The 2025 Capital Football NPLW competition is finally here! Round 1 featured a grand final rematch and the entry of a new team into the league, Majura FC. We travelled to Kaleen Enclosed Oval to take our first NPLW-era look at the Majura club, which, at junior level, has been responsible for preparing many gifted players – Grace Maher, Sally James, Lauren Keir, to name a few – for careers at the pinnacle of the domestic women’s football in Australia.
Majura’s first NPLW challenge was an ANU WFC team that bore little resemblance to what we saw in 2024.
Other games from this round include:
Gungahlin United vs Canberra Croatia (postponed, unplayable pitch)
Belconnen United vs Canberra Olympic (full stream)
West Canberra Wanderers vs Tuggeranong United (full stream)
For an alternate review of the round, check out the Capital Football article from Sam Watson.
Recommended reading: Capital Football’s 2025 NPLW season preview
Match of the Round: Majura FC vs ANU WFC
Majura’s NPLW elevation from Capital League Division 1 and significant roster turnover at ANU WFC – such is the nature of a student population – ensured NPLW1 debutants all over the field. The home side featured players who had risen through their junior ranks, as well as a few ex-ANU players in Sofia Furlanetto, Eliza Baker, and Vanessa Ritchie. They are captained by goalkeeper Ingrid Laursen, a familiar face (along with her family) in the stands at Canberra United games over the years.
Under the tutelage of the new ANU head coach Amalia Edevane, only a small cohort of players from previous seasons remain (Shayma Taweel and Sophie McGlynn amongst them). Well-regarded ex-West Canberra Wanderer Kilkie Leten lined up in attack, and captain Saskia Newman had previously spent time in the Football NSW competition.
Leten showed guile and pace in an early attacking run down the right flank for ANU, but the next 20 minutes belonged utterly to the home side. Majura effectively wrapped the game up by the 18th minute, thanks to a hat-trick to Carmel Lynch and a fierce drive on the second attempt from outside the ANU penalty box by Furlanetto.
Lynch’s goals displayed a keen combination of positional awareness and composure in the opponents’ attacking zone. Her first in the 12th minute capitalised on Olivia Martiniello’s through ball and the rapidly advancing ANU keeper Annabelle Evans, toeing the ball past the keeper from the edge of the penalty area. Her second two minutes later came courtesy of Arianna Kashan’s near-post corner headed by a defender to the feet of the loosely marked attacker, who dispatched the ball from six yards.
Lynch’s hat-trick followed hot on the heels of Furlanetto’s 16th-minute goal, bringing down Abigail Richards’ left-side ball neatly with her left foot in the box and tucking it away, her anticipation showing up the surrounding defence.
ANU challenged Laursen with a corner and, later, two onrushing attackers, but the keeper was up to the task on both occasions. Majura entered the sheds with a four-goal lead.
The students came out in the second half with greater attacking intent, and while they weren’t able to get onto the score-sheet, they were able to stem the flood of Majura goals. Centre-back Danielle Smith’s set pieces were delivered with dangerous accuracy, and Leten and substitute Holly Dalton were to have an occasional attempt on (or near) the Majura goal. Newman sought to chip Laursen on the hour, but the tall keeper was able to pluck the shot out of the sky.
Furlanetto’s accurate strike from 20 yards out with twenty minutes remaining sealed the deal for Majura even while the students were on balance playing the more attacking second-half football. Evans in the ANU goal had some good moments in the game’s final stanza, pulling off a great close-range reflex stop with 18 minutes remaining and another excellent save with her feet in the game’s dying moments.
If it appears that Majura’s victory was based on their attacking merits, that only tells part of the story. We were impressed by the composure, understanding, and distribution of their centre-backs Joanne Southam and Halle Nyamekye. Eliza Baker was effective in the centre of midfield, and wide defenders Richards and Ritchie displayed skill and an eye for providing service to their attacking threats.
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On this showing, the ANU side is a work in progress, still building cohesion. Coach Edevane will take the positives out of her team’s second-half showing and their reaction to the early Majura onslaught. They will not want a repeat showing of their opening 20 minutes against the more established sides in the NPLW competition.
As both teams commence their 2025 season from a similar ‘brand new start’ foundation, we wish them well for the coming months.
>>> Full match timeline and team line-ups can be found here <<<
Final score:
Majura FC 5 (Carmel Lynch 11′ 13′ 17′, Sofia Furlanetto 16′ 69′)
ANU WFC 0
Around The Grounds:
Belconnen United 5-1 Canberra Olympic
West Canberra Wanderers 5-1 Tuggeranong United
Ladder:
