A 94th minute equaliser from Monaro Panthers winger Darian McGarry-Watson rescued a point for the home side in a 1-1 draw with Gungahlin United on a windy afternoon at Riverside Stadium.
Saturday 30th April
FFA COE 2 (Lachlan Brook 52’, John Roberts 60’) Canberra Olympic 3 (Daniel Colbertaldo 20’, Jordan Tsekenis 25’, Jeremy Habtemariam 32’)
(AIS)
Canberra Olympic survived a second half FFA COE onslaught to take the points at the AIS with a 3-2 win. Leading 3-0 at the break the visitors looked very much at ease and cruising towards the maximum return but whatever Head Coach Tony Vidmar said to his young charges at the interval had the desired effect with the Centre of Excellence bossing the second stanza and coming within a whisker of taking a share of the spoils.
Olympic dominated the opening forty-five minutes of the clash threatening to score with every well-worked, swift incision into FFA COE territory from as early as the sixth minute when Daniel Colbertaldo squared a pass to Tom McLachlan who was only denied by the feet of Matthew Sutton in the FFA COE goal.
The goalkeeper spread himself at point blank range to turn the ball behind for a corner for a wonderful save. Sutton was to make an even better stop seven minutes later as a cross ball deflected off the feet of the retreating Joel King at pace, flashing at Sutton who instinctively blocked. The ball bounced free to Robbie Cattanach on the back post but, on the stretch, the Olympic playmaker couldn’t steer it home.
Belconnen United 2 (Cameron Reinhart 8’, David Kemp 84’) Tuggeranong United
(McKellar Park)
Belconnen United claimed a third win of the season as they emerged victorious from a fiercely-fought encounter with Tuggeranong United at McKellar Park. A goal in each half, scored by Cameron Reinhart and David Kemp, sealed the points for the Blue Devils with a 2-0 win, but Tuggeranong can once more be pleased with several facets of their play as they continually threatened to take something from the match.
In a keenly contest first half there was not much to choose between the sides despite Belconnen getting off to the perfect start with a goal after only eight minutes. And what a very special goal it was as well. The move started in the Blue Devils defence and was sharp and rapier like in its creation. Jason Ugrinic played a large part in its inception playing a superbly weighted ball into the left hand channel for Sam Smith who was goal-side of his marker.
The striker, who has been in cracking form in front of goal so far this season, turned provider this time slinging over a perfect cross that Ugrinic, who had continued his run, cushioned into the path of Reinhart who finished with the calmness of a seasoned centre-forward, slotting past Costa Fallas to complete an outstanding move.
Sunday 1st May
Canberra FC 2 (Thomas James 18’ (pen), Ryan Keir 50’) Woden-Weston FC 0
(Deakin Stadium)
Canberra FC eased to a 2-0 win over Woden-Weston FC at Deakin Stadium on a difficult afternoon for football. Goals from Thomas James from the penalty spot and a Ryan Keir tap-in sealed a valuable three points for a depleted team against spirited opposition.
The swirling wind created blustery conditions which made any coherent football particularly difficult but Woden-Weston’s Spanish import Richy Hurtado Lora made light work of the conditions early on. It was Lora that fired the first shot in anger in the ninth minute and went close to giving his team the lead.
The midfielder squirmed into a pocket of space and let fly from 25 metres with a shot which, with the aid of the merest of deflections, skimmed off the top of the crossbar with Canberra FC goalkeeper Rory Larkin scrambling. Canberra FC’s response was to work Ian Graham into the area, goal-side of the defence, but his shot from the angle was too tame to trouble Kris Trajanoski who comfortably gathered.
Monaro Panthers 1 (Darian McGarry-Watson 90+4’) Gungahlin United 1 (Jack Green 75’)
(Riverside Stadium)
By Ahmed Jbeili
Both sides looking to crack the top four will feel they’ve lost some ground moving up the PS4 NPL ladder. The Panthers will consider themselves unlucky not to score in the first half after dominating the possession and creating more chances.
The attacking trio of Gil Rodrigues, Darian McGarry-Watson and Martin Deng were causing the Gungahlin defence trouble from the opening whistle. Thanks to Gungahlin keeper Jason Benham, who was called into action early on in the match, the Panthers were kept from scoring with some superb saves. With limited possession throughout the first half, the away side had to result to counter attacks and long balls through the defence.
CU Academy 1 (Daniel Fabrizio 68’) Tigers FC 4 (Milan Popovich 35’, Julian Borgna 51’, Stephen Domenici 71’ (pen), Daniel Barac 90’)
(Hawker Football Centre)
By David Jordan
Tigers FC maintained their unbeaten start to the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues: Canberra season with a 4-1 win over the Canberra United Academy at Hawker Enclosed on Sunday. Milan Popovich opened the scoring for the visitors ten minutes before half-time, before goals from Julian Borgna, Stephen Domenici & Daniel Barac put paid to Daniel Fabrizio’s second-half effort for Academy.
The home side started brightly, as Joshua Gulevski headed over at the back post from Thomas Krklec’s pinpoint cross after just three minutes. The forward was almost made to rue his great chance in the 19th minute as Borgna’s swiveling shot thundered off the inside of the upright down the other end and Alex Oloriegbe had a goal ruled out for offside after half an hour.
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