Canberra United Academy 7 (Hayley Taylor-Young 11', 32', 36', 41', 88', Bella Barac 30', Annie Grove 90') def. Canberra Olympic 1 (Emma Finch 65')

Canberra United came into this fixture off the back of a 2-1 victory over Woden Weston, looking for points to try and catch up with league leaders Belconnen United. Down the other end of the table Canberra Olympic were looking to move out of last place ahead of a tough stretch of games.

Taylor-Young Scores Early: In the 11^th minute Hayley Taylor-Young turned inside her defender and placed a well struck ball into the back of the net to give the Academy a 1-0 advantage.

Barac makes it two: Bella Barac was played in behind and latched onto a through through the middle before lobbing the Olympic goalkeeper to give CUA a 2-0 lead after half an hour.

Taylor-Young strikes again: Not long after Barac’s goal Taylor-Young netted her second with an almost identical goal to her first, beating her defender and slotting the ball past the keeper inside the far post.

Taylor-Young third and fourth Only four minutes after completing her brace Taylor-Young finished her hat trick with a sweet left foot strike from outside the box to beat the ‘keeper, and just before the break she was sent through behind the defence and caught the custodian out of position to hand the Academy a 5-0 lead at half-time.

Consolation for Olympic: Olympic came out firing to begin the second half and pulled one back six minutes in through Emma Finch who drew out Isobel Davy and snuck home a finish.

Two late goals: Taylor-Young added a fifth goal to her tally in the 88^th minute as she turned home a low driven cross, and in the final minute Annie Grove sealed the deal when her shot from the edge of the area was not handled well by the goalkeeper and spilt over the line.

Next up |

The Academy will take on Wagga City at Hawker on Saturday, while Olympic have a tough matchup against Canberra FC in their derby at O’Connor.

 

Canberra FC 2 (Jamie Berkeley 54', Alice Churchill 75') def. Woden-Weston 0 

Canberra FC were looking to bounce back from a 1-0 loss against Belconnen, and solidify their spot in the top four. Woden-Weston meanwhile lost the Federation Cup Final the week before and were aiming to make ground on the finals spots.

 

Key moments |

Woodwork: After being on top for the first 20 minutes Canberra FC had their first clear chance of the game with a free kick floated into the box and a low shot hitting the post and bouncing back out.

Second Half Opener: With nine minutes played in the second half, the hosts launched a fast counter attack and Jamie Berkeley turned her marker before firing an effort that was just out of reach for Woden Weston shot stopper Cristina Esposito and gave her side the lead.

The sealer: Canberra FC were applying pressure to the visitors as the ball was played wide Alice Churchill struck a first time effort and that looped over Lillian Geale to seal the scoreline with 15 minutes to go.

Next up |

Canberra FC will meet Canberra Olympic in a derby matchup next round, while Woden-Weston have the week off ahead of a round 13 meeting with Gungahlin United.

 

Wagga City Wanderers 2 (Tess Vacari 14', Christina Grauer-Kompos 73') def. Monaro Panthers 0

Wagga City Wanderers bounced back from a defeat at the hands of Tuggeranong United to record a home win against the Panthers.

 

Key moments |

Wagga open the scoring: Wagga City’s Tess Vacari opened up the scoring after being played a through ball from deep in her own half before rounding the goalkeeper to give Wagga City a 1-0 lead after 14 minutes.

Chance to equalise: Just moments after conceding Monaro had numbers up high pressuring the Wagga back line into coughing up the ball, but a Panthers effort at goal didn’t trouble the Wanderers and they remained in the lead.

Wagga city save: Monaro continued to apply pressure and another chance was tipped over just after the 20-minute mark as the visitors pushed for an equaliser.

Wagga double the lead: With 17 minutes to play the Wanderers whipped in a corner towards the back post and it beat everyone except for Christina Grauer-Kompos who nodded home Wagga City’s second goal and the sealer.

 

Next up |

 

Wagga city will travel to Hawker to take on the second placed Canberra United Academy while Monaro will be facing off with Tuggeranong at Greenway with both teams looking for points.

 

 

Gungahlin United 3 (Erika Pennyfield 5', Ella Brown 76' Ruby Gambale 90+1') def. Tuggeranong United 0

By Jakob Gisik

An injury to young gun Elke Aitolu has soured Gungahlin United’s 3-0 win over Tuggeranong United at a cold and windy GEO on Sunday afternoon.

The victory sees Gungahlin consolidate second spot on the NPLW ladder with just seven rounds remaining.

But it may have come at a cost, with Aitolu forced to leave the pitch mid-way through the first-half after appearing to suffer a nasty ankle injury.

Gungahlin opened the scoring inside five minutes when a cross from Erika Pennyfield got caught in the wind and casually floated over the head of Tuggeranong goalkeeper Miriam Mclaren and into the goal.

They nearly doubled their lead in the 15^th minute as Aitolu sent a curling strike towards goal, only to see the ball cannon back off the crossbar.

Aitolu’s day would come to an end just past the half-hour mark, after the young striker twisted her ankle in a challenge with Tuggeranong’s Kristy Helmers.

Gungahlin continued to look solid though, as sisters’ Stella and Nat De Marco controlled the match in midfield, subsequently denying Tuggeranong any real attacking opportunities in the opening 45 minutes.

The visitors came out with more intent in the second-half and were awfully close to grabbing an early equaliser.

A cross from Sarah Daisley – not to dissimilar from Pennyfield’s goal earlier – drifted over the head of Gungahlin keeper Sophie Spice, but was cleared off the line at the last second by a well-positioned Ruby Gambale.

That would turn out to be Tuggeranong’s best chance, although they continued to make life difficult for the Gungahlin front three.

That was until the 76^th minute, when a lovely pass from Nat De Marco found Ella-Rose Brown, who slid the ball inside the right-post to make it 2-0.

Tuggeranong captain Steph Coates nearly clawed one back from a corner two minutes later, but her lunging header flew over the bar.

The hosts then put the result beyond doubt one minute into stoppage time, as Gambale buried a shot from close range after having her initial effort stopped by Mclaren.

Gungahlin must now prepare for a road trip to McKellar to play Belconnen United, while Tuggeranong will square off against the Monaro Panthers at Greenway.