It was two (Canberra Croatia) vs three (Gungahlin United) in sunny conditions at Deakin Stadium on the first day of winter. The day also marked the start of the second full round of Capital Football‘s NPLW competition.
Other games from this round include:
Canberra Olympic vs Belconnen United (full stream)
Tuggeranong United vs West Canberra Wanderers (full stream)
Majura FC had the bye
For an alternate review of the round, check out the Capital Football article from Sam Watson.
Match of the Round: Canberra Croatia vs Gungahlin United
We recently reported the significant achievement of Canberra Croatia’s Brittany Palombi in reaching 200 games. Her team hasn’t played at home for a couple of weeks, and her teammates took the opportunity to celebrate, donning ‘Palombi 200’ shirts for the warmup and interviewing her post-match:
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The teams had met just 12 days earlier in the Round 1 postponed midweek fixture; on that occasion, there was very little between them, with CCFC taking the game 2-1 thanks to a late penalty. Any thought of the home side resting players for next Saturday’s Federation Cup final was immediately put to bed with the team that took the field, although Ellie Summers, Latisha Babic, Sofia Merkoureas, and Luella Coleman were unavailable. Ellie Raymond and Hannah Bourke both started for Musie Elongo’s side.
It was a pleasant surprise to see Georgia Ritchie take her place in the Gungahlin United goal, having fulfilled her Canberra United obligations. Jada Lamond has also returned to the team since we last saw them, pushing Chelsea Hately to the bench. As has been the case thus far in 2025, coach Marcial Munoz has seen value in using Darby Whiteley’s explosive speed off the bench.
If the home side had a little more of the ball in the first half, they failed to capitalise on their opportunities, while the Gunners took theirs. Jamie Berkeley in the CCFC midfield has an eye for finding Palombi in space, but the deadliest left boot in the competition took some time to find its radar. In the 15th minute, Ginger Oliver’s corner – and subsequent second cross – found the ball in the back of keeper Megan Snell’s net thanks to Maddie Perceval’s header, but Perceval was ruled offside.
Amy Moore’s ambitious low shot from distance in the 26th minute led to the opening goal. The shot instead acted as the perfect pass to Nat De Marco, who was sitting off Bourke’s shoulder in the centre of CCFC’s defence. De Marco finished expertly, with offside claims falling on deaf ears.
Michaela Thornton had a golden opportunity in the 34th minute, rising high and unopposed to meet Palombi’s corner with her head, but her direction was wide.
Both sides have two of the best left-wingers in the competition in Palombi and Bonnie Young, and both were to prove influential. Young doubled her team’s lead just before halftime with a shot from near the left touchline. Seeing Snell just off her line, Young jinked to the right to make room for a wonderful strike over Snell’s outstretched hand and into the net.
The second half saw Angelina Babic in for Arusha Chew, and a determination by the home side to make more of an impact on the game. When Ritchie’s touch on the edge of her area in the 52nd minute was a little loose, Palombi’s challenge saw the ball pop out to Raymond. An empty net beckoned, and Raymond made no mistake; the margin now just one goal.
Megan Castle restored the two-goal margin after ten minutes of CCFC dominance. Moore did well to dispossess Babic, and Nat De Marco’s ball into the box was perfectly weighted for Castle to roll the ball into the net to the left of Snell.
A yellow card and free kick by Moore on Palombi three minutes later brought out the best in the striker. The Canberra United custodian had no chance against Palombi’s bullet drive from 21 yards into the top right corner, with the score now 3-2.
The home side’s second-half revival continued; in the 71st minute, a bouncing ball delivered by Berkeley into the Gunners’ penalty area was headed over Ritchie by Palombi. In going for the ball, Ritchie’s trailing arm made inadvertent contact with her opponent and a penalty was awarded. Initially shown a red card, a consultation with the assistant downgraded the card to a yellow. Berkeley stepped up and coolly slotted the penalty to make it 3-3, and a more exciting opening 25 minutes to a second half could scarcely be imagined.
Canberra Croatia pressed for a winner as the clock wound down, but their efforts went unrewarded. Indeed, the Gunners’ own dead-ball specialist Oliver almost pinched it for the visitors near full-time, lobbing a free kick from the centre circle onto Snell’s crossbar.
This was an enthralling contest from start to finish, and the always excellent cevapi roll from the canteen only enhanced the afternoon’s enjoyment. Gungahlin showed that their attacking quality can hurt you even when they don’t have as much possession as their passing game would normally indicate. For their part, Canberra Croatia showed that when they flick the switch, they are a dangerous side, especially if Berkeley is given room to find Palombi in space. Coach Elongo’s challenge is to help his team consistently find the mindset they displayed during their barnstorming second half.
>>> Full match timeline and team line-ups can be found here <<<
Final score:
Canberra Croatia 3 (Ellie Raymond 52′, Brittany Palombi 63′, Jamie Berkeley 71′)
Gungahlin United 3 (Nat De Marco 26′, Bonnie Young 42′, Megan Castle 61′)
Around The Grounds:
Canberra Olympic 0-5 Belconnen United
Tuggeranong United 1-5 West Canberra Wanderers
Ladder:
Next round:
The Federation Cup final between Canberra Croatia and Belconnen United kicks off at McKellar Park on Saturday, June 7th at 12:30pm .
Round 9 follows a week later:
