CAPITAL LEAGUE
MATCHDAY 5
Saturday 30th April 2016
By Chris Webb
O’Connor Knights v ANU FC
(Kaleen Enclosed)
O’Connor Knights will be looking move on from their disappointing loss to Weston-Molonglo FC and get their finals charge back on track however hosting the students is no easy task. While Coach Michael Spaleta admits their last outing was not their best, he should be pleased with some individual performances, notably the dominant display by evergreen midfielder Hector Cerda-Cid and his midfield partner Hassan Kamara. The additions of the powerful Tal Evans and the pacey Brett Forward were also welcome sights, and Spaleta will look for both to have an impact in this one. The students are coming off the back of their second straight 2-1 victory; both with their fair share of luck involved, and are looking for some improvement. Jon Scott showed his creative genius against Tuggeranong United and Branko Milenovic is hoping he can be the catalyst for ANU FC to put on a dominant display.
Tuggeranong United v Canberra Olympic
(Kambah 3)
Tuggeranong United are feeling the pain of putting in a much improved performance and still having nothing to show, conceding a last minute goal to ANU FC. How such a talented squad could start the season with four straight losses is baffling, but improving displays suggest a win is right around the corner. Canberra Olympic are also yet to win a game, however their current position belies some impressive results including draws with both the red-hot favourites for silverware ANU FC and Queanbeyan City, putting Olympic in good stead for the race for finals positions. David McCarron is being hailed as the ‘Irish Fornaroli’ after his amazing bicycle goal last time out, and he will be one Tuggeranong United will need to keep at close quarters.
Queanbeyan City v Narrabundah
(Riverside Stadium)
After an amazing start to the season which saw six points gained and twelve goals scored in just two matches, the men from NSW have only managed one point from the last two matches and, as such Queanbeyan City need to hit the ground running against Narrabundah at the Riverside Stadium. Coach Vltako Tomeski will be looking to give their title challenge a much-needed injection and will be hoping for recent experienced recruit Marcin Zygmunt to take charge of the midfield. The visiting Bulls have proved themselves to be anything but easy beats, slightly unlucky to concede two late goals to lose to league leaders White Eagles in their last outing. With the likes of Liam Boyle and Kenny McDonald, Narrabundah are sure to cause City headaches on the counter, but Queanbeyan will be confident of getting the job done in front of their vocal home fans.
White Eagles v Weston-Molonglo FC
(Woden Park)
Weston-Molonglo FC make the short trip up Hindmarsh Drive to Woden Park to face undefeated league leaders White Eagles. After a poor start to the season Weston-Molonglo are coming off the back of two straight wins which has seem jump from second last to sit on equal points with Queanbeyan City. Weston-Molonglo are hopeful on the return of up to six first graders including talisman Adam Johnston, and are aiming to be the first team to take points off the mighty Eagles. These two teams met last season in the Westfield FFA Cup, with White Eagles comfortably knocking their lower league opponents out of the competition, and they will be quietly confident of repeating the feat. In Pepe Varga and Eoin Devaney the Eagles have a formidable and potent frontline of which Weston-Molonglo will be very wary.
TABLE
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
1 | White Eagles | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 12 |
2 | ANU FC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 10 |
3 | Queanbeyan City | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 6 | +9 | 7 |
4 | Weston-Molonglo FC | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 7 |
5 | O’Connor Knights | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 3 |
6 | Canberra Olympic | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 3 |
7 | Narrabundah | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 2 |
8 | Tuggeranong United | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 13 | -10 | 0 |
LEADING SCORERS
4 Nathan WALKER (Queanbeyan City)
3 Danny KRAJACIC, Olaide YINKA-KEHINDE (ANU FC), Hassan KAMARA (O’Connor Knights), Daniel CRKOVSKI, Nik NOVESKI (Queanbeyan City), Eoin DEVANEY, Thai TRAN (White Eagles)
2 Jonathan SCOTT (ANU FC), Jeremy HEGARTY (Canberra Olympic), Mark WALKER (Queanbeyan City), Danny BABIC (Weston-Molonglo FC), Pepe VARGA (White Eagles), Own GOALS
1 Sam CARTERS (ANU FC), Daniel FOUAD, Dave MCCARRON, Richard SANTIAGO (Canberra Olympic), Osazuwa AKIOYA, Liam BOYLE, Shane HAIDUK, Kenny MACDONALD (Narrabundah), Brett FORWARD, Robert GRIFFITHS, Brandon HAWKER, Daniel JADRIC, Dene MCHUGH (O’Connor Knights), Danny BYRNE, Mat RYAN, Dragan STEGNJAIC (Queanbeyan City), Sean MURPHY, Ciaran RAYMENT, Kris ROBERTSON (Tuggeranong United), Josh PENDER, Kian PRAMMER, Pete SPILLER, Any WOODS, Harrison WRIGHT (Weston-Molonglo FC), Bruno COLUCCIELLO, Milan SANTRAC (White Eagles)