We travelled to O’Connor Oval for a top-of-the-table Capital Football NPLW clash between Canberra Olympic and Belconnen United. With more than half the season behind us, those early September finals games aren’t too far away.
Other games from this round include:
Canberra Croatia vs ANU (full stream)
Tuggeranong United vs West Canberra Wanderers (full stream)
For an alternate review of the round, check out the Capital Football article from Jeremy Magan.
Match of the Round: Canberra Olympic vs Belconnen United (Bar TV)
The teams came into this game with one loss apiece, but the Blue Devils’ goal difference (+36) was almost double that of their opponents. Canberra Olympic had a full squad at their disposal, save for Elke Aitolu and Bessie Riethmuller, who have been absent for several weeks. Coach Frank Cachia selected Jaya Bowman – having a wonderful first season with Olympic – at centre-back. Michaela Thornton pushed forward into central midfield alongside Nicole Jalocha, with Jane Vanzino screening behind them.
The visitors were forced into a few changes as neither of their regular wingers (Pascale La Hei and Keira Bobbin) were available. Their absence allowed coach Scott Conlon to boost his midfield, with Pearl Tein, Alyse Jensen, and Sofia Palywoda starting just ahead of holding midfielder Izzy Hindmarsh. Madeleine Steinacker’s unavailability drafted captain Lauren Preston back into the heart of defence alongside Ailish McDonagh. Alyssa Di Campli started up top with Reilly Yuen.
Conditions were difficult; the drizzle and a slippery, uneven surface conspired for a loss of footing regularly throughout the game. Yet despite this and the Blue Devils’ personnel changes, no-one could have foreseen what was to unfold.
Canberra Olympic started their attacking rotations early with Maddy Whittall, Sienna Birnie, and Tianah Miro keeping the Blue Devils defence guessing. A knock to Yuen forced her off the field for treatment, and while Belconnen was down to 10 players, Whittall got her team off to the perfect start in the 8th minute. 50-gamer Kat Peric played an incisive through ball for Madison Cachia, whose shot was parried by keeper Monique Pinkiewicz into the path of Whittall for a tap-in.
Yuen found herself with a clear chance on Janet King’s goal in the 19th minute after the ball deflected off a defender’s leg, but blasted her shot over. Two minutes later, a goalmouth scramble ensued at the other end after a Sienna Birnie drive was spilled by Pinkiewicz, as was the follow-up by Vanzino.
Miro showed her quality with her team’s second goal in the 23rd minute, taking a single touch under pressure outside the Belconnen area and chipping Pinkiewicz exquisitely.
Thornton gingerly left the game in the 33rd minute as Cara Ceruti came on for Olympic.
A late set piece by Palywoda and a long-distance shot by Hindmarsh punctuated the end of the half, with Belconnen heading into the sheds 2-0 down.
The second stanza started in the same fashion as the first, with an early Olympic goal. This time it was Cachia playing a ball towards the back post, and as these are occasionally wont to do, the ball sailed over Pinkiewicz and into the net.
At three goals down it wasn’t long before Conlon changed the look of his attack, with speedsters Hattie Cram and Alina Roberts entering the fray for Jensen and Yuen. It was Ceruti and Whittall at the other end, however, who were causing issues for defenders in this period of the game. Whittall picked up a well-deserved double in the 64th minute, capitalising on a high, skidding ball bouncing over her defender. Carrying the ball into the area, she finished neatly for what was to be the final goal of the game.
Bowman’s set-piece crossbar effort in the 72nd minute threatened to add to the tally, while Hindmarsh for Belconnen was to have two further attempts on King’s goal from midfield. A lovely through ball for Cram with five minutes remaining floated just out of Cram’s reach, perhaps exemplifying a rare lean game for the Blue Devils attack as a whole.
You could say that the shuffling of the deck chairs and the absence of their regular wingers unsettled Belconnen, but this would be a disservice to Olympic’s execution of their game plan. The home side’s pressure was unrelenting all over the park, affording their opponents no space to operate in, and the conditions only aided their endeavours. Canberra Olympic set out to demonstrate how good they can be on their home turf, and the outcome was emphatic.
The coming week will be a challenging one, with four teams having to play three times in the space of seven days. Keep your eyes glued to the Bar TV Sports coverage as there are games on almost every day (see below), or better still, get along to one or more of them!
>>> Full match timeline and team line-ups can be found here <<<
Final score:
Canberra Olympic 4 (Maddy Whittall 8′ 64′, Tianah Miro 23′, Madison Cachia 48′)
Belconnen United 0
Around The Grounds:
Canberra Croatia 1-0 ANU
Tuggeranong United 1-1 West Canberra Wanderers
Ladder:
Next Round:
