Canberra Olympic's Sienna Farrar. Photo: @KaiMoebus

Twenty-one glorious rounds await Capital Football NPLW fans and the eight teams contesting the competition in 2021.

Round 12 saw a top of the table clash, and the mid-table merry-go-round again in full swing. It will be fascinating to see which teams claim third and fourth positions in nine rounds time; it sure isn’t easy to predict who those teams may be.

Beyond 90 ventured to a fresh O’Connor Oval on Sunday to see Canberra Olympic up against the Wagga City Wanderers. 

Other Round 12 games that were held this weekend included:

Canberra Croatia vs Belconnen United
Gungahlin United vs Canberra United Academy
Tuggeranong United vs West Canberra Wanderers 

Match of the Round: Canberra Olympic vs Wagga City Wanderers

The June 30 player transfer window has come and gone, with team changes sprinkled around the Capital Football NPLW1 landscape. Jordan Ujdur – until recently with Canberra Croatia – turned out in Canberra Olympic blue, and Beyond 90 was pleased to see one of the B90 2020 Team of The Year Centre Backs – Ella Hemmings – make her first appearance in NPLW1 season 2021 in this Round 12 game. 

Also making a welcome return last round was one of Wagga City’s brightest talents Piper Lockley, who was injured way back in Round 6 against Canberra Croatia. Regular captain Suze Waia, however, was not available for their Round 12 game, with Bronte Buik wearing the captain’s armband.

Olympic wingback Sienna Farrar gets a shot by Wagga City defender Sophie Cary, with Sam Emms well-positioned in goals. Photo: @KaiMoebus

It was a rocky start for the visitors as accomplished Olympic striker Ashleigh Sykes – one of three Julie Dolan medallists in the competition – stamped her authority by scoring in just the fourth minute. She made the most of Ally Cook’s well-weighted through ball from midfield and slid a left-foot finish into the bottom right of the Wagga net.

Cook began the season in defence but the strong form of Courtney Halse partnering with the excellent Brittany Fiorese in central defence has meant Cook has been able to demonstrate how well-rounded her game is in midfield. There was no better example of this than her role in this first Olympic goal.


Wagga City central midfielder Kirilee Cameron almost intercepted Victoria Jamieson’s back-pass for keeper Aurelia Haynes in the 10th minute, and the danger didn’t abate as Lockley’s corner rattled the Olympic crossbar. Cameron hobbled off the ground moments later, as Lockley shifted from right wing to a number 10 role in behind striker Megan Castle.

What a game Castle had; her pressure on the Olympic defence was tireless and she was often carrying the can as a sole attacking outlet in the face of the pressure that Olympic constantly exerted on their opponents. 

Olympic defender Brittany Fiorese can’t help but smile at this moment of levity between Wagga City’s Kim Morgan and Megan Castle. Photo: @KaiMoebus

The 24th minute saw a delightful series of passes and movement between Olympic’s Ujdur and Sykes upfield with multiple defenders around them. It was then Sykes and Raechel Hardwicke’s turn to show how far their understanding has come, first as Sykes burst onto a Hardwicke through ball but firing her shot directly to the talented Samantha Emms in the Wagga City goal, and then – after Hardwicke had just struck the crossbar – with Sykes returning the favour in feeding the ball through for Hardwicke’s run by her.

The pressure from the team in blue came to a head on the half-hour as Sykes made a run into the Wagga City penalty box from the left and centred beautifully for Anna Vandenbroucke for a tap-in and a 2-0 lead.


The last 15 minutes of the half was more evenly contested as Wagga worked hard in midfield to contain multiple Olympic attacking avenues (Cook’s strike from distance and Hardwicke’s ball across the Wagga box) and to create chances of their own. Buik’s strike on the Olympic goal six minutes short of halftime came courtesy of some fine lead-up work by the team. Wagga City’s left midfielder Hannah Stevens brought the half to a close with her attempt on Haynes’ goal.

Wagga City keeper Samantha Emms leads the huddle discussion. Photo: @KaiMoebus

Olympic was to start the second half as they did the first, with an early goal. Emms did well to deny Ujdur with her feet just three minutes in, but couldn’t do anything about Hardwicke’s downward header from Cook’s free-kick just a minute later.


In reply, Haynes pulled off one of the saves of the game at the other end with Buik the recipient of some skilful work by Lockley and Stevens. Buik curled her shot towards the right post but Haynes’ spectacular leap allowed her to tip the ball just past the post.

