Capital Football‘s Federation Cup is a knockout tournament that runs in parallel with the NPL season. The Women’s edition of the Cup has run since 2012, and clubs do not need to be in the NPL to participate.
While Belconnen United is no stranger to Federation Cup success, this was Canberra Olympic‘s first appearance in the final, and indeed Olympic’s trophy cupboard is bare when it comes to their top-grade women’s team. Olympic came into the final as narrow favourites, having knocked out 2021 Cup holders Canberra Croatia in the semi-final.
Federation Cup final: Belconnen United vs Canberra Olympic
Turnover at the Blue Devils during the off-season – some players notably heading to their Cup Final opponents – meant that a mix of youth and experience lined up in sky blue at a cold Deakin Stadium. The multi-talented Karen Clarke played in goals due to the ongoing absence of Jayla Murphy, which was a clever move. With two young centre backs in front of her, Clarke’s experience as a central defender would have been invaluable in guiding Lauren Preston and Sofia Doumos around, and it worked a treat. Preston in particular impressed on the big stage.
Ashleigh Sykes was unavailable for the final, but if anyone was expecting this to limit Olympic’s direct attacking style, they hadn’t counted on Tianah Miro lifting for the occasion and nicely complementing Michaela Thornton’s efforts.
Miro opened the scoring after just 90 seconds. An early Olympic corner found its way to Meg Roden on the edge of the box, whose shot at Clarke could only be parried. Miro pounced on the loose ball, slotting it at close range for the best possible Olympic start.
Canberra Olympic corner kicks were a feature of the first half and pointed to Olympic’s dominance. Blue Devils captain Talia Backhouse was monumental in the aerial contest, helping to repel many airborne Olympic threats. Backhouse was to play deeper in a defensive holding role for much of this game, and this too was smart Cup Final football from Belconnen. The only NPL outing between the teams this season was a 3-2 win to Olympic, and just as they had done then, the Blue Devils were doing their best to ensure they remained within arm’s reach of Olympic.
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Of course, Belconnen wasn’t without attacking threats of their own, but lightning-fast winger Keira Bobbin was also back helping to defend as required, sometimes tracking the in-form Victoria Jamieson’s runs down the wing. Meanwhile, Olivia Bomford and Tatum Mazis found themselves with limited opportunities in the attacking line.
Olympic scored a second goal with 30 seconds remaining in the first half, certainly a bitter pill to swallow for the Blue Devils. Picking up a short corner, Nicole Jalocha found room to deliver a perfect ball towards the back post, with Vanessa Ryan looping it over and across Clarke for a 2-0 halftime lead.
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Olivia Fogarty was to take Ryan’s place in the Olympic attack for the second half. The strapping around the legs of both players proved no impediment to their skill and endeavour in this match.
Three astute substitutions in a ten minute period around the hour mark were vital for Belconnen United’s second half fortunes. Reilly Yuen added attacking zest, and this was typified by one of Belconnen’s best passages of play on 68 minutes. A Backhouse backheel found Stefi Lejins on the right flank, whose sharp pass found Bobbin on the wing. Bobbin centred the ball for Yuen to volley, but Janet King was able to save.
A minute later, Yuen hit the crossbar with a ranged looping shot that had King beaten. The likes of Backhouse, Lejins and Doumos were venturing forward, and for a time it was Canberra Olympic absorbing pressure.
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With 20 minutes remaining, Olympic’s Sarah Johnston was shown a yellow card for bringing down young substitute forward Pearl Tein. Bianca Kimpton (another Belconnen sub) delivered the perfect long bomb free-kick – the ball sailed over King and was deflected into the Olympic goal by Tein, making for an intriguing finish to the game.
The Blue Devils pressure continued as they asked questions of the Olympic defence. Thornton received a yellow card with six minutes remaining for a pull on Backhouse. Bomford took a knock to the ankle at this point, causing a halt to the game as she was helped off the pitch.
This break in play allowed Olympic to regroup, and their older heads were able to see the game through to its conclusion. As the final whistle blew, the cries of the raucous Olympic support heralded their team’s first women’s silverware.
The 2-1 score was a fair result and an indication of the quality at the disposal of this Canberra Olympic squad – credit must go to Nicole Begg for the way she has pulled them together. A brave Belconnen United will be pleased with their reaction to the game situation in the second half, and this should give them plenty of heart for the remainder of the NPL season.
Photo gallery by Kai Moebus
Final score:
Belconnen United 1 (Tein 71′)
Canberra Olympic 2 (Miro 2′, Ryan 45′)
Teams:
Belconnen United – Coach: Scott Conlon
Karen Clarke, Leah Carnegie, Lauren Preston, Sofia Doumos, Stefi Lejins, Talia Backhouse (c), Ella Palframan, Sofia Palywoda, Keira Bobbin, Olivia Bomford, Tatum Mazis
Subs: Tia Burridge (85′ => Bomford), Bianca Kimpton (59′ => Carnegie), Katie Woodman, Reilly Yuen (59′ => Mazis), Pearl Tein (68′ => Palframan)
Yellow card: Lejins (73′)
Canberra Olympic – Coach: Nicole Begg
Janet King, Renee Junna, Ali Cook, Elke Aitolu, Victoria Jamieson (c), Nicole Jalocha, Sarah Johnston, Meg Roden, Michaela Thornton, Tianah Miro, Vanessa Ryan
Subs: Katrina Peric (88′ => Jamieson), Arusha Chew (66′ => Roden), Brittany Fiorese, Olivia Fogarty (46′ => Ryan), Ellie Summers
Yellow cards: Jalocha 30’, Johnston 70’, Thornton 84’
Around The Grounds:
NPL Round 6 midweek catchup game
Tuggeranong United 0-2 Canberra United Academy
Next week:
NPLW resumes – Round 9
Tuggeranong United vs Canberra Olympic, Greenway Enclosed, Friday 10 June, 7:45pm
Wagga City vs Canberra Croatia, Gissing Oval, Sunday 12 June, 2:30pm
Gungahlin United vs Belconnen United, Gungahlin Enclosed, Sunday 12 June, 3:00pm
Canberra United Academy vs West Canberra, Hawker Enclosed, Sunday 12 June, 5:10pm
Follow all our ACT NPLW coverage here.
