Mother’s Day at Melrose! We arrived in sunny conditions for the synthetic surface Round 5 Capital Football NPLW match between second-placed West Canberra Wanderers and fifth-placed Canberra Olympic.
Other games from this round include:
Gungahlin United vs Tuggeranong United (full stream)
ANU WFC vs Belconnen United (full stream)
Canberra Croatia vs Majura FC (full stream)
For an alternate review of the round, check out the Capital Football article from Sam Watson.
ANU WFC and Capital Football announced during the week that ANU’s NPLW 2025 participation will come to an end at the end of the first full round, due to injuries and player load concerns. This will leave seven teams in the competition.
Recommended reading: Capital Football’s 2025 NPLW season preview
Match of the Round: West Canberra Wanderers vs Canberra Olympic
When Gabrielle O’Brien was injured eight minutes into the Wanderers’ last game against Canberra Croatia, outfield substitute Ellen Brown bravely donned the keeper gloves. Brown was called upon between the sticks once again in Olivia Hicks’ 50th NPL game to face a Canberra Olympic team boosted by the return of Canberra United squad members Tianah Miro and Janet King. Olympic coach Frank Cachia opted for Elke Aitolu and Maddy Whittall on the bench. Mercurial midfielder Jane Vanzino was absent for Olympic, with Liana Alves stepping into the holding midfield role.
Second-placed West Canberra Wanderers’ first game against expected top-four opposition came last round in a 2-1 away loss to Canberra Croatia. The young 2025 squad is playing with confidence and belief, and there is an argument that only Brown’s unfamiliarity with her stand-in role prevented a draw last week. For their part, Olympic has had a slow start to the season by their standards and is still building into 2025.
That slow start didn’t translate into this game, with much of the early play in the Wanderers’ half. Ella-Rose Brown’s fourth-minute back-post free kick was met by the head of Tatum Mazis, looping the ball high across the goal over Brown and into the net. Mazis isn’t the tallest attacker, and the Wanderers’ defence would have been disappointed with their marking effort.
A nice passing move between Allegra Senti, Perri Nash, Tamara Cochrane and Zoe Halpin in the 14th minute highlighted the Wanderers’ quality in 2025, and Senti would continue to link well with Halpin and Cochrane. But they can all thank Brown for her initiative in shutting off a rampaging Miroh in the 20th minute after Miroh zoomed by Emma Leonard in the centre of defence.
Olympic’s Alves is a different style of player to Vanzino, but her athleticism in sweeping across the front of her defence to assist with dealing with the wide pace of Halpin and Alex Gidis, among other threats, was proving vital.
Audrey Ward put in a crunching challenge on Madison Cachia in the Olympic box in the 25th minute, with the ball bouncing in front of Cochrane, who volleyed her finish past King with authority to make the score 1-1.
Canberra Olympic captain Katrina Peric had a chance around the half-hour mark following a corner when the Wanderers custodian lost her footing, but was unable to capitalise. The Wanderers were enjoying more time on the ball as the half drew to a close, with Olympic centre-back (and their player of the match as announced post-match) Corinne Denton’s positioning allowing her to block Cochrane’s late attempt on goal.
There were no halftime changes to either side as unfulfilled chances arose at both ends early in the half. Audrey McLaren’s through ball brought Halpin close to goal, but the Olympic defence dealt well with her. Moments later, Olympic flanker Nikita Perry found the ball at her feet in the Wanderers’ six-yard box before being closed down.
The added depth of the Olympic squad was evident with substitutions on the hour in the form of Whittall and Aitolu. Unfortunately, Aitolu only lasted a few minutes before being helped off with an ankle injury, but Whittall’s energy and movement were infectious in a more attacking formation for the team. Momentum was swinging Olympic’s way once again.
A 70th-minute foul on Denton saw Leah Carnegie step up and beautifully strike the free kick from near the centre circle and in
to the top right corner of the net, something we’ve seen from time to time over her career. This proved to be the winner, with Olympic unable to score from ensuing open play. Only Alex Gidis’ 91st-minute foray into open space threatened to square the game up, but her resulting cross couldn’t find a team-mate.
Olympic’s three points now bring them level with the pack chasing the Blue Devils’ six-point lead at the top of the ladder, and one feels that with Miroh and King on board, Olympic will look more and more like the 2024 machine that emerged with three trophies… but they aren’t there yet. The Wanderers can push any side in this competition if they can keep their starting eleven fit and well, and the aim of finals action will be no better motivation for the team in red and black.
>>> Full match timeline and team line-ups can be found here <<<
Final score:
West Canberra Wanderers 1 (Tamara Cochrane 25′)
Canberra Olympic 2 (Tatum Mazis 4′, Leah Carnegie 70′)
Around The Grounds:
Gungahlin United 9-0 Tuggeranong United
ANU WFC 0-10 Belconnen United
Canberra Croatia 6-0 Majura FC
Ladder:
Next round:
