A couple of mouth-watering fixtures awaited spectators in Round 8 of the NPL Capital Football women’s competition.

On the one hand, you had a contest on the synthetic at Hawker Enclosed between ladder benchmarks Canberra Croatia and the home side, Canberra United Academy. The intrigue with this one was seeing if Academy could repeat their 2021 feat of being the only side to take a league win from Canberra Croatia, a feat obtained at the same venue and surface. 

On the other, as Gungahlin United (sans Michelle Heyman) came within a goal of Canberra Croatia last round, and West Canberra Wanderers pulled off a stunning 2-1 victory against Belconnen United, there was the prospect of seeing two teams running into good form. There was also the thought of “what if Michelle Heyman joins the Gunners’ party for this one?”.

The curiosity factor of the second option won out for Beyond 90. Canberra Times writer Isobel Cootes provided an alternate view of the game which includes brief comments from Wanderers coach Rey Castro.

Other Round 8 games held on the weekend included the following:

Belconnen United vs Tuggeranong United
Canberra Olympic vs Wagga City
Canberra United Academy vs Canberra Croatia 

Match of the Round: West Canberra Wanderers vs Gungahlin United

The first meeting between these two sides this season resulted in a narrow 1-0 away win to West Canberra, so this was likely to be a close game. As it happens, Heyman wasn’t in the Gunners squad, but that didn’t lessen the anticipation one whit.

After Brigitte Sander’s recent return from US College football, it was an unexpected and delightful surprise to see ex-Academy captain Annaliese Grove – older sister of Sasha –  follow suit. Grove would line up alongside Sander and company for a Gunners NPL debut in place of the absent Ruby Gambale. What hasn’t changed since we last saw her is Grove’s determined defence and ability to time her tackles well.

Just as delightful was the return of West Canberra goalkeeper Ally Hinson. The Wanderers have been difficult for opponents to break down this season and Hinson’s return would only serve to further reinforce them. Confidence from five wins (Gungahlin had only one win) and a home ground advantage set the scene for the Wanderers.

The Melrose synthetic surface contributed to a fast start for the home side. A downfield clearance from deep in the Wanderers’ defence on nine minutes saw Gunners keeper Sarah Corbett emerge from her penalty box as speedster Hattie Cram bore down on her. Trying to get her body behind the ball, the extra bounce deceived Corbett, and Cram was able to pass the ball into the net for the lead.

The 2022 season is proving to be revelatory for Hattie Cram. After showing promise in her late 2021 appearances, Cram has taken her game to another level. Her speed and directness remind the author a little of Academy’s Anna Hunt from the last couple of seasons, and right now Cram is Wanderers’ leading goalscorer, with midfield sharpshooters Tara Cannon and Ginger Oliver not far behind.

The fourteenth minute saw Oliver send a flat pass to Cannon across the field, approximately 25 metres out. Seeing Corbett just off her line, Cannon judged her shot beautifully, clearing Corbett’s outstretched arm and dipping under the crossbar. This isn’t the first time Cannon has found joy from range, and opposing keepers will need to be watchful of her.

It took over 20 minutes for the Gunners to fire a shot in anger, but while the home side had the weight of possession, the visitors were starting to warm to their task. Ex-Canberra Croatia attacker Sharon Chao surprised Hinson in the 26th minute with an audacious strike from the left edge that sailed over Hinson and into the net.

The teams entered the sheds with the home side leading 2-1, and the visitors had hopes of building further momentum.

Much of the early second half minutes were fought out in midfield with the overall pattern not dissimilar to the first half, so this is perhaps a good point to reflect on the Gungahlin performance. It’s no secret that the Gunners favoured a highly effective short passing style the last couple of years, with the futsal background common amongst many of their players rising to the fore. While half the current team is made up from those years, sometimes the short passing game isn’t quite what it was, and this may be due to the loss of futsal buddies Elke Aitolu and Stefi Lejins in the off-season. Turning the ball over seems more frequent in 2022, and it will take time to rebuild a commensurate level of familiarity across the squad.

Perceval/Grove/Gambale as the defensive bedrock will be safe and strong. Out wide (Pennyfield/Sander/Brown et al) the Gunners are effective as ever, and the wondrous De Marco sisters take care of centre mid. However, without Heyman or Aitolu as attacking focal points, the Gunners perhaps lack a natural commanding central presence … which is where most goals are scored.

Back to the Wanderers … we’ve discussed Hinson, Cram, and Cannon already. Oliver plays as a holding midfielder with an eye for going forward and is strong on a dead ball. Melinda O’Callaghan marshalls her defence well and Daisy Canavan, who played alongside her in central defence, is versatile enough to play anywhere on the field and do a great job. Stephanie and Demi Nikias know their roles, while Sarah Whitfield provides drive and leadership, whether in attack or defensive cover (she was to do both in this game).

A 70th minute Erika Pennyfield corner found her captain’s (Perceval’s) head close to goal, but the leap wasn’t quite high enough to get the header on target.

Some heavy contact with Ayla Robertson saw Cannon’s game come to an abrupt end three minutes later with a suspected rib injury. The stretcher is the last thing anyone wants to see and everyone wishes her well. Whitfield dropped into defence to help provide cover for the remainder of the game.

With seven minutes remaining Cram took off on a run down the left flank, closely pursued by Grove. Somehow withstanding Grove’s shoulder-to-shoulder and pulling ahead just as she reached the six-yard box, Cram squeezed the ball past Corbett, putting the Wanderers 3-1 up.

The remaining few chances belonged to the home side. Corbett did well on the first of them, getting low to intercept Cram’s dangerous ball from the left, in front of Wanderers’ replacement forward Kaitlyn Colwill. 

A 3-1 loss was not the score that the Gunners were hoping for, but it was the score that the Wanderers deserved.

Capital Football’s goal highlights package for the round can be found here, while Jeremy Magan’s round wrap for Capital Football can be found here.   

Final score:

West Canberra Wanderers 3 (Cram 9′ 82′, Cannon 14′)
Gungahlin United 1 (Chao 27′)

Teams:

West Canberra Wanderers – Coach: Rey Castro

Ally Hinson, Sophie Medina, Mel O’Callaghan, Daisy Canavan, Stephanie Nikias, Tara Cannon, Ginger Oliver, Demi Nikias, Mena Biscotti, Sarah Whitfield (c), Hattie Cram

Subs: Caitlyn Skillicorn, Charlotte Jones (54′ => Biscotti), Ella Ross, Isabella Williams, Kaitlyn Colwill (77′ => Cannon) 

Gungahlin United – Coach: Pat Mills

Sarah Corbett, Ayla Robertson, Maddie Perceval (c), Annaliese Grove, Jada Lamond, Erika Pennyfield, Stella De Marco, Nat De Marco, Cassia McGlashan, Ella-Rose Brown, Sharon Chao 

Subs: Adele Choy, Chloe Barker, Esperance Anderson, Lillian Martone, Rachael Corbett

Around The Grounds:

Belconnen United 6-1 Tuggeranong United
Canberra Olympic 7-1 Wagga City
Canberra United Academy 2-7 Canberra Croatia

Ladder:

Next week:

Federation Cup Final

• Belconnen United vs Canberra Olympic, Deakin Stadium, Saturday June 4th, 2:00pm

Round 6 catchup game

• Tuggeranong United vs Canberra United Academy, Greenway Enclosed, Thursday June 2nd, 6:30pm
   

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