Tuggeranong United FC 0 def. by Canberra Olympic 5 (Emma Guo 1’, Grace Maher 16, 67’, Grace Field 37’, Vanessa Ryan 74’)

By Mat Stramandinoli

Canberra Olympic showed their NPL Women’s rivals that they are the real deal with a dominating 5-0 win over Tuggeranong United FC.

Emma Guo got the visitors off to the perfect start with a great strike from a Grace Maher pass inside the box within the first 30 seconds of the match and the goal would prove to set the tone for the remainder of the 90 minutes.

Staggered chances came few and far between for Tuggeranong, with Adrianna Ilheo’s 9^th minute run down the wing and shot onto the woodwork proving the best of their chances.

Olympic dominated the ball for the first 15 minutes, with much of the offense being played though Maher and Grace Field, as they controlled the midfield. This domination soon saw them score again, as an unselfish pass from Grace Basser-Silk found Maher to tap into an open goal, doubling Olympic’s lead.

A great chance from Alexia Forner saw her go one-on-one with the keeper, but her effort struck the woodwork shortly before the half hour. Not long after, Basser-Silk provided another great assist, this time, to Field who placed it past Tuggeranong’s Cristina Esposito, giving Olympic a 3-0 lead at the end of the half.

Tuggeranong came out of the gates quickly at the beginning of the second half, with Ilheo once again showing her ability to be a threat around the goals with constant pressure on the Olympic defense.

An arm wrestle ensued, only for Olympic to add another one to the score sheet with a brilliant Maher free kick, which found the bottom corner with 23 minutes to play.

Just 7 minutes later, super-sub Vanessa Ryan, fresh off a four-goal haul in reserves, put the final touches on Olympic’s big win with a tidy finish just inside the area to make it 5-0 for her side and seal the game.