Six successive grand finals between Canberra Croatia FC and Belconnen United did not dampen the curiosity factor of the 2020 edition. In a ten game season, Canberra Croatia built their momentum slowly and were looking to peak at exactly the right moment with a team that had a familiar look throughout. Their opponents and reigning champs brought their ‘A’ game to last week’s semi-final, but in adjusting to injuries and the occasional positional tweak over the last month or two, had uncharacteristic less convincing patches of play from time to time.
Grand Final: Canberra Croatia vs Belconnen United
Belconnen United coach Ahmed Ugool opted to make minor adjustments to both his backline – to counter the most potent attack in the league – and his attack for the decider.
On balance the defensive changes worked – Canberra Croatia did not manage to score from open play – but the few goal-scoring chances they crafted were not taken advantage of. In the end it was two Canberra Croatia set pieces that decided the contest, with one apiece to two of the finest proponents of the art in the form of Brittany Palombi and captain Grace Gill.
There were sliding doors moments in the game that may have made things otherwise, but the most consistent side of the season and the grand final won the day; granting Canberra Croatia the 2020 Championship, an undefeated 2020 record and a season to remember.
Canberra Croatia lined up for the game with the same team that started against Canberra Olympic last week, with Lara Agnew retaining her spot at right back. Indeed, it was a hallmark of their season and a testament to their season 2020 preparation during the difficult COVID-19 months that coach Nik Brozinic had virtually his entire squad at his disposal for the majority of the time.
Belconnen played in-form Vanessa Ryan at right back in a match-up with leading goal-scorer Palombi. Catherine Brown lined up at left back and Jessie Rasschaert partnered Karen Clarke at centre back, just as she did in Belconnen’s Round 7 1-0 loss to Canberra Croatia. Whereas regular centre back Mia McGovern sat on the bench in Round 7, in the Grand Final she was used as a striker, her first outing in that role for the season.
After a strong showing as a substitute in the semi-final, fourteen year old Maya Osmond made the starting lineup in a wide attacking midfield role; a remarkable achievement for someone of her youth. The player making way was Nicole Jalocha, so often a contributor in constructing (and finishing) attacking plays the last few seasons for the Blue Devils.
In chatting with Beyond 90 after the game, Ugool said that there were many factors in making the changes for the game, and that Jalocha had suffered an ankle injury in the semi-final. Indeed, she was not listed on the match card for today’s game, and together with the loss of Alexia Forner just before the finals, Ugool did not have the luxury of stability that Brozinic and squad were able to enjoy.
Canberra Croatia settled the better of the two sides at the start of the game, and in the sixth minute were awarded a free kick just outside the Belconnen United penalty box. Usual set piece takers Gill and Palombi stood over the ball, and it was Palombi who fired in a powerful shot which found its way through the gloves of Jess Giovinazzo leaning to her left for a 1-0 lead.
Belconnen had some cause to be aggrieved just four minutes later when CCFC centre back Rhiannon Fensom seemed to firmly pass a ball back to keeper Ally Hinson, who picked the ball up and was somehow allowed to play on.
The Blue Devils started to settle at around the 25 minute mark. Hinson was forced to race out towards the side-line to deny McGovern an avenue to goal, and the CCFC shotstopper also palmed a Karen Clarke free kick to safety. At the other end, Giovinazzo will have taken confidence in a double save just before half time, denying first CCFC’s Jamie Berkeley from a corner kick, and then Sharon Chao on the rebound that followed.
The teams headed into half time with Canberra Croatia one goal up. The game felt like a typical grand final tussle, full of endeavour as both teams struggled for the ascendancy.
There were no changes at half time and a lack of clear cut chances continued. Belconnen captain Michaela Thornton received a yellow card ten minutes into the half for tripping up Gill, and Keira Bobbin was brought into the Belconnen attack a few minutes later with the hope that her pace would help turn the game, as was the case in their semi-final.
It was fascinating to see the contest between the guile of Palombi, and the defensive reach and know-how of Rasschaert. On 73 minutes, Palombi won a free kick on the left edge of the Belconnen penalty box after Krista Hagen yet again won the ball near the halfway line, and this led to the defining moment of the final. In a moment of magic, Gill called upon all those years of practice and curled the ball into the top left corner beyond the desperate dive of Giovinazzo, fashioning a two goal lead in a half where her team hadn’t really threatened to that point.
This was Gill’s ninth goal in ten games, and her 72nd goal in 127 NPLW appearances (thanks go to Russ Gibbs for those statistics).
At two goals down, Belconnen immediately changed to a back three with Clarke and Rasschaert alternating in joining the forward line. However even that, combined with Bobbin’s pace and Clarke’s amazing long throws into the penalty box, couldn’t break through the Canberra Croatia defence. Belconnen’s Leah Carnegie may have made a late impact when the ball fell to her in space on the edge of the six yard box, but her half volley fell straight to keeper Hinson … and within the next five minutes, the Canberra Croatia celebrations began.
Ugool was pleased with his side’s defence, and justifiably had some measure of satisfaction with the season and his part within it despite today’s result.
“We spent the whole week working on our defensive shape, and in open play our defensive shape was amazing and didn’t give them many chances. It was hard for us; today I think we saw a good Canberra FC and a good Belconnen…some of the calls today made it hard for us to gain any momentum, and to gain any tangible results from our work.
“Credit goes to Canberra FC, their defensive shape made it really hard for us. We identified that in transition maybe we could hurt them, and we had some moments in transition … but then we didn’t really execute to a high level in the 18 yard box, and if you don’t do that, it makes it hard to score goals.
“When you lose a coach who has been as successful as long as Ant has … we knew with the players we lost and the coaching changes there was possibly going to be a drop-off; we wanted to ensure that any drop-off wasn’t off a cliff, so for us to finish in second with most goals scored and least goals conceded, and to make the grand final, we have to hold our heads up high.”
Winning coach Brozinic was delighted, remarking on the potency of his four pronged attack, and upon the programmes the club has in place to prevent injuries and to give them the luxury of a full squad to choose from.
“The games between us and Belconnen have traditionally been close, physical, contested battles; it’s not the first time the games have been decided by a set piece or two. We’re just happy we came out of it on the right side this time and with a performance that I think was deserved in the end.
“We’ve always put programmes in place with an emphasis on injury prevention … and it’s been fruitful for us this year; we haven’t had one injury (or season-ending injury) unlike other clubs, so it’s a sign that the programmes are doing their job. Consistency is key to improving and key to success, and we were able to put out a very similar squad on the park week in and week out, and even on those times we brought in changes, everyone that came in did a great job, and in our training environment they get that match fitness.
“Thirty six goals from our front four this season; that’s a great return over nine games, and that’s something that’s made us a tougher team to play this year. Goals don’t come from one or two places, they’re from everywhere, so you can shut down one and goals will come from the others, so it’s made us very difficult to defend against.”
Player of the match Gill reflected on the many puzzle pieces which contributed to Canberra Croatia’s success this season, including the balance within the squad, their culture, the time it took (i.e. several years) to build the squad to where it is now, the mix of youth and experienced level heads, and the quality of their recruits.
“Rhiannon has really solidified our defensive line and she’s lifted the girls around her; she’s lifted Amy [McLachlan] to another level and she’s lifted Alice [Churchill] to another level, and the likes of Ceci [Matic] and Gracie [Field] in the midfield, they’re great technical footballers and such workhorses as well.”
Regarding Belconnen’s inability to break them down: “Belconnen played long balls over the top, but when you’ve got Amy McLachlan and Rhi Fensom in there, who is so powerful in the air and really composed, it’s going to be a hard gig to play. On the other end of things, we found them really hard to break down today. Fortunately on the set pieces with the likes of Britt on the left and myself on the right, we enjoy having a free kick around the 18 yard box.”
Final score:
Canberra Croatia 2 (Palombi 6′, Gill 73′)
Belconnen United 0
Teams:
Canberra Croatia – Coach: Nik Brozinic
Ally Hinson, Alice Churchill, Amy McLachlan, Rhiannon Fensom, Lara Agnew, Krista Hagen, Jamie Berkeley, Grace Gill (c), Sharon Chao, Grace Field, Brittany Palombi
Subs: Jordan Ujdur (78′ => Chao), Cecilija Matic (83′ => Agnew), Christina Grauer-Kompos, Eisha Ratsch, Alexa Panagiotopoulos
Yellow cards: Nil
Belconnen United – Coach: Ahmed Ugool
Jess Giovinazzo, Vanessa Ryan, Jessie Rasschaert, Karen Clarke, Catherine Brown, Michaela Thornton (c), Katie Woodman, Jas Maguire, Samantha Price, Maya Osmond, Mia McGovern
Subs: Keira Bobbin (64′ => Maguire), Nina Zarevac (74′ => Osmond), Leah Carnegie (85′ => Price), Maria Pachi (70′ => Woodman), Jayla Murphy (81′ => Giovinazzo)
Yellow cards: Thornton 55′
