Round 19 of NPL Capital Football was a celebration of league milestone matches. West Canberra Wanderer Tara Cannon, Tuggeranong United’s Sammy Emms and Gungahlin United’s Piper Lockley all took part in their 50th games. Congratulations to all, as well as to Belconnen United’s Samantha Price who was on the field for her 100th appearance!

Catchup games mean that half the competition had to play twice in the week and this is also the case leading into the penultimate round, Round 20. For squads with injury and/or depth concerns, this is proving to be a testing period.

With Tuggeranong United having deservedly shared the points against Champions Canberra Croatia on Thursday evening and Gungahlin United running into a Belconnen United roadblock the same evening, Beyond 90 was on hand three days later at the Kambah 2 Oval to witness the Gunners up against Tuggeranong.

Isobel Cootes of the Canberra Times provided her takes on the game, and Jeremy Magan’s round wrap for Capital Football can be found here, including his thoughts on a Belconnen United side handing the Champions their first loss of the league season.

Canberra Olympic vs West Canberra Wanderers
Wagga City Wanderers vs Canberra United Academy
Canberra Croatia vs Belconnen FC

Match of the Round: Tuggeranong United vs Gungahlin United

The Tuggeranong faithful were on a high after their Thursday night draw against Canberra Croatia, yet it was evident early in the game against the Gunners that the midweek result had taken a toll on the players. Heavy legs seemed to be the order of the day and while the downhill slope is minimal at Kambah 2, Gungahlin made the first half angle in their favour look bigger than it was.

After a series of positive results, a 6-2 midweek loss to Belconnen United had stung, and coach Andrew Woodman had the Gunners fired up in this fixture to keep the pressure on fourth-placed West Canberra Wanderers.

It took just two minutes for Michelle Heyman to add to her two-goal tally from Thursday night. Nat De Marco’s pass found Heyman on the edge of the Tuggeranong box. Turning, Heyman skipped past a defender and toed the ball past advancing keeper Sammy Emms to open the scoring.

The home side was finding it difficult to get into Gungahlin United’s half and sensing this, Gunners central defender / captain Maddie Perceval revelled in showing off her attacking game. A clear player of the match alongside Heyman, it must have been concerning for Tuggeranong United coach Paulo Romero to see the central defender in a back three feeling safe enough to regularly push forward as far as the Tuggeranong six-yard box in open play.

A quarter of an hour into the game, Perceval picked up the ball on the left flank and turned infield. Running between two defenders towards the box, Perceval unleashed a perfect weighted strike that eluded Emms’ gloved hand on the way towards the top right side of the net.

Just over ten minutes later a third goal laid bare a lack of defensive intensity from the team in yellow and green. An unchallenged Heyman was able to drive into the right side of the Tuggeranong box and deliver a ball to Cassia McGlashan at the back post for a tap-in. 

The half-hour mark approached as the Gunners’ backline and then midfield displayed a dazzling series of one-touch passes. Off the back of these moves, Heyman drove through the middle of the field, pushing past defenders, and tapping the ball with her left foot past Emms into the bottom right corner.

The Gunners weren’t done yet with their dominant first-half display and a fifth goal arrived, courtesy of a Sharon Chao piledriver from the right edge of the Tuggeranong box in the 41st minute. Ella-Rose Brown’s initial shot was blocked by a defender but popped out to Chao, who finished with authority.

Half-time stats showed thirteen shots on goal to the Gunners, with none by Tuggeranong.

Romero’s words to the team at the half-time break served to galvanise the home side, and the second half was a far more even affair. Cara Ceruti began seeing some ball down the right wing and central attacker Alison Seeney was eager to support Ceruti’s runs. 

An unmarked Seeney received a peach of a midfield ball on the left side of the Gunners’ box in the 65th minute, putting it past keeper Kailey Tonini to pull one back for the home side.

So often an inspiration to the Tuggeranong United team with her powerful runs from right back, a quiet game for Zoe Terry saw her replaced not long after the goal. Gunner Kayla Wright also entered the game at the same time – in the 67th minute – for McGlashan.  

Four minutes later a short corner was played to Chao, who fed the ball to Heyman at the back post. Heyman had time to take a controlling touch before completing her hat trick. The 6-1 scoreline after Heyman’s goal was to stand despite the gamut of substitutions by both coaches as the clock wound down.

This result, together with Belconnen United’s win over Canberra Croatia, leaves two doors slightly open in the run home to finals. Should Canberra Olympic win their catch-up game against Tuggeranong on Wednesday, they will be just two points away from ladder leaders Canberra Croatia.

Fourth-placed West Canberra Wanderers hold a three-point lead and a game in hand over fifth-placed Gungahlin. Like the top two race, that precious fourth spot will be well worth keeping an eye on in the final two rounds. 

Final score:

Tuggeranong United 1 (Alison Seeney 65′)
Gungahlin United 6 (Michelle Heyman 2′ 30′ 71′, Perceval 15′, McGlashan 26′, Chao 41′)

Teams:

Tuggeranong United – Coach: Paulo Romero

Sammy Emms, Zoe Terry, Lara Mustaine (c), Ash-Lea Condon, Maya Binns, Jade Emms, Lauren Hall, Sarah Daisley, Cara Ceruti, Samantha Wood, Alison Seeney  

Subs: Brooke Jones (67′ => Terry), Lilly Nicholls (83′ => Jade Emms), Paige Gregson (83′ => Seeney), Sophie Cole (45′ => Wood), Zoe Williams (57′ => Condon)

Gungahlin United – Coach: Andrew Woodman

Kailey Tonini, Rachael Corbett, Maddie Perceval (c), Jada Lamond, Erika Pennyfield, Nat De Marco, Stella De Marco, Cassia McGlashan, Michelle Heyman, Sharon Chao, Ella-Rose Brown

Subs: Breea Waters (88′ => Chao), Kayla Wright (67′ => McGlashan), Kellie Brown (88′ => Pennyfield), Piper Lockley (57′ => Brown), Sophie Cauldrick (88′ Stella De Marco)

Around The Grounds:

Round 16 catchup
Belconnen United 6-2 Gungahlin United

Round 17 catchup
Tuggeranong United 1-1 Canberra Croatia

Round 19
Canberra Olympic 2-0 West Canberra Wanderers
Wagga City Wanderers 1-3 Canberra United Academy
Canberra Croatia 1-2 Belconnen United

Ladder:

Next week:

Round 16 catchup

• Canberra Olympic vs Tuggeranong United, AIS Grass Field 2, Wednesday 31 Aug, 7:45pm

Round 17 catchup

• Wagga City vs West Canberra, Rawlings Park, Saturday 3 Sep, 12pm

Round 20

• West Canberra vs Canberra Croatia, Melrose Synthetic, Sunday 4 Sep, 12:45pm
• Wagga City vs Belconnen United, Gissing Oval, Sunday 4 Sep, 2:30pm
• Gungahlin United vs Canberra Olympic, Gungahlin Enclosed, Sunday 4 Sep, 3pm
• Canberra United Academy vs Tuggeranong United, Hawker Enclosed, Sunday 4 Sep, 5:10pm  
   

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