A strong performance from West Canberra against Canberra Croatia and a success from Tuggeranong at Hawker Football Centre were a great ending to an intense rollercoaster of a season. The Deakin side is the only team to have moved at a table, taking the third spot from Gungahlin with a better goal difference.
Canberra Olympic started the last round of fixtures with an emphatic on Thursday over Tuggeranong United at Woden Park (6-0). Two days after lifting the Premiers’ trophy at Riverside, the team coached by Nicole Begg celebrated in style.
The festival started at the fifth minute when a one-two between Elke Aitolu and Nicole Jalocha trumped the whole visitors’ defence and saw Aitolu finishing with a glancing right footed effort.
Jalocha doubled her team’s advantage just past the half hour mark, volleying in an Ali Cook corner at the near post. The third goal came three minutes before half-time, courtesy of Arusha Chew’s power to recover a ball and finesse to lift it over Amy Wiggan from the edge of the box.
Alexia Cerne found the back of the net eight minutes after the break and the last two goals came in the dying embers of the game, Chew highlighting her pace to complete her hat-trick. The League Champions looks as ready as ever to defend their Grand Final trophy.
Belconnen United ended their season at Greenway Enclosed with a hard-fought win over the ANU WFC (2-0), a success that guaranteed them the second place before the Sunday games.
The Blue Devils started the game the best way possible – despite the kick-off being delayed several minutes. Two hundred seconds in, a corner taken by Sofia Palywoda lingered in the box before being volleyed in by Talia Backhouse’s left foot.
Both teams tried the finish their season on a high note, but despite their best effort, the University Club would remain goalless. The second goal for the WNPL runners-up instead came 15 minutes before the final whistle.
A good run Keira Bobbin ended in a draw the ANU defence could not clear and Ella Palframan happy to seize the loose the ball and smash it in the back of the net from up close. Belconnen bounces back two days after their defeat to Olympic and are ready to meet them again in ten days.
Two surprise results on Sunday afternoon were a last reminder, if need be, of the highly entertaining year of football we enjoyed in the capital. West Canberra Wanderers gave everything in an eight-goal thriller against Canberra Croatia at Wanderers Park, coming back from three goal down to take the lead, before conceding a late equaliser.
Croatia started brightly and were three to the good by the 21st minute. Brittany Palombi brought her tally to twenty-three goals this season with two powerful left footed finish, and Isabella Barac showcased her talent to score the third goal.
The Wanderers’ recovery started with Alyse Jensen and her left foot from distance five minutes before the break. Sarah Whitfield imitated her seconds before half time. Kate Walker equalised just past the hour mark, taking advantage of a dangerous back pass.
The home team thought they had done the hard work when Ellen Brown netted their fourth, ten minutes before the final whistle on a corner kick. Their hopes were cut short when three minutes later, Tatum Mazis put the two teams’ level, condemning West Canberra to the wooden spoon.
The disappointed Wanderers probably felt less disheartened later in the day, given Tuggeranong United’s success over Canberra United Academy at Hawker Football Centre (0-1).
A fun fact about a season where they had ups and downs, the Tuggies ended the year with a goal involving two players that were also instrumental to the first goal scored in 2023, at Wanderers Park in March.
Back then it was a recovery from Rainey Niles that ended with a Sarah Matthews finish. On Sunday, it was an impressive stop by Matthews, in a position of last defender, following by a ball through for Niles, which saw the American scoring her fourth goal of the season with a glancing right footed effort.
The only goal of the game would have allowed Tuggeranong to remain seventh at the table regardless of the earlier result, and sees them ending with thirteen points, only trailing ANU WFC because of their goal difference.
FIXTURES
ROUND 19
Thursday 31 August
Canberra Olympic 6 (Aitolu 6’, Jalocha 34’, Chew 43’, 88’, 89’, Cerne 54’) Tuggeranong United 0
ROUND 21
Thursday 31 August
ANU WFC 0 Belconnen United 2 (Backhouse 4’, Palframan 76’)
Sunday 3 September
West Canberra Wanderers 4 (Jensen 42’, Whitfield 45’, Walker 62’, E. Brown 83’) Canberra Croatia 4 (Palombi 10’, 16’, Barac 21’, Mazis 86’)
Canberra United Academy 0 Tuggeranong United 1 (Niles 60’)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Olympic | 21 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 51 | 10 | +41 | 50 |
| 2 | Belconnen United | 21 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 59 | 14 | +45 | 46 |
| 3 | Canberra Croatia | 21 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 58 | 25 | +33 | 41 |
| 4 | Gungahlin United | 21 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 53 | 26 | +27 | 41 |
| 5 | Canberra United Academy | 21 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 26 | 41 | -15 | 29 |
| 6 | ANU WFC | 21 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 17 | 45 | -28 | 13 |
| 7 | Tuggeranong United | 21 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 19 | 73 | -54 | 13 |
| 8 | West Canberra Wanderers | 21 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 68 | -49 | 9 |
TOP SCORERS
23 Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia)
14 Hattie CRAM (Belconnen United)
13 Bessie RIETHMULLER (Belconnen United)
12 Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Croatia)
9 Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
8 Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Michelle HEYMAN (Gungahlin United), Nicole JALOCHA (Canberra Olympic), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Madelyn WHITTALL (Canberra Olympic)
7 Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Olivia GURNEY (Canberra Olympic), Charli MITCHELL (Canberra Croatia)
6 Tamara COCHRANE (Canberra United Academy),
5 Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Olympic), Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Canberra United Academy), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Olympic), Own GOALS
4 Jade BROWN (Gungahlin United), Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Maddison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Lauren HALL (West Canberra Wanderers), Alyse JENSEN (West Canberra Wanderers), Rainey NILES (Tuggeranong United), Roxie SWART (ANU WFC), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), Samantha WOOD (Tuggeranong United), Sarah WHITFIELD (West Canberra Wanderers), Kayla WRIGHT (Gungahlin United)
3 Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Ella-Rose BROWN (Gungahlin United), Sofia CHRISTOPHERSON (Canberra United Academy), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Rhiannon FENSOM (Canberra Croatia), Erika PENNYFIELD (Gungahlin United), Zoe TERRY (Tuggeranong United), Kate WALKER (West Canberra Wanderers), Reilly YUEN (Belconnen United)
2 Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Croatia), Jaya BOWMAN (Canberra United Academy), Cara CERUTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Sofia CHAVERRA (ANU WFC), Alexandra COOK (Canberra Olympic), Rachael CORBETT (Gungahlin United), Edith FORDYCE-CROKER (ANU WFC), Isabella HOPKINS (ANU WFC), Sheridan MCELLIGOTT (ANU WFC), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra United Academy), Peri NASH (Canberra United Academy), Alexandra NEALAND (Canberra United Academy), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Nikita PERRY (West Canberra Wanderers/Canberra Croatia), Marija RATHOUSKI (Belconnen United), Madeleine STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Kayla WRIGHT (Gungahlin United)
1 Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Latisha BABIC (Canberra United Academy), Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Amy BONGIORNO (Canberra Croatia), Ellen BROWN (West Canberra Wanderers), Alexia CERNE (Canberra Olympic), Jade EMMS (Belconnen United), Emma DOUGLAS-OLIVEIRA (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), Ella PALFRAMAN (Belconnen United), 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), Jasmine ZABEL (Canberra Olympic)