Three successive waves of Olympic attack then flooded Wagga City’s way from the 52nd minute. Beating her defender down the right, Ujdur’s delivery to Sykes was pushed just past the left post. Two minutes later there was almost a repeat of the Sykes-Vandenbroucke tap-in goal, with the ball just beyond Vandenbroucke’s reach. 

Olympic’s Ash Sykes in a footrace with Wagga City’s Casey Smith. Photo: @KaiMoebus

It all came together in the third wave for Olympic: Hardwicke combined beautifully with Sykes via a cheeky Vandenbroucke backheel for a gem of a fourth goal as Sykes tapped the ball in from close range. 


A penalty was fortunate to be awarded to Olympic for Casey Smith’s contact on Sykes in the Wagga box with twenty minutes to go, and Cook made no mistake in blasting the ball from the spot into the top right corner for a fifth.


The hard-working Wagga City central midfielder Ashley Holder tried her luck on Haynes’ goal with under 15 minutes left, but it was defender Sophie Carey who found Cook’s free-kick difficult to handle. Facing her own goal, Carey bundled it over the line for the sixth and final goal for the game with three minutes remaining.

To their credit, the Wanderers never stopped trying, and the last attempt on goal for the game fell to Buik on the edge of the Olympic six-yard box from a free-kick, just out of reach. 

Wagga City captain Bronte Buik holds off Olympic’s Jordan Ujdur. Photo: @KaiMoebus

It was a comprehensive win for Olympic at home and the six goals in the ‘For’ column bring them into third place on the ladder. Wagga City is a team with an undeniable talent and a willing work ethic, but today were missing some consistency around the park in the face of the Olympic onslaught. 

 

Final score:

Canberra Olympic 6 (Sykes 4′ 55′, Vandenbroucke 28′, Hardwicke 49′, Cook 70′, Cary (own goal) 87′)

Wagga City Wanderers 0 

 

Teams:

Canberra Olympic – Coach: Nicole Begg

Aurelia Haynes, Sienna Farrar, Brittany Fiorese, Courtney Halse, Victoria Jamieson (c), Jordan Ujdur, Lara Burdett, Ally Cook, Raechel Hardwicke,  Anna Vandenbroucke, Ashleigh Sykes 

Subs: Anna Bennett (56′ => Hardwicke), Emma Croker (70′ => Ujdur), Ella Hemmings (70′ => Sykes), Tarah Manthongsy (85′ => Burdett), Ellie Summers (81′ => Haynes)

Yellow/Red cards: Nil

Wagga City Wanderers – Coach: Sam Gray

Samantha Emms, Rennae Sillett, Christina Grauer-Kompos, Sophie Cary, Casey Smith, Ashley Holder, Kirrilee Cameron, Bronte Buik, Hannah Stevens, Piper Lockley, Megan Castle

Subs: Zoe Jenkins (62′ => Scott), Abbey Nolan-Hodges (70′ => Sillett), Piper Scott (13′ => Cameron), Amanda Armstrong, Kim Morgan (79′ => Smith)

Yellow cards: Holder 64′


Around The Grounds:

Canberra Croatia 3 – 1 Belconnen United
Gungahlin United 3 – 2 Canberra United Academy 
Tuggeranong United 1 – 2 West Canberra Wanderers 


Ladder:

Pos Team P W D L For Against GD Pts
1 Canberra Croatia FC 12 10 1 1 52 12 40 31
2 Belconnen United FC 12 9 1 2 44 13 31 28
3 Canberra Olympic FC 12 6 1 5 31 27 4 19
4 West Canberra Wanderers FC 12 6 1 5 19 17 2 19
5 Gungahlin United FC 12 6 0 6 29 19 10 18
6 Canberra United Academy 12 5 3 4 26 26 0 18
7 Wagga City Wanderers FC 12 2 0 10 12 49 -37 6
8 Tuggeranong United FC 12 0 1 11 5 55 -50 1

 

Next week:

Round 13

Belconnen United vs Tuggeranong United, McKellar Park, Saturday 10 July, 3:00pm

West Canberra vs Gungahlin United, Melrose Synthetic, Sunday 11 July, 12:45pm

Wagga City vs Canberra Croatia, Gissing Oval, Sunday 11 July, 2:30pm

Canberra United Academy vs Canberra Olympic, Hawker Enclosed, Sunday 11 July, 3pm  

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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