Nothing’s changed at the top of the table before a weekend where the top four is facing the bottom four. With the four finalists already known, the last two rounds of the season will be as much about battling for silverware as they will be about building confidence.
Belconnen United and Canberra United Academy start off the weekend at McKellar Park on Saturday. A success from the Blue Devils would keep the pressure up on Olympic who plays on Sunday. Scott Conlon’s team has enjoyed facing the Academy this season: two successes in the league and one in the cup tally up to a 12-0 record for Belconnen.
Twelve points behind the top four, the Academy time and time again showed they had the ability to cause trouble against the best teams in the league. Matthew Moore and his players will want to finish the season on a high note, and a success on their Liberty A-Lague’s home ground would do just that.
Canberra Croatia and the ANU WFC face each other at Deakin Stadium on Sunday. The team coached by Zoran Glavinic has the momentum going for them with 13 goals in their last two outings. They can mathematically still find themselves higher on the table but will need a success to keep their chances alive.
Now free of relegation worries, the University Club could celebrate with a success on the reigning premiers’ pitch. The ANU only scored once in two encounters with their opponents this season, while conceding ten goals. Rob Illingworth’s players are aware they need a perfect performance if they want to cause an upset at Deakin.
Canberra Olympic will host West Canberra Wanderers in a must win game for both outfits. Nicole Begg’s squad need the three points to keep their premiership ambition alive before facing Belconnen on Tuesday and Tuggeranong on Thursday in their last games of the season.
If playing the wooden spoon seems on paper like a favourable encounter, Olympic has not forgotten the two-goal lead wasted in Round 13, a game West Canberra won at Wanderers Park.
West Canberra had found the recipe last month, they need to get the ingredients out of the pantry again! A success surely would shock the league, but more importantly for the Wanderers, such result could see them leave the bottom of the table at the best time.
Tuggeranong United hosts Gungahlin United at Kambah to end the penultimate round if 2023. The hard run of game has seen the Tuggies losing three games in a row in August, conceding 15 goals while scoring only once. Paulo Romero’s team wants to bounce back against a team assured to play in post-season.
The Gunners are out for the last time in 2023 and will want to head to the finals with confidence and a positive result. At the bitter end of a thrilling encounter at Deakin last week, Andrew Woodman’s troops want to prepare a potential rematch against Canberra Croatia by getting a 13th success this season.
FIXTURES
ROUND 20
Saturday 26 August
Belconnen United v Canberra United Academy (Kaleen Enclosed, 15:00)
Sunday 27 August
Canberra Croatia v ANU WFC (Deakin Stadium, 14:35)
Canberra Olympic v West Canberra Wanderers (O’Connor Enclosed, 14:30)
Tuggeranong United v Gungahlin United (Kambah 2, 15:00)
Tuesday 29 August
Canberra Olympic v Belconnen United (TBC)
Thursday 31 August
Canberra Olympic v Tuggeranong United (Woden Park, 18:30)
ANU WFC v Belconnen United (Greenway Enclosed, 19:00)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Belconnen United | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 56 | 10 | +46 | 43 |
| 2 | Canberra Olympic | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 42 | 10 | +32 | 41 |
| 3 | Canberra Croatia | 19 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 53 | 20 | +33 | 39 |
| 4 | Gungahlin United | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 46 | 24 | +22 | 38 |
| 5 | Canberra United Academy | 19 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 39 | -15 | 26 |
| 6 | ANU WFC | 19 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 42 | -26 | 12 |
| 7 | Tuggeranong United | 18 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 16 | 60 | -44 | 10 |
| 8 | West Canberra Wanderers | 19 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 15 | 63 | -48 | 8 |
TOP SCORERS
21 Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia)
14 Hattie CRAM (Belconnen United)
13 Bessie RIETHMULLER (Belconnen United)
10 Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Croatia)
8 Michelle HEYMAN (Gungahlin United), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United)
7 Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Olivia GURNEY (Canberra Olympic), Nicole JALOCHA (Canberra Olympic), Charli MITCHELL (Canberra Croatia), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
6 Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Tamara COCHRANE (Canberra United Academy), Madelyn WHITTALL (Canberra Olympic)
5 Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Olympic), Own GOALS
4 Jade BROWN (Gungahlin United), Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Maddison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Canberra United Academy), Roxie SWART (ANU WFC), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), Samantha WOOD (Tuggeranong United)
3 Ella-Rose BROWN (Gungahlin United), Sofia CHRISTOPHERSON (Canberra United Academy), Rhiannon FENSOM (Canberra Croatia), Alyse JENSEN (West Canberra Wanderers), Erika PENNYFIELD (Gungahlin United), Nikita PERRY (West Canberra Wanderers/Canberra Croatia), Reilly YUEN (Belconnen United)
2 Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Croatia), Cara CERUTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Sofia CHAVERRA (ANU WFC), Alexandra COOK (Canberra Olympic), Rachael CORBETT (Gungahlin United), Lauren HALL (West Canberra Wanderers), Isabella HOPKINS (ANU WFC), Sheridan MCELLIGOTT (ANU WFC), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra United Academy), Peri NASH (Canberra United Academy), Alexandra NEALAND (Canberra United Academy), Rainey NILES (Tuggeranong United), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Marija RATHOUSKI (Belconnen United), Madeleine STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Zoe TERRY (Tuggeranong United), Kate WALKER (West Canberra Wanderers), Sarah WHITFIELD (West Canberra Wanderers), Kayla WRIGHT (Gungahlin United)
1 Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Latisha BABIC (Canberra United Academy), Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Amy BONGIORNO (Canberra Croatia), Jaya BOWMAN (Canberra United Academy), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Olympic), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Jade EMMS (Belconnen United), Emma DOUGLAS-OLIVEIRA (ANU WFC), Edith FORDYCE-CROKER (ANU WFC), Charli GREGSON (Tuggeranong United), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Abby HURMAN (Tuggeranong United), Ashlyn LEWIS (Tuggeranong United), Sarah MATTHEWS (Tuggeranong United), Ailish MCDONAGH (ANU WFC), Maya OSMOND (Canberra United Academy), Madeleine PERCEVAL (Gungahlin United), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Vanessa RYAN (Canberra Olympic), Alexandra SERRAS (ANU WFC), Elisha WILD (Canberra United Academy), Juliet WILLIAMS (ANU WFC), Zoe WILLIAMS (Tuggeranong United), Kayla WRIGHT (Gungahlin United), Jasmine ZABEL (Canberra Olympic)