Monaro Panthers v Belconnen United – Sunday 2pm @ Riverside Stadium

Belconnen United will be out to retain top position in the league on Sunday when they face Monaro Panthers at Riverside on Saturday. A 4-0 win over Canberra FC last weekend was a stamp of authority from last years Grand Final runners-up, and they will look to bring that form into this matchup. Disciplined defending and a classy midfield ensured that United created what they wanted in that matchup, and they should be able to dictate terms here as well. There was some concerns over Jessie Williams post-match last week so Antoni Jagarinec may need to change things up front, but there should be little concern otherwise for the Blue Devils heading into this match.

Monaro took the lead early against Gungahlin last weekend but eventually relinquished the lead in testing conditions. The forecast looks better (read: less windy), which will make playing the ball a little easier, but the Panthers will likely still struggle to break down the Belconnen defence. If Monaro can force Belconnen to play scrappy as they did with Gungahlin last weekend then they can look to play the game closer to their terms, but duking it out with the competition’s best side as a young team will be tough. This will offer a good barometer for Monaro of where they are at early in the season.

 

Gungahlin United v Canberra FC – Sunday 3pm @ Nicholls Synthetic

Canberra FC will welcome back Chantel Jones and Grace Gill as they aim to bounce back from Saturday’s heavy loss at the hands of Belconnen United. The reigning Champions struggled to create clear-cut chances against a disciplined Belconnen side and it will be interesting to see if they approach this outing differently. A re-jigged midfield should help with that once Jones & Gill are back in, and their experience should prove vital against a fresh and young Gungahlin side. If Jones can get back into her goal scoring form of last season then United will have a problem on their hands, with her range and power alone meaning she does not have to beat the defence first.

United scrapped past Monaro last weekend but were almost denied by the woodwork in the process, hitting the crossbar no less than three times after going behind early in the match. Experienced hands took over when needed and Ashlyn Garrity and Erika Pennyfield pulled United back into the game and ahead with goals. That experience will be important in this rematch of the 2017 Preliminary Final, where Canberra FC won out by just a solitary goal. That side has arguably become stronger since then while Gungahlin have lost players, so this will be a tough match for United to take the points from.

 

Canberra United Academy v Tuggeranong United – Sunday 3pm @ Hawker Football Centre

Both Canberra United Academy and Tuggeranong United will be looking to bounce back from Round One losses when they meet at Hawker on Sunday evening. The Academy went down to Canberra Olympic in a 5-3 battle at the same ground in Round One, failing to deal with Olympic’s counter-attacking prowess and not taking advantage of their own chances when they presented.

Karly Roestbakken will be available to play the full 90 minutes this weekend after only coming on as a half-time substitute last game, but the fitness of Aoife Colvill is up in the air after she departed the loss early on.

For Tuggeranong a 2-0 loss to Woden-Weston was a reflection of a poor first half where they struggled to match their opponent’s intensity from the beginning, before sizing up to the Wanderers in the second half. Michael Aldred is set to carry in a largely unchanged squad to this weekend with no major injury concerns but may change his setup to mitigate the pace and movement of the Academy side.

 

Woden-Weston FC v Canberra Olympic – Rescheduled