Always a tentpole event, Canberra Croatia hosted the Belconnen Blue Devils on a glorious autumn day. Beyond 90 was on hand to take their first regular season look at both teams.
Other games played this week that are available to view:
Gungahlin United vs West Canberra Wanderers – full game (highlights are also available here)
ANU vs Tuggeranong United – full game (highlights are also available here)
For an alternate review of the round, check out the Capital Football article from Jeremy Magan.
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Match of the Round: Canberra Croatia vs Belconnen United (Bar TV)
(Highlights are also available here).
Our first in-person regular-season look at two traditional powerhouses did not disappoint, with seven goals to feast upon. The home side matched the visitors for over an hour, but the Blue Devils broke the game apart at the back end, romping home 5-2 winners.
Both squads are highly recognisable from last season, with a few important tweaks. For the home side, Arusha Chew joined the attack from Canberra Olympic; Ella Palframan came into the midfield from today’s opponents; while Eliza-Jane Norris (West Canberra Wanderers) and Nadia Zakman (Canberra United Academy) slotted into defence. The squad is a pleasing mixture of youth and experience, with an impressive bench demonstrating greater depth in 2024 compared to the last few seasons.
ANU recruits Alish McDonagh and Pascale La Hei have looked the goods for the young yet effective Blue Devils in the opening rounds, as has ex-Academy striker Alyssa Di Campli and Tasmanian keeper Monique Pinkiewicz. They were without ex-Wandererer Alyse Jensen for this one.
The first half was fast-paced, with both teams keen to attack.
Di Campli bounding downfield towards Pinkiewicz in the 7th minute was a sign of things to come, with the Belconnen front three’s speed and ability to find space troubling the home defence. Ball-winning midfield efforts from the tireless Marija Rathouski and Pearl Tein gave Sofia Palywoda and Izzy Hindmarsh opportunities to feed their zippy forwards.
As was the trend in the first half, however, the home side gave as good as it got, with Bella Barac, Palframan, and a deeper-lying Brittany Palombi all skillfully working the ball around and sending dangerous through balls to the likes of Tatum Mazis and Chew, with Jamie Berkeley enjoying free reign as an attacking midfielder.
A 23rd-minute turnover from a Canberra Croatia dead-ball led to the opening goal after La Hei was judged offside while netting for the Blue Devils. Di Campli had time to tee up a left foot shot as the defence sat slightly off her, with her strike whistling between Ellie Summers’ gloves and into the net.
Palframan’s intelligent 37th-minute through ball for Mazis led to the home side’s first goal. Mazis wasn’t able to score but did manage to tee up Berkeley, who neatly slotted her team’s reply.
McDonagh was shown a yellow card in the last five minutes of the half for bringing down Chew on the edge of the area. Captain Palombi sent the home crowd into raptures with her deadly left foot free kick eluding Pinkiewicz at the back post for a 2-1 lead.
The excitement wasn’t done for the half, as Hattie Cram centred a perfect ball for Di Campli moments later, her first-time strike finding the top right corner. That made it 2-2 at the break in a difficult half for defenders of both teams.
Yet it was a defender who first caught the eye in the second half, as Zakman’s effort to deny La Hei at the back post led to successive Blue Devils corners. La Hei continued to look dangerous; in the 56th minute she turned her defender and burst into Summers’ box, but her side-footed effort travelled wide.
Tein set up Di Campli’s hat-trick after the hour, winning the ball in midfield and sending a *ahem* pearler of a ball into Di Campli’s path, who toed the ball under Summer.
Belconnen coach Scott Conlon will be pleased with his team’s defensive discipline in the final third of the game, having taken a 3-2 lead. At this crucial juncture, the solidity of captain Lauren Preston, McDonagh, and those around them shut out the attacking red-and-white efforts as the game slowly drew to a close, despite fresh legs coming on to run at them.
This discipline laid the platform for a final five minutes containing two further Belconnen goals, one a 25 yard dead ball strike by Hindmarsh, and the other thanks to Alina Roberts’ speed and ability to ride Zakman’s challenge before netting.
The Blue Devils ran away with this one late and Di Campli’s impressive scoring boots were the difference, but for two-thirds of the game, Zoran Glavinic’s charges were well and truly in the hunt. We can’t wait to see how the return fixture pans out in Round 10.
>>> Full match timeline and team line-ups can be found here <<<
Final score:
Canberra Croatia 2 (Jamie Berkeley 37′, Brittany Palombi 41′)
Belconnen United 5 (Alyssa Di Campli 23′ 44′ 65′, Izzy Hindmarsh 86′, Alina Roberts 88′)
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Note that the Canberra Croatia vs West Canberra Wanderers R4 NPLW game will be played on Wednesday, May 15th.
