Photo: Alistair Nitz 

Gungahlin United 2 (Bernabo-Madrid 5’, 67’ (p)) draw with Belconnen United 2 (Florez 39’, Borgeaud 57’)
Article: Will Makepeace

Gungahlin United coach Marcial Munoz conceded his team was fortunate to come away with a point after their opening fixture of the NPL 1 championship series against Belconnen ended 2-2 at Deakin Stadium. Gungahlin struggled to contain Belconnen’s counter-attacking football which exposed the defending premiers on a number of occasions. Only a combination of fine goalkeeping by Gungahlin’s Josh Lagudah and poor finishing from Belconnen keeping them in the fixture. Despite nearly conceding in the first minute, only for Lagudah to tip a shot on to the bar, Gungahlin took the lead in the 6th minute after a lofted through ball from Antoni Timotheou found striker Philippe Bernabo-Madrid who placed it into the bottom right corner. Misses by both competition leading scorer Luca Florez and strike partner Kofi Danning, combined with Lagudah’s heroics, continued to let Gungahlin off the hook. Munoz was full of praise for the way his number one kept the side in the match. Belconnen did however equalise just minutes before the break, with Florez finally converting in the 40th minute.

Belconnen continued to press at the beginning of the second half, culminating in a Philippe Borgeaud headed goal off a set piece by Dustin Wells in the 56th minute giving them a deserved 2-1 lead. A handball inside the penalty area in the 68th minute gave Gungahlin their chance to draw the game level. Bernabo-Madrid made no mistake from the spot, nestling the ball in the bottom right corner to get his double and his 58th NPL goal. Both teams had chances to snatch the victory – the best falling to Belconnen’s Max Mellick late into stoppage time – the match finished with both sides taking a crucial point. Gungahlin have the opportunity to turn things around against the undefeated Canberra Croatia FC next Saturday, while Belconnen will be favourites against Tigers FC.

Canberra Croatia 3 (Colbertaldo 4’, Ujdur 49’, 69’) defeatedTigers FC 0
Article: Lachlan Fields

Canberra Croatia FC sealed a 3-0 win over the Cooma Tigers on Saturday afternoon at Deakin Stadium, in round 1 of the inaugural NPL Championship Series introduced by Capital Football for the COVID struck 2020 season. A stunning strike from Daniel Colbertaldo and a brace from Niko Ujdur secured the 3 points for Canberra FC, putting them clear at the top of the table after the first matchday of a 3 round finals series. Tigers FC were down to 10 men after Julian Borgna received a red card for headbutting Matt Grbesa, which was his second send-off for the season. From this point on it was smooth sailing for Canberra FC, but despite the result assistant coach Brad Waters believes his side still has much to work on moving forward. “It was a pretty frustrating day to be quite frank … We are quite disappointed in our inability to be critical in our decision making” said Waters. “They went down to 10 men quite early … we needed to retain possession a bit more and respect it a bit more moving forward” added Waters.

Waters did mention that there were positives to take from the game, as Canberra Croatia created numerous opportunities and were able to keep a clean sheet. This was Canberra Croatia’s sixth win of the season, and strong defensive performances from captain Matt Grbesa and goalkeeper Sam Brown ensured that their unbeaten run continues. Canberra Croatia will now prepare for their matchup against a strong Gungahlin United side, in a game that sees first and second in the regular season go head-to-head. After a 1-1 draw earlier in the season, the outcome of the match next Saturday will be significant in determining who takes one step closer to a grand final spot in this year’s competition. “Canberra vs Gungahlin is always a big fixture … they had a draw today so they will be looking forward to the game” said Waters. Waters is confident in his side's game plan and believes that there is no need to change anything tactically for their matchup with Gungahlin United next week. Canberra Croatia will be looking to continue their strong form in what could potentially be a grand final preview.

Canberra Olympic 1 (Popovic, 51’) draw with Woden Weston 1 (Anderson, 78’)

Article: Evelyn Karatzas

A 78th-minute strike from Roy Anderson ensured Woden Weston grabbed a share of the points against Canberra Olympic in their first match of the 2020 NPL1 Men's Championship series at Riverside Football Stadium.  A week after a 3-1 loss to Woden Weston ended their top-four hopes, Canberra Olympic failed to bounce back, conceding late after Nik Popovic scored the opener in the 51st minute.  Wanderers had the best opportunities in the opening half, as a great sweeping team move on the half-hour mark was snuffed out by a great covering challenge by Michael Southam. Jaidon Selden was a shining light in an attacking Woden midfield, causing Olympic's youthful backline plenty of headaches. 

But it was Olympic who would take the lead in the second half through their captain Popovic. A great chipped ball into the box from Christopher Reay found Popovic in an acre of space, who had time to control his first mistime shot to fire the ball past Willem Lejeune.  Olympic could have killed off the game just 20 minutes later through Stephen Domenici, but his shot was cleared off the line by Connor Bill. Olympic was made to pay minutes later, as Roy Anderson took advantage of a poor clearance, rifling the ball into the net from the edge of the box. Neither side had opportunities to snatch all three points, as both sides seemed content with a point. 

Tuggeranong United 0 defeated by Monaro Panthers 3 (Smith 3’, Neou 86’, Ahmed-Shaibu 90+2’)

An early strike from Sam Smith set the tone for the Monaro Panthers in the 2020 NPL1 Men's Championship series, defeating Tuggeranong United 3-0 at Riverside Football Stadium. The comprehensive win was just the Panthers' second win of 2020, as they soared to the top of the table. A beautiful team move, led by Osman Daramy, was finished off by Sam Smith, as a smart dummy from Lukman Ahmed-Shaibu found his winger with space at the edge of the box, who calmly slotted the ball past a helpless Jakeb Wiseman. The result could have been put beyond doubt inside the opening 15 minutes, but the Panthers were thwarted by the woodwork. Ahmed-Shaibu's shot cannoned off the post in the 8th minute before Adam Neou's shot from six yards out was denied by the crossbar. Tuggeranong United eventually settled into the match and their best opportunities came from a flurry of free-kicks late in the half. 

The second half started sluggishly as both sides struggled to find their rhythm. In the 68th minute, Monaro was once again denied by the woodwork, as Smith's shot from the edge of the box beat Wiseman but bounced back off the post. The "away" side did eventually find the back of the net, as Neou scored his first goal of the season, robbing the ball off young Harrison Buesnel and firing past Wiseman. In the dying minutes of the match, Ahmed-Shaibu joined his wingers on the scoresheet, nodding the ball home from an inviting cross from Sam Roestbakken.