In the last round, we focused on the battle for fourth place on the Capital Football NPLW competition ladder, with Canberra Croatia taking the maximum six points from fifth-placed West Canberra Wanderers over two games during the past week. Our attention this round turns to the teams currently in third and fourth position, Canberra Croatia and Gungahlin United.
Other games from this round include:
Canberra Olympic vs ANU (full stream)
Belconnen United vs Tuggeranong United (full stream)
For an alternate review of the round, check out the Capital Football article from Jeremy Magan.
Match of the Round: Canberra Croatia vs Gungahlin United (Bar TV)
Six points separated the two protagonists coming into the game, with the home side holding a game in hand. Maddie Sawkins, who has been playing in the U16 boys team, came into the Gungahlin United squad against her old side. Earlier this year she had been selected for a Junior Matildas camp and also spent a little time with the Illawarra Stingrays.
The Gunners also came into the game off the back of two wins, scoring the second-most goals in the league behind the Blue Devils. They chose to leave Erika Pennyfield, Sawkins, Darby Whiteley, and Jade Brown on the bench. The home side swapped in Ella Palframan for Dianne Wilson in midfield, and Megan Castle got the nod ahead of Arusha Chew up top in a front three.
When the whistle blew for a Canberra Croatia on the edge of the Gungahlin box in the 13th minute, it came as no surprise to see Brittany Palombi stepping up with her deadly left boot. Her firmly struck drive was high enough to clear the wall but low enough to give Gunners keeper Sammy Emms no chance despite the ball being within reach.
A backward header off a defender nearly caught Ellie Summers off guard at the other end a minute later, but the home side survived. Tatum Mazis’ byline ball for Palombi three minutes later almost teed up a second goal, with Emms saving brilliantly with her legs. Ginger Oliver was matching Mazi’s wide efforts for the Gunners, forcing Summers to spill a cross just after the half-hour mark as the ball fell safely to a defender.
Gunners fans dreaded another free kick in similar areas as Palombi once again stepped up in the 40th minute, but this time Jamie Berkeley took the shot, steering the ball over the bar. The half ended with Berkeley finding Palombi’s head from a dead ball, as the header also sailed over.
The attacking momentum was with Canberra Croatia in the first half. Gunners forwards Sharon Chao and Alex Martens tried to pressure the home backline but enjoyed little in the way of chances, with front third service not quite finding their marks.
Gunners coach Nick van Aalst brought in Sawkins for Ayla Robertson at halftime, moving Corinne Denton into the backline. Chao got her team into a more attacking mindset early, controlling an aerial ball and volleying just wide in a great piece of skill.
Oliver evened the game up in the 48th minute, turning inside a defender from wide, spotting Summers off her line, and placing her chip perfectly.
The teams would trade attacking blows for the balance of the game, which would remain as a 1-1 draw. Emms was called upon twice at close range at different points to deny Barac’s shot, then Mazis’ header. Summers spilled a wide Alex Nealand cross after the hour, with the goal-mouth scramble ending in a free kick to the home side.
Darby Whiteley made a welcome return to action for the Gunners in the 75th minute, having not seen action since their Round 5 game against the same opponents. The deadlock came closest to being broken in the 85th minute, with Whiteley hitting the crossbar and then unable to put the return ball away. Moments later at the other end, Stella De Marco expertly managed to shepherd Barac away from the ball in her penalty area.
In a nutshell, while the Gunners possessed a superior passing game, and despite the late crossbar effort, the greater sense of attacking danger possibly belonged to Canberra Croatia. The game was therefore a highly watchable and even affair, one which the scoreline reflected.
Nonetheless, the Gunners will be buoyed by the return of Whiteley and the team’s ability to step up their attacking threat in the second half.
It was interesting hearing Canberra Croatia captain Brittany Palombi speaking at the Federation Cup presentation a couple of weeks ago; she mentioned that her team hasn’t performed for a couple of years at ladder-topping levels. Yet the squad has at least five very different attacking players at its disposal, and with Rhiannon Fensom now fortifying the defence, it would be a brave punter to rule them out of a shot at one of the remaining 2024 trophies.
>>> Full match timeline and team line-ups can be found here <<<
Final score:
Canberra Croatia 1 (Brittany Palombi 14′)
Gungahlin United 1 (Ginger Oliver 48′)
Around The Grounds:
Canberra Olympic 4-0 ANU
Belconnen United 8-0 Tuggeranong United
Ladder:
Next Round:
