CAPITAL LEAGUE
MATCHDAY 9
Saturday 28th May 2016
Canberra Olympic 3 (Nick Mihailakis, Jeremy Hegarty (2)) White Eagles 2 (Thai Tran, Pepe Varga)
(Kaleen Enclosed)
White Eagles slumped to a fourth loss in succession as they were beaten 3-2 by an energetic Canberra Olympic team who moved to within three points of their opponents by the conclusion of the match. This Eagles team is, for some reason, a far cry from the outfit that so comprehensively dismantled Queanbeyan City in the Westfield FFA Cup with losses to City, prior to that match, ANU FC and Tuggeranong United precipitating this latest set-back. The Eagles, who pride themselves on their record at this level, are now eight points adrift of leaders ANU FC. Thai Tran and Pepe Varga did score for the visiting team but Olympic has the potential to cause anyone issues at this level, and a brace from Jeremy Hegarty, added to a goal from the evergreen Nick Mihailakis, ensured it would be Olympic smiling at the conclusion of the match.
Narrabundah 3 (Tam Delacey, Kenny MacDonald, Adrian Russell) ANU FC 3 (Chase Deans (3))
(Narrabundah 2-1)
Leaders ANU FC increased their margin for error at the top of the Capital League to seven points despite a failure to defeat a classy Narrabundah side who can take great credit for their part in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Narrabundah Oval. With closet rivals Queanbeyan City and White Eagles both suffering defeats, ANU FC had the chance to go even further ahead of the filed but, despite a hat-trick from Chase Deans, they simply could not shake off a resilient Narrabundah side with the Bulls deservedly gaining a point from the match. Tam Delacey, a fifth of the season from striker Kenny MacDonald, and a goal from Adrian Russell earned the Bulls their point which is their sixth of the campaign and keeps them in with an outside chance of making the top four.
Tuggeranong United 1 (Carl Hynes) O’Connor Knights 2 (Denne McHugh (2))
(Kambah 3)
By Jordan Selems
Tuggeranong United FC entered the match with sky-high confidence after coming off the back of two great wins against title contenders White Eagles and Queanbeyan City. They faced a strong outfit in O’Connor Knights who have had a mixed bag of results lately. The game started at a fast pace and was end to end action from the outset. Tuggeranong were the first to mount any real pressure. They had four or five half chances that were unsuccessfully converted into goals. This passage of pressure from Tuggeranong seemed to spark the Knights who, in response, created their own chances. A free header from a Knights corner was sent over the crossbar by the striker. A great build-up of play lead to the Knights right winger, Saa James, with a great shooting chance which was put wide. Tuggeranong replied with the first goal of the game. A free kick deep in Tuggeranong’s own half was kicked straight over the Knights defence to be run onto by Carl Hynes who found himself one on one with the keeper and slotted it nicely to give Tuggeranong the lead 1-0.
The Knights then re applied the pressure, again creating some more great chances but just lacking the final touch in the final third of the pitch. A miss-communication at the back almost lead to Tuggeranong’s second goal but was dealt with by the defence. A free kick was awarded to the Knights in perfect shooting range. James hit it well but a good save from Tuggeranong denied the Knights opener. Just before half time a great switch of play ended up with the ball at Denne McHugh’s feet, who made a great turn beating the defender and shooting from inside the box to level the game going into half time.
The second half started with Tuggeranong creating some good chances, hitting the apex of the goal, and with several shots going wide it made for an uneasy start for the Knights. But they responded with some good opportunities themselves. A great cross from the right wing was smashed across goal only for the striker to be denied by some great defending. The resulting corner ended with a second goal for the Knights. The corner was whipped in but headed straight back out. The ball was put back into the box immediately and after some scrapping around was finished in the net by McHugh for his second of the game. The remaining time saw very few opportunities and little possession for both sides, with a final result of 2-1 to the Knights.
Queanbeyan City 3 (Daniel Crkovski, Nathan Walker, Vele Dukoski) Weston-Molonglo FC 4 (Adam Johnston (2), Josh Pender (2))
(Riverside Stadium)
Weston-Molonglo FC moved into the top four of the Capital League competition by coming out on the right side of a seven-goal thriller at the Riverside Stadium, defeating Queanbeyan City 4-3. The win puts the Magpies, who are preparing for their midweek Westfield FFA Cup Qualifier against Tigers FC, into third, a point ahead of the White Eagles and level with their beaten opponents. Adam Johnston and Josh Pender did the damage in the final third for Weston-Molonglo FC, scoring a brace of goals each, to nullify the strikes converted by Daniel Crkovski and Nathan Walker, their seventh goals of the season each, and midfielder Vele Dukoski. Queanbeyan slip seven points behind leaders ANU FC as a consequence of this defeat.
TABLE
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
1 | ANU FC | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 10 | +20 | 23 |
2 | Queanbeyan City | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 29 | 17 | +12 | 16 |
3 | Weston-Molonglo FC | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 23 | -6 | 16 |
4 | White Eagles | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 16 | +5 | 15 |
5 | Canberra Olympic | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 12 |
6 | O’Connor Knights | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 23 | -8 | 9 |
7 | Narrabundah | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 21 | -7 | 6 |
8 | Tuggeranong United | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 29 | -15 | 6 |
LEADING SCORERS
7 Danny KRAJACIC (ANU FC), Daniel CRKOVSKI, Nathan WALKER (Queanbeyan City)
5 Chase DEANS, Max MOTTL (ANU FC), Kenny MACDONALD (Narrabundah), Thai TRAN, Pepe VARGA (White Eagles)
4 Jonathan SCOTT (ANU FC), Jeremy HEGARTY, Nick MIHAILAKIS, Richard SANTIAGO (Canberra Olympic), Denne MCHUGH (O’Connor Knights), Carl HYNES, Ciaran RAYMENT, Kris ROBERTSON (Tuggeranong United)
3 Sam CARTERS, Olaide YINKA-KEHINDE (ANU FC), Matthew ATKINS (Canberra Olympic), Liam BOYLE (Narrabundah), Brett FORWARD, Hassan KAMARA (O’Connor Knights), Nik NOVESKI (Queanbeyan City), Danny BABIC, Josh PENDER (Weston-Molonglo FC), Eoin DEVANEY (White Eagles), Own GOALS
2 Oliver WIEDERKEHR (Canberra Olympic), Adrian RUSSELL (Narrabundah), Danny BYRNE, Zach KNIGHT, Mat RYAN, Mark WALKER (Queanbeyan City), Adam JOHNSTON, Paul QUINN, Andy WOODS (Weston-Molonglo FC)
1 Alex OLLMAN, Henry WILLIAMS (ANU FC), Daniel FOUAD, Dave MCCARRON (Canberra Olympic), Osazuwa AKIOYA, Nicholas CAGGIANO, Tam DELACEY, Shane HAIDUK (Narrabundah), Robert GRIFFITHS, Brandon HAWKER, Daniel JADRIC, Kwan HAP LEE, Michael SPALETA (O’Connor Knights), Vele DUKOSKI, Mat RYAN, Dragan STEGNJAIC, Dean TOMESKI (Queanbeyan City), Mark DI BITONTO, Sean MURPHY (Tuggeranong United), Samale MOHAMED, Kian PRAMMER, Pete SPILLER, Brant TAYLOR, Harrison WRIGHT (Weston-Molonglo FC), Eric BONNETT, Bruno COLUCCIELLO, Matthew GRECL, Marc O’NEILL, Costa PSIHOGIOS, Milan SANTRAC, Michael STRAMANDANOLI (White Eagles)