belconnen United), Madeleine STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Zoe TERRY (Tuggeranong United), Kate WALKER (West Canberra Wanderers), Sarah WHITFIELD (West Canberra Wanderers), Reilly YUEN (Belconnen United)
1 Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Latisha BABIC (Canberra United Academy), Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Croatia), Amy BONGIORNO (Canberra Croatia), Jaya BOWMAN (Canberra United Academy), Sofia CHAVERRA (ANU WFC), Sofia CHRISTOPHERSON (Canberra United Academy), Alexandra COOK (Canberra Olympic), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Emma DOUGLAS-OLIVEIRA (ANU WFC), Edith FORDYCE-CROKER (ANU WFC), Charli GREGSON (Tuggeranong United), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Isabella HOPKINS (ANU WFC), Abby HURMAN (Tuggeranong United), Ashlyn LEWIS (Tuggeranong United), Sarah MATTHEWS (Tuggeranong United), Ailish MCDONAGH (ANU WFC), Peri NASH (Canberra United Academy), Maya OSMOND (Canberra United Academy), Madeleine PERCEVAL (Gungahlin United), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Vanessa RYAN (Canberra Olympic), Elisha WILD (Canberra United Academy), Juliet WILLIAMS (ANU WFC), Zoe WILLIAMS (Tuggeranong United), Kayla WRIGHT (Gungahlin United), Jasmine ZABEL (Canberra Olympic)