Round five of the NPL Capital Football women’s competition saw goalkeeper changes galore, two five-goal wins, a draw, and Beyond 90’s match of the round at McKellar Park between Belconnen United and Canberra Croatia.
An alternate take on the game by Isobel Cootes of the Canberra Times can be found here, and the Capital Football round review can be found here.
Other Round 5 games held on the weekend included the following:
Tuggeranong United vs Gungahlin United
Canberra Olympic vs West Canberra Wanderers
Wagga City Wanderers vs Canberra United Academy
Match of the Round: Belconnen United vs Canberra Croatia
The weekend’s goalkeeper availability woes were perhaps best summed up by two unexpected shotstoppers striding out for this top three contest. With Jayla Murphy at a wedding and occasional stand-in keeper Karen Clarke (normally a centre back) also unavailable, young midfielder Reilly Yuen – who saw significant game time last season under coach Michael Zakoski – donned the gloves for the home team. It was said that Yuen had spent some time as a futsal goalkeeper.
Meanwhile, Angelica Pahina was in goals for Canberra Croatia, replacing the injured Nat Vasta. Pahina had not been seen since Canberra Olympic’s 2020 campaign and was very much a surprise inclusion.
The Blue Devils were short a couple of players – they were to miss midfielder Katie Woodman in particular – so a youthful bench joined Scott Conlon and the rest of the coaching team. In contrast, sitting next to Canberra Croatia coach Zoran Glavinic was a bench including the experienced Brittany Palombi, Amy McLachlan and Jamie Berkeley, all of whom had recently returned from the USA.
An early third-minute chance that surprised Belconnen forward Nina Zarevac would be symptomatic of the home side’s start as they struggled to settle into the game. In the 14th minute, a second successive Krista Hagen CCFC corner popped out to Jen Bisset on the edge of the Blue Devils’ box. Turning a defender to her left, Bisset fired the ball past Yuen to open the scoring.
The scene was repeated in delightful fashion by Shania Settin on 27 minutes, with Bisset this time the provider. Capitalising on Bella Barac’s excellent work, Bisset passed to her left as she was closed down, lining Settin up for a left-foot chip from the edge of the box. Settin’s chip was hit with authority, sailing over Yuen’s outstretched arm and into the top right corner of the net.
The Blue Devils were turning the ball over a little too easily once winning it, robbing them of opportunities to use their attacking weapons. A back-post chance to Zarevac near the half-hour mark was skewed to the left of Pahina’s goal.
The Barac-Bisset combination proved deadly once again six minutes before the break, as Barac wove a wonderful left-sided through ball for Bisset deep into the Blue Devils’ box. Dianne Wilson helped the ball over the line to make for a comprehensive three-goal buffer at halftime.
Palombi, Berkeley and McLachlan were to enter the game in the second half for CCFC, and it didn’t take long for Palombi to test Yuen from a dead ball situation.
However, the away side was by now encountering stiffer resistance from Belconnen, led by the will and work rate of Backhouse, plus some good attacking intent from Sofia Polywada. Tatum Mazis’ entry to the game with twenty minutes left kept up the attacking pressure presented by the departing Zarevac. Ella Palframan was proving to be handy in tight spaces, while Lauren Preston was providing some starch at centre back alongside Sophia Doumos.
It was Blue Devils flyer Keira Bobbin who was to provide a glimmer of hope as she was brought down by last defender Rhiannon Fensom just outside the CCFC box in the 72nd minute. Fensom was red-carded, and captain Backhouse continued the trend of left-footed finishes by deflecting the free-kick off the wall and into the net to make it 3-1.
Urged on by Conlon and playing more with a back three, chances fell to Polywada, Mazis and Bobbin as the game wound down. The collective experience of the away side told in these moments and they were able to safely negotiate the win without further damage to the scorecard. Backhouse was named by the ground announcer as Belconnen’s player of the match, while for Canberra Croatia it would have been difficult to choose between Barac and Bisset.
The competition ladder shows the effect Canberra Olympic’s off-season activities have had on Belconnen United. Olympic’s recruitment of multiple Belconnen players seems to have resulted in the breaking of the longstanding Blue Devils/Canberra Croatia duopoly. Belconnen United now sit in fourth position with a goal difference of plus six, while the top two teams have goal differences of 25 or more.
It’s not so much the ladder position that is revealing, but rather the goal difference, and many years have passed since the Blue Devils ended a season without either a top two finish or a massive positive goal difference. By necessity, coach Conlon finds himself with a squad of several young (and undoubtedly talented) up-and-comers, alongside those with experience. While still challengers to the top two, there is an element of renewal which is perhaps different from previous iterations of the Belconnen squad.
Contrast this with CCFC, who sit atop the table and where the balance of experience, capability and assurance still lies very much on the tried-and-tested side of the scale. This was no better illustrated than by their game management with one player down in the last 20 minutes of this contest.
Final score:
Belconnen United 1 (Backhouse 72′)
Canberra Croatia 3 (Bisset 13′, Settin 27′, Wilson 39′)
Teams:
Belconnen United – Coach: Scott Conlon
Reilly Yuen, Stefi Lejins, Sophia Doumos, Lauren Preston, Leah Carnegie, Sofia Polywada, Ella Palframan, Talia Backhouse (c), Keira Bobbin, Olivia Bomford, Nina Zarevac
Subs: Amalia Edevane, Alys Holdom, Bianca Kimpton (64′ => Lejins), Tatum Mazis (70′ => Zarevac), Tia Burridge (77′ => Carnegie)
Canberra Croatia – Coach: Zoran Glavinic
Angelica Pahina, Bella Tammaro, Bec Kiting, Rhiannon Fensom, Alice Churchill (c), Krista Hagen, Dianne Wilson, Jen Bisset, Sienna Birnie, Bella Barac, Shania Settin
Subs: Amy McLachlan (75′ => Wilson), Brittany Palombi (53′ => Settin), Jamie Berkeley (55′ => Birnie), Kass Guglielmin, Zoe Barling
Around The Grounds:
Wagga City 0-5 Canberra United Academy
Canberra Olympic 5-0 West Canberra
Tuggeranong United 2-2 Gungahlin United
Ladder:
Next week:
Round 6
- Belconnen United vs Wagga City, McKellar Park, Saturday 14 May, 3pm
- Canberra Croatia vs West Canberra, Deakin Stadium, Sunday 15 May, 2:30pm
- Tuggeranong United vs Canberra United Academy, Kambah 2, Sunday 15 May, 2:30pm
- Canberra Olympic vs Gungahlin United, O’Connor Enclosed, Sunday 15 May, 2:30pm
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