Article: Nathanael Merchant

Canberra Croatia vs Gungahlin United | Saturday, 26th September – 6pm @ Deakin Stadium
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It’s the day every team fights for! Grand Final Day is upon us and the fans are being treated to a truly great match up between Canberra Croatia and Gungahlin United - the teams that finished on top of the table of the regular season. The two teams that have won the past two NPL1 Grand Finals come face-to-face, with Gungahlin looking to claim back-to-back NPL1 titles while the red hot Canberra Croatia want to cap off an almost flawless season. 

Canberra Croatia 

Croatia has been spectacular this season, not losing a single game in both the regular season and the Championship Series. With eight wins and two draws, the Canberra Croatia juggernaut rolls into the NPL1 Grand Final high on confidence. Their pace of play, relentless style and solid backline sets them up nicely against any opponent and they have the array of players to execute an entertaining style of football. But what has been most impressive, is their never say die attitude.

Four times this season, Dean Ugrinic's men have scored in the final 10 minutes to grab all three points or a share of the points. In Round 1, a Jason Ugrinic strike stole all three points from Monaro Panthers in the 91st minute. Then in their Round 4 clash against Canberra Olympic, Daniel Barac and Dom Giampaolo scored in the 84th and 87th minute in a comeback win. They left it even later against Belconnen United, as Aimilio Kista and Jason Ugrinic scored in 93rd and 95th minute to win 3-2. Lastly, it was a Ryan Keir header in the 89th minute that ended Tuggeranong United's finals hopes and kept Canberra Croatia's undefeated streak alive. One thing is for certain, Canberra Croatia will not give up until they hear the final whistle.

Gungahlin United 

Gungahlin United have had a rollercoaster season. Pundits failed to find a weakness in the side, as the club recruited strongly in the off-season, adding the firepower of Philippe Bernabo-Madrid, Josh Gulevski, Michael Adams and Thomas Milicevic to a side that steamrolled their to the 2019 NPL title. They started strongly, winning three of their first four matches before the wheels fell off.  A loss to Tuggeranong United followed by draws against Monaro Panthers, Belconenn United and Canberra Olympic saw their season stall, before they finally got back to winning ways against Tigers FC last weekend.

Unlike last season's Grand Final, momentum is against United but the danger with Marcial Munoz's side is that they can click back into gear without a moment's notice. The side has shown resilience when their backs were against the wall, putting their 5-0 loss to Canberra Croatia and propelling themselves into the Grand Final with a 2-0 win against Tigers FC. It is that championship mentality that Tigers must be aware of. Having a settled back line of Lachie Griffiths, Jack Green and Badreldin Abbas is a boost for the Gunners, while a firing Michael John will be pivotal if they want to upset a highly-fancied Canberra Croatia side.

Head to Head 

Canberra Croatia grabbed four points from a possible six against Gungahlin United this season, drawing 1-1 in Round 2 before thrashing them 5-0 in the Championship Series, in what was Gungahlin's worst performance in two years.

The Deakin based side does have the better of their past matches, winning five of their past seven matches, but Gungahlin United has beaten Canberra Croatia the last two times the sides faced each other in the finals, including a 5-2 drubbing in the 2019 NPL1 Semi Finals and 3-0 win in the 2017 NPL1 Semi Finals.

Key Matchup 

Nikola Ujdur has arguably been the best player of the NPL1 this season, scoring five goals in his side's ten games this season. His partnership with Ryan Keir in the heart of Canberra Croatia's midfield makes the side tick, so they will be relying on Ujdur for another masterclass against a talented Gungahlin United midfield.

Philippe Bernabo-Madrid has done it on the big stage before and is ready to step up once again. He scored 20 goals on the way to Olympic's treble-winning finish in 2016 and also led Pascoe Vale to Victoria's NPL finals in 2018. 2020 has been a relatively quiet season by his lofty standards, scoring only three goals in seven matches, but when the time arives, Bernabo-Madrid will be ready to stand up and lead his team to back-to-back titles.

Don’t miss any of the action this weekend! Tune into Capital Football's YouTube page to watch all the action, including a pre-game show with host Russ Gibbs.