Round 2 of the shortened 2020 Capital Football NPLW1 competition saw Canberra Olympic realise the promise it showed last week in putting five away against Woden-Weston; two class goals couldn’t separate Tuggeranong United and Monaro Panthers; a seven goal thriller in Wagga City’s first game this year (against Canberra Croatia); and an intriguing contest between two first round winners in Beyond 90’s match of the round.

Match of the Round: Canberra United Academy v Gungahlin United

An ACT government travel recommendation to not venture out of town put paid to this Beyond 90 correspondent’s grand plans for a day trip to Wagga Wagga to see their first game, so it was off to Hawker Football Centre late Sunday afternoon in drizzle to witness some of the competition’s best young talent in action across the park.

Both teams were coming off Round 1 wins, with Academy beating Tuggeranong United away 3-1, and Gungahlin taking home the spoils 2-0 (the link includes an analysis of how the Gunners team is set up in 2020) against the up-and-coming Canberra Olympic side.

In a game where the first half belonged to Gungahlin and the second to the Academy, the heroics of Gunners keeper Kailey Tonini ensured that her team earned the points against an Academy side which pushed them all the way.

A first-half strike from Ella Brown helped @GungahlinUnited climb to the top of the NPLW ladder, after defeating Canberra United Academy 1-0 at a drenched Hawker Football Centre.

Read our match report here 👉 https://t.co/FRjndjimyW pic.twitter.com/hS23s3hLty

— NPL Capital Football (@officialNPLCF) July 27, 2020

In some ways this game had the look of an Academy vs Academy contest, with both teams featuring skillful young players, and with the entire Gungahlin midfield (along with Elke Aitolu rotating into midfield at times during games) having Academy connections from seasons gone by.

The main item of interest for Canberra United Academy was the high amount of turnover in the team, as outlined in their Beyond 90 season preview. This left them with an embarrassment of riches in their front third, but low on numbers in key central midfield roles. With Mia McGovern joining Belconnen United, Molly Lawless at Illawarra Stingrays, and Bella Barac having also departed, coach Scott O’Donell has opted in the opening rounds to play two of his most experienced and composed attacking players (Hayley Taylor-Young and Sasha Grove) in midfield. No doubt this is being done both for the good of the team and as an effective way to further develop them and the players around them, which after all is the main aim of the Academy set-up.

Both Taylor-Young and Grove have figured consistently in the competition’s leading goal-scorer charts the last few seasons so some may view this move with raised eyebrows, but it’s clear that O’Donell is looking to the experience and game smarts of both players to help steer and guide this team around in the absence of his 2019 midfield generals. Taylor-Young’s speed as a sweeping number 6 in front of the defence is certainly an asset, and you can bet that both she and Grove will still be able to contribute to attacking moves. The trick will be to ensure that the other players around them know to cover them when they do.

This arrangement allows Sofia Christopherson and Anna Hunt roles in the Academy forward line, along with Alex Gidis who had a single appearance in NPLW1 for the Academy in 2019. Christopherson proved to be a revelation for Woden-Weston last season on the right wing, while Hunt’s credentials with the Junior Matildas in 2018 and in the NSW NPLW2 competition last year speak for themselves.

With all the change in the Academy team, and with the settled nature of the Gungahlin squad, the game started in the way you might expect, as Gungahlin kept the ball for longer periods but the Academy side looked dangerous on the counter-attack. The direct and hard running Hunt had a one-on-one chance with Gungahlin keeper Kailey Tonini in the 8th minute but drove her shot right at Tonini, while Gidis had a similar opportunity in the 25th minute but was to push the ball too wide in rounding Tonini.

Following a period where Maddie Perceval showed great composure and anticipation in the Gunners backline, midfielder Stella De Marco struck the crossbar from a set piece in the 28th minute. The understanding that De Marco demonstrated last week in feeding through balls to Erika Pennyfield on the right wing flipped this week to Ella Brown on the left. Brown was to trouble the Academy right side defence throughout the first half, and this culminated in the 45th minute when Brown cut in on her right foot from outside the top of the penalty box past Katherine Tyo, striking low and hard beneath Academy keeper Izzy Davy to give Gungahlin a boost and a one goal lead coming into half-time.

Brown and Pennyfield switched wings as the second half kicked off but this proved no obstacle to a more determined Academy side in the second half. O’Donell will be pleased with his team’s response this half, turning the tables possession-wise on the Gunners. The game was now played mainly in the Gunners’ half as the rain got heavier.

Academy midfielder Tara Cannon grew into the game in the second half and there was renewed drive coming through from midfield with Cannon, Sasha Grove, and Taylor-Young all working hard to create attacking momentum. Cannon guided a free kick just over the crossbar in the 57th minute, and hit a fierce drive into the side netting in the 78th minute.

The last ten minutes of the game were a flurry, matching the weather conditions for intensity. Hunt hit the Gungahlin crossbar on 80 minutes from outside the area, then at the other end Davy made a great save, denying Gunners substitute Ruby Gambale from distance.

In a repeat performance from Gidis in the first half, Sasha Grove rounded Tonini in the 82nd minute but pushed the ball too wide to steer it into the net. 

Gungahlin can once again thank keeper Tonini, surely the outstanding keeper of the competition from the first two rounds. She first somehow got fingertips onto the ball in the 84th minute in a diving save, pushing Christopherson’s shot onto the post, then similarly deflected Hunt’s smashed goal-bound drive in the 87th minute onto the crossbar. 

Tonini’s remarkable efforts were enough to see the game out for a 1-0 Gungahlin win, but the Academy will take plenty of heart from their second half performance.

Final score:

Canberra United Academy 0

Gungahlin United 1 (E. Brown 45′)

Teams:

Canberra United Academy – Coach: Scott O’Donell

Isobel Davey, Annie Grove, Katherine Tyo, Alyse Jensen, Tayla Hampson, Hayley Taylor-Young (c), Sasha Grove, Tara Cannon, Sofia Christopherson, Anna Hunt, Alexandra Gidis
Subs:  Jaya Bowman (84′ => Cannon), Daisy Canavan, Aurelia Haynes, Nikita Perry (78′ => Gidis)

Yellow/Red cards: Nil

Gungahlin United – Coach: Diego Iglesias

Kailey Tonini, Brigitte Sander, Dhiaan Sidhu, Maddie Perceval (c), Alex Paterson, Stefi Lejins, Stella De Marco, Tianah Miro, Ella-Rose Brown, Elke Aitolu, Erika Pennyfield 
Subs: Sophie Spice, Ruby Gambale (72′ => Aitolu), Maria Rathouski, Courtney McCann, Cameron Jackson (59′ => Miro)

Yellow/Red cards: Nil

Around The Grounds:

Monaro Panthers 1 – 1 Tuggeranong United

Canberra Olympic 5 – 1 Woden-Weston FC

Wagga City 3 – 4 Canberra Croatia FC

Belconnen United FC – bye

Round 3 fixtures can be viewed here.

Ladder:

Follow all our ACT NPLW coverage here.

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