This is a potential make-or-break week for West Canberra Wanderers and Canberra Croatia, with just two points between the sides on the ladder and two matches between them in the space of four days (these two meet again on Wednesday night).
Beyond 90 travelled to the Melrose Synthetic pitch to catch their Round 11 game in the Capital Football NPLW competition.
Other games from this round include:
Tuggeranong United vs Canberra Olympic (full stream)
ANU vs Gungalin United (full stream)
For an alternate review of the round, check out the Capital Football article from Jeremy Magan.
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Match of the Round: West Canberra Wanderers vs Canberra Croatia (Bar TV)
Recent results were promising for both teams, even if their preparations were very different. The Wanderers were coming out of a two-week break after a solid win over ANU, whereas Canberra Croatia narrowly lost last weekend’s Federation Cup final in a match where they were very competitive, but with few goalscoring opportunities.
The home side welcomed Sarah Whitfield into the attack for the absent Cara Ceruti.
Arusha Chew started for striker Megan Castle (on the bench) for Canberra Croatia, while Riley McQueenie dropped into right-back for her first NPL start of the season. This shifted Dianne Wilson into central midfield, and Ella Palframan onto the bench. Once again neither Josie Dubbert nor Zoe Sobczak were on the match sheet for the visitors.
Synthetic surfaces can sometimes mean a period of adjustment for visiting teams. On this occasion, both teams can thank their respective goalkeepers for navigating the opening minutes. Canberra Croatia’s Ellie Summers took a Demi Nikias shot to the face after 10 minutes, then put her body on the line with two follow-up shots. Three minutes later, Amy Wiggan dived spectacularly to deny Bella Barac, after a pirouette left her defender for dust in the West Canberra box.
Brittany Palombi was finding more room to move than last weekend, lining up her deadly left foot for a narrow miss on 16 minutes, then drawing a yellow card from Olivia Hicks just outside the area four minutes later. It would almost prove to be a costly challenge, with Palombi finding Tatum Mazis at the back post from the free kick, but the assistant ruled Mazis’ finish as offside. This wouldn’t be the last time we would see Palombi and Mazis combine to good effect.
Despite the Wanderers’ attacking press (and an energetic right flank performance by Allegra Senti), the visitors were playing the ball well out of defence. A 34th minute Palombi corner was headed off the goal line by Sarah Whitfield as the Canberra Croatia pressure mounted. At the other end, Whitfield’s 39th minute volley lacked power due to the bouncy surface, but the effort only narrowly veered wide of Summers’ goal.
Ella Palframan joined the fray in the 41st minute for Barac – an uncharacteristically early Canberra Croatia substitution. A minute before half-time, a Chew cross-shot from the right flank sailed over Wiggan and into the net for a 1-0 half-time lead, with the score reflecting Canberra Croatia’s edge during the opening period.
The visitors extended their dominance in the second stanza with three further goals after Wanderers left winger Alex Gidis’ early shot on Summers’ goal. The Gidis/McQueenie battle was enjoyable, with neither giving ground.
Palombi’s corner kicks continued to find dangerous areas, with a 55th minute payoff in the form of Jamie Berkeley’s back post header hitting the net for Canberra Croatia’s second goal. Palombi was again in the thick of the action eight minutes later during perhaps the best move of the game, with a dart forward from a deeper-lying midfield position leading to a wonderful through ball towards Mazis, who sidefooted for the third goal.
West Canberra substitutions began appearing after the hour mark. Unperturbed, Chew continued to deliver fine crosses into the Wanderers penalty area. Mazis made way for Castle with 20 minutes to go, for a different style of Canberra Croatia attacking threat. Wiggan was called into action immediately, saving a Castle back post attempt on goal.
Emboldened by the score-line, Rhiannon Fensom pushed forward with ten minutes to go, heading her team’s fourth goal after following up when Castle’s header hit the crossbar.
The Wanderers’ inability to withstand Canberra Croatia’s second-half attacking efforts, and the quality of their opponents’ dead ball delivery, will be two areas that coach Steve Rohan-Jones will be looking at for the return fixture on Wednesday evening. If the Wanderers are to stay within touch of the top four, they will need to find a way to bounce back from this four-goal home defeat.
Sometimes losing a hard-fought contest such as the Federation Cup final can sharpen up and benefit a team in the long run. On this showing, Canberra Croatia will be aiming to repeat the dose on Wednesday night and use the week as a springboard for a run into the finals.
>>> Full match timeline and team line-ups can be found here <<<
Final score:
West Canberra Wanderers 0
Canberra Croatia 4 (Arusha Chew 44′, Jamie Berkeley 55′, Tatum Mazis 63′, Rhiannon Fensom 79′)
Around The Grounds:
Tuggeranong United 1-3 Canberra Olympic
ANU 0-3 Gungahlin United
Ladder:
Next Round:
Follow our Capital Football NPLW coverage here.
