With the end of the season in sight, fifth-placed West Canberra Wanderers were keen to get something from their Capital Football NPLW clash at Deakin Stadium against third-placed Canberra Croatia to keep their finals hopes alive.
Other games from this round include:
Belconnen United vs Gungahlin United (full stream)
Majura FC vs Canberra Olympic (postponed)
Tuggeranong United had the bye
For an alternate review of the round, check out the Capital Football article from Sam Watson.
Match of the Round: Canberra Croatia vs West Canberra Wanderers
Midweek catch-up games and the tightness on the ladder between positions 2 through 5 find the ladder changing seemingly daily in this busy period, with just two more weekend rounds on offer before finals. The Wanderers have played as many NPL games as anyone this season, meaning that each remaining fixture is vital. Coming into this round, they appear to be scrapping for fourth place with Gungahlin United, while Canberra Croatia is in a battle for second with Canberra Olympic.
Several players were celebrating milestones, with Wanderers captain Demi Nikias having played her 150th game, Canberra Croatia keeper Ellie Summers her 50th, and teammate Michaela Thornton her 250th! You can read more about Thornton’s amazing career here.
The home side lined up on a sunny but cool and sometimes breezy afternoon with a 4-3-3 formation, while the visitors set up as 4-4-2. Reilly McQueenie, Nadia Zakman, and Arusha Chew weren’t selected for Canberra Croatia, and striker April Hill was on the bench.
Steph Nikias was also on the bench for the Wanderers, while leading goalscorer Tamara Cochrane was unavailable, with Zoe Halpin assuming a more central attacking position and the tireless Audrey Ward pushing forward (and everywhere, really) in support. This was our first chance to see keeper Hanna Reishofer in action in person, recently elevated to first grade and, by all accounts, performing strongly.
While it felt as if this was Canberra Croatia’s game to lose, it took three dramatic second-half minutes for Canberra Croatia to wrest control of a hard-fought contest, securing second place and leaving the West Canberra Wanderers on the edge of the top four.
If more of the first stanza was played in the Wanderers’ half, in truth, neither keeper had all that much to do in this period. The rare shot tended to be from a distance and high over the bar. Summers didn’t touch the ball until the 23rd minute. The Wanderers were defending closer to their box than they would have liked, but were scrambling effectively, and had the presence of mind to pass the ball through their lines on turnovers. Right back Juliana Robertson proved to be up to the challenge of marking Canberra Croatia captain Brittany Palombi, dispossessing her on occasion.
It wasn’t until the last five minutes of the half that the keepers were tested. Halpin’s shot from just outside the Canberra Croatia area was held by Summers, while Reilly Yuen’s close-range header from a Palombi corner had too much air.
Canberra Croatia started the second half with more intensity, and this showed in an increasing count of Palombi corners. One in the 53rd minute was backheeled into the net by Michaela Thornton but deemed to be offside.
April Hill entered the game three minutes later as the central striker, as Yuen shifted to the Canberra Croatia right wing. Yuen’s 59th-minute header from Palombi’s cross was wide of the mark, but the pressure was building. Palombi’s next corner led to a sliding doors moment, as defender Olivia Hicks was bundled over before Jamie Berkeley’s shot struck an arm on the way towards goal. Either could have been given as a foul, but the handball was the one chosen by the referee, with Palombi coolly slotting into the bottom right corner of Reishofer’s net.
In an action-packed two minutes, the Wanderers almost struck back immediately, with Alex Gidis in space heading Ward’s back-post cross wide. A minute later, Palombi’s sojourn upfield with the ball found Hill in a central attacking area, who managed to find Yuen with her back to goal. Turning her defender like a pro, Yuen fired low under Reishofer for her team’s second goal.
The substitutions were appearing more regularly from this point onwards. Wanderers’ best chance of the game came in the 72nd minute, when Gidis’ fantastic ball behind the Canberra Croatia defence led to Halpin being one-on-one with Summers, with the keeper doing really well to deny Halpin with her feet. Opposing keeper Reishofer also had a fine game, and it’s good to see that for now the Wanderers’ stand-in-keeper days are behind them.
A late yellow card to Bella Berac couldn’t spoil the party for Canberra Croatia, who now turn towards two games against Majura FC in a week (Tuesday and Sunday) on their run towards the finals. The Wanderers have two testing fixtures the next two weekends against Canberra Olympic and Belconnen United to press their claims.
>>> Full match timeline and team line-ups can be found here <<<
Final score:
Canberra Croatia 2 (Brittany Palombi 60′, Reilly Yuen 62′)
West Canberra Wanderers 0
Around The Grounds:
Belconnen United 5-0 Gungahlin United
