Belconnen United and Canberra Croatia meet on Saturday for a top of the table clash that will give either team a real claim to the League Championship title, while Gungahlin United will face the bottom team on Sunday, with no room for error.
McKellar Park will once again attract all eyes on Saturday when Belconnen United host Canberra Croatia. The Blue Devils and their arch rivals both know the importance of a success this week, with such a cramped top four.
Scott Conlon could only be happy after his team’s performance last week. The Blue Devils’ defensive strength was, like all season, on display against Olympic, but they have another tough encounter on the menu this weekend, with WNPL leading goal scorer Brittany Palombi on the opposite side.
The Deakin side arrives at McKellar after a frustrating draw against the Academy last week. missing the opportunity to increase their cushion on top, and now find themselves with the risk of seeing all three of their rivals passing them on the table in case of another misstep against Belconnen. It is a must-win for the reigning Champions if they want to keep their crown.
The team placed third in the top four, Gungahlin United, visit ANU WFC to try and secure a fourth consecutive success and keep climbing the ladder.
The Gunners are hitting all the right notes in the past two weeks, with nine points and three straight clean sheets. Very much in the fight for premiership for the first time in the WNPL era, Gungahlin has the experience and the depth to deliver in the last few rounds.
They have beaten ANU WFC twice this season, courtesy of first half braces from Ginger Oliver in Round 3 and Sharon Chao in Round 10. They needed the same kind of performance this Sunday.
The University Club are on a negative streak of four consecutive defeats, during which they have only found the back of the net twice. Despite the absence of results, the ANU has always held their own against the best teams this season, never giving an easy way out. Only a point away from the bottom of the table, causing an upset at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval would be quite the way to avoid the wooden spoon.
Canberra United Academy faces West Canberra Wanderers at Hawker Football Centre to finish the round. The Academy has gone from strength to strength in recent weeks, from best of the rest to challenging the top four teams every time they met.
The draw obtained at Deakin last week was another proof of the squad development at Hawker, and scoring two goals is a rare enough occurrence for the Academy that deserved a celebration in itself. Against West Canberra at home, they can confirm their good run of form.
The Wanderers find themselves at the bottom of the table after only getting a single point in the last four games. Despite the energy and technique of Alyse Jensen, Lauren Hall and their teammates, West Canberra has struggled to bank on their upset against Canberra Olympic last month.
Unable to score in the two encounters with the Academy, they will need to start there if they want to get one result over them this year, and potentially bounce back from their 8th spot.
FIXTURES
ROUND 17
Saturday 5 August
Belconnen United v Canberra Croatia (McKellar Park, 15:00)
Sunday 6 August
Canberra Olympic v Tuggeranong United – rescheduled to 31 August 2023
ANU WFC v Gungahlin United (ANU South, 15:00)
Canberra United Academy v West Canberra Wanderers (Hawker Football Centre, 15:00)
Wednesday 9 August
Belconnen United v ANU WFC (McKellar Park, 19:00)
Tuggeranong United v Canberra United Academy (Kambah 2, 19:00)
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)