We’re now into the middle third of the Capital Football NPLW competition! We chose a sunny Saturday game at Deakin Stadium between Canberra Croatia and Tuggeranong United to kick off the May long weekend.
Other games from this round include:
Canberra Olympic vs Gungahlin United (full stream)
Belconnen United vs West Canberra Wanderers (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: Canberra Croatia vs Tuggeranong United (Bar TV)
Although they have a game in hand over most teams, Canberra Croatia will perhaps be disappointed with their standing at the end of the first full round. Sitting in fourth, the team has some smart additions to their squad for this year, recently including Megan Castle, Wagga City’s captain in 2023. While CCFC have progressed to the Federation Cup Final, they have been defeated by each of the top three teams and will be keen to improve over the course of the campaign.
Tuggeranong United’s new-look squad under Sarah West has been cohesive and consistent, pushing their opponents hard but unable to score regularly.
The visitors were without captain Lara Mustaine, while Zoe Sobczak and Josie Dubbert were absent for Canberra Croatia.
Canberra Croatia’s Bella Barac opened the scoring in the fifth minute off the back of a Tuggeranong turnover. Keeper Emily Pearce found defender and captain Casey Smith, who was immediately pressured by Ella Palframan and Barac. Pearce was still backpedalling as Barac’s fine chip from over 20 yards unerringly found the net for her first of the season.
The home side regularly switched their front three of Arusha Chew, Brittany Palombi, and Megan Castle, giving the Tuggeranong defence different challenges as the game progressed. Tuggeranong competed hard all around the park, but an inability to keep the ball was telling and the Canberra Croatia corner kick tally started rising.
If Pearce’s distribution contributed to the first goal, her shot-stopping was impeccable. She denied Chew from close range twice in the first stanza, but otherwise, the home side’s attempts on goal were largely ill-directed.
The second half maintained the trend, as Canberra Croatia showed a lack of patience at times with harmless shots from distance, instead of building into more dangerous areas. The half started promisingly enough for them, with a goalmouth scramble clearing the ball off the Tuggeranong line from a Palombi corner.
It was Barac who inspired her team to success. In the 50th minute, a short-passing interchange with Castle in the 18-yard box led to a scuffed Castle shot from close range, which was a sign of good things on the horizon.
Pearce showed courage on the hour, charging forward to block and hold a free kick from within her own crowded six-yard box.
Seven minutes later, with Tatum Mazis now also providing attacking energy, Canberra Croatia scored their second after their best passing move of the game. Amy Bongiorno’s fine left flank run found Mazis, who switched play to find Palombi. The CCFC captain found Barac, and this time a wall-pass with Castle led to Barac’s tidy second goal.
Palombi’s accurate corners finally paid off with nine minutes remaining, finding Castle with enough room in the six-yard box to tee up a beautiful volley for the third goal. Palombi rarely fails to make it onto the scoresheet in a multi-goal win, here coming closest in the 90th minute with a shot that ricocheted fiercely off the right post.
Chances for the visitors were few and far between, with only a couple of corners from Tarah Manthongsy and a very late effort by Helena De Moura troubling keeper Ellie Summers.
>>> Full match timeline and team line-ups can be found here <<<
Final score:
Canberra Croatia 3 (Bella Barac 5′ 67′, Megan Castle 81′)
Tuggeranong United 0
Around The Grounds:
Canberra Olympic 2-1 Gungahlin United
Belconnen United 5-1 West Canberra Wanderers
Ladder:
Next Round:
Follow our Capital Football NPLW coverage here.
