Belconnen United captain Michaela Thornton. Photo: @KaiMoebus

Round 17 of the 2021 Capital Football NPLW1 competition is seemingly brought to you by the number four.

We’re now in the home stretch and the race for the top four is heating up. While the top two are certainties, there are four teams jostling for the remaining two finals spots, and just four games to go now that this round has been completed.

It’s been a while since Beyond 90 settled into the familiar bucket seats of the wonderful McKellar Park, but last weekend we were at this legendary venue to witness second-placed Belconnen United host third-placed Canberra Olympic.

Other Round 17 games that were held this weekend included another key mid-table matchup that will be important in rounding out the top four 2021 contenders, Canberra United Academy vs West Canberra Wanderers.

Wagga City Wanderers vs Gungahlin United
Canberra United Academy vs West Canberra Wanderers
Tuggeranong United vs Canberra Croatia

Match of the Round: Belconnen United vs Canberra Olympic

It’s been a few rounds since Beyond 90 has been to a Belconnen United game in the flesh and the strong impression you come away with is just how impressively athletic they are as a team. Coach Michael Zakoski has the team looking fit and their players in all areas of the field are able to run opposition teams off their feet. The addition of Tiana Jaber in the last five weeks – playing alongside Isabella Tammaro of late in easily Tammaro’s most impressive season – has only enhanced this aspect of the team’s game… and that’s without one of the best exponents of their running game (Keira Bobbin) on the team sheet for this game.

Tiana Jaber competes with Raechel Hardwicke for this header. Photo: @KaiMoebus

Many who follow the league would have been delighted to see Alexia Forner come on towards the end of Belconnen’s last NPLW1 game after many months out due to a serious ACL and MCL injury. Read about her long-awaited return to football here, courtesy of Matt Nicoletti and Capital Football. She was not on the card for this Round 17 game but it’s great to see a talent like Forner back in action, especially with finals on the horizon.

Joining Forner in the stands were her Belconnen teammates Karen Clarke and Cassia McGlashan, two seriously credentialled players in the local women’s game. The sight of these three waiting in the wings (as well as the absent Bobbin) gives a measure of the depth within this Belconnen United squad. The team’s results have been strong since their Round 12 defeat to Canberra Croatia at Deakin Stadium.

Sienna Farrar shields the ball from Samantha Price. Photo: @KaiMoebus

Looking at Canberra Olympic’s claims in this game, a nine-goal thriller saw them narrowly lose 4-5 last week against Gungahlin United – surely one of the games of the season. With a hat-trick in the first half-hour of that game, Ashleigh Sykes can’t seem to stop scoring goals, but as much as the team is able to find a goal and has a look of stability to it, they are still susceptible to leaking goals. Coach Nicole Begg – absent for this Round 17 game – is one of the finest defenders in the region and will no doubt be working overtime on having her group defend as a unit to allow them to get on the right side of the ledger in games with narrow margins.

Reilly Yuen stretches for the ball, shadowed by Brittany Fiorese. Photo: @KaiMoebus

Their last five games leading into Round 17 show a WLWWL record, but they will feel they could have taken the points on the two ‘L’ results in that sequence – narrow losses to mid-table rivals Gungahlin United and Canberra United Academy. Had they done so, Olympic would be enjoying some breathing space in third place, instead of being ‘in the mixer’.

Central defender Brittany Fiorese has been impressive this season. The team’s thoughts were with her and the Fiorese family as they wore black armbands to mark the passing of Brittany’s grandmother. The recent return of Ella Hemmings to partner Fiorese at centre back has allowed Ally Cook to play higher and help construct plays. 

Olympic’s Courtney Halse on corner taking duties. Photo: @KaiMoebus

Having set the scene, how did the game play out? Three goals in either half to Belconnen United showed their dominance and points to the gap between the two teams at present. Michaela Thornton led the way with her ability to win the ball and then hotfoot it upfield, while wide runners Talia Backhouse, Reilly Yuen and the overlapping Vanessa Ryan gave Thornton plenty of options. Sometimes her best options were the attackers ahead of her, namely the skills, nous and positional sense of Olivia Bomford and Samantha Price. If Thornton took a break there was no reprieve for Olympic as Sarah Johnston worked in a similar vein, often sprinting to support attacking play as it was unfolding. Belconnen is doubtless a more formidable attacking proposition with Johnston out of the backline and into a midfield formation.

Belconnen’s Sarah Johnston (right), with Ella Hemmings to her left. Photo: @KaiMoebus

While Olympic’s central midfielders Raechel Hardwicke and Cook have that level of physicality and toughness to disrupt Thornton and Johnston’s game, the team is less well equipped as a whole to handle the athleticism and off-the-ball movement once the ball finds its way to the Belconnen flyers.

The scoring started as early as the fourth minute when a midfield turnover saw Backhouse pass to Bomford, who threaded a wonderful left-footed through ball for Price to run onto and finish past the advancing Aurelia Haynes, in the bottom left corner.

Anna Bennett registered Olympic’s first shot on goal after 12 minutes but Heather Garriock was an early substitution for the away side after 18 minutes, coming off with a tight hamstring.

Yuen added a second goal just one minute later after Backhouse’s far-post ball found Thornton near the Olympic byline. Laying the ball back, Yuen’s left-foot strike was within reach of Haynes but too powerful to stop.

It’s not easy to keep the irrepressible and free-roaming Sykes quiet, but two of the better ways are to assign two defenders to her and cut off her supply. Belconnen employed both tactics to good effect. Nonetheless, near the half-hour mark a Hardwicke free-kick for Olympic found Sykes in space on the left. Sykes’ centred ball was just out of Anna Vandenbroucke’s reach on the edge of the six yard box.

Just as the first half was about to wrap up, one of Thornton’s characteristic driving runs off the back of Ryan’s through ball took her deep into the Olympic box. Wrong-footing Haynes, Thornton finished coolly to take her side into the sheds with a three-goal lead.

Olivia Bomford and Michaela Thornton celebrate the third goal. Photo: @KaiMoebus

Tianah Miro entered the game at the start of the second half with a clear intention to spark link-up plays with the Olympic attack. An early corner to Olympic after Sykes and Esposito came together showed the team’s renewed commitment to getting back into the game, but sustaining this proved to be difficult for the away side. A Yuen foray down the right diffused the Olympic momentum, and this was confirmed moments later in the 54th minute as Jaber impressively ran upfield from halfway. Squeezing between Olympic defenders, Jaber reached the byline and centred to Johnston, who spooned the ball over the bar from an offside position.

However, Johnston wasn’t to be denied just four minutes later. She found room in the Olympic box after Thornton’s delightful chip, turning and firing into the bottom left corner for the Blue Devils’ fourth.

Bomford had delighted the crowd with the quality of her touches and assists, and it was her turn to hit the scorecard with 20 minutes to go, running into the Olympic box, meeting Thornton’s lofted pass and finishing with style into the bottom right corner.

Ella Hemmings (left) races Olivia Bomford to the ball. Photo: @KaiMoebus

Belconnen right back Leah Carnegie’s corner kicks have been exemplary this season and this game was no different, finding the advancing Backhouse’s head in the 76th minute as the ball flew over the bar at speed.

Belconnen keeper Cristina Esposito’s penalty area was PACKED in this late corner. Photo: @KaiMoebus

With the wind taken out of the Olympic sails, Bomford completed her double and scored Belconnen’s sixth when she spotted Haynes off her line and half-volleyed with accuracy from 30 yards out.

 
This was an inauspicious start to a demanding two-game sequence for Olympic as they look towards another test next week, this time against ladder leaders Canberra Croatia. Olympic was perhaps slightly distracted this week with the coach away, early injuries, curious substitutions of substitutes (this occurred more than once) and family matters, but they will need to get back on track in the final four rounds to ensure a place in a very competitive top four.

For their part, the Blue Devils were active, sleek and assertive. They will be looking to maintain their form next week when they travel to Gungahlin United, who are always a stern test for away sides.

Final score:

Belconnen United 6 (Price 4′, Yuen 18′, Thornton 45′, Johnston 57′, Bomford 65′ 78′)

Canberra Olympic 0

 

Teams:

Belconnen United â€“ Coach: Michael Zakoski

Cristina Esposito, Leah Carnegie, Isabella Tammaro, Tiana Jaber, Vanessa Ryan, Sarah Johnston, Michaela Thornton (c), Talia Backhouse, Samantha Price, Reilly Yuen, Olivia Bomford

Subs: Katie Woodman, Nicole Jalocha (71′ => Yuen), Bianca Kimpton (81′ => Ryan), Monique McGlynn (71′ => Price), Jaz Zabel

Yellow/Red cards: Nil

Canberra Olympic â€“ Coach: Nicole Begg

Aurelia Haynes, Sienna Farrar, Brittany Fiorese, Ella Hemmings, Victoria Jamieson (c), Heather Garriock, Raechel Hardwicke, Ally Cook, Anna Bennett, Anna Vandenbroucke, Ashleigh Sykes

Subs: Tianah Miro (45′ => Halse), Emma Croker (76′ => Bennett), Courtney Halse (18′ => Garriock), Isabella Wallace (86′ => Miro), Gaby Jordan (58′ => Vandenbroucke)

Yellow/Red cards: Nil


Around The Grounds:

Wagga City Wanderers 0 – 6 Gungahlin United
Canberra United Academy 3 – 2 West Canberra Wanderers
Tuggeranong United 0 – 6 Canberra Croatia


Ladder:

Pos Team P W D L For Against GD Pts
1 Canberra Croatia FC 17 15 1 1 77 14 63 46
2 Belconnen United FC 17 14 1 2 76 14 62 43
3 Gungahlin United FC 17 9 0 8 51 28 23 27
4 Canberra United Academy 17 8 3 6 38 36 2 27
5 Canberra Olympic FC 17 8 1 8 43 42 1 25
6 West Canberra FC 17 7 1 9 24 30 -6 22
7 Wagga City Wanderers FC 17 2 0 15 12 83 -71 6
8 Tuggeranong United FC 17 1 1 15 8 82 -74 4

 

Next week:

Round 18

  • Wagga City vs West Canberra, Gissing Oval, Sunday 15 August, 2:30pm
  • Canberra Olympic vs Canberra Croatia, O’Connor Enclosed, Sunday 15 August, 2:30pm
  • Gungahlin United vs Belconnen United, Gungahlin Enclosed, Sunday 15 August, 3:00pm
  • Canberra United Academy vs Tuggeranong United, Hawker Enclosed, Sunday 15 August, 3:00pm
Follow all our ACT NPLW coverage here
Steffen Moebus
Steffen Moebus
Steffen is a life-long Canberra resident and enjoys covering football in and around his home town, as well as Aussies participating in the Nordic leagues (Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark).
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