Mark Shields was in red-hot form for Queanbeyan City who remain on the coat-tails of the leading duo, ANU FC and O’Connor Knights, after they returned from the trip to the Riverina with a six goals and a big win over Wagga City Wanderers. Shields took his NPL2 season total to a dozen goals, and joint leadership of the Golden Boot race with ANU’s Sam Carters, with a four-goal haul. The four goals from the City hitman meant he had netted in six of the last seven matches and has eleven goals in that same period. Michael Adams joined Shields amongst the goals, extending his scoring streak to five successive matches, whilst there was a first of the season for Michael Kita. Samson Lucas pulled one back for Wagga who remain at the foot of the table after being replaced in midweek by Brindabella Blues.

The Blues moved themselves off the bottom of the table with a 4-2 midweek victory over Weston-Molonglo FC in the rearranged match that had been abandoned in Round 10. It was a match to remember for young forward Kenzo Sly-Umebayashi who registered his first goals for the clO'ub at this level as a contest that appeared destined to end 1-0 exploded into life late on. Joshua Gibbs had given the Blues the lead in the first-half and when Sly-Umebayashi made it two with twenty minuets to play, the points appeared secure. Ashley Blount pulled one back within a minute for the Magpies before Abderrahim Dellahi looked to have nicked a point with eight minutes to play. Not so, for the Blues hot back as Sly-Umebayashi responded within sixty seconds, his second of the encounter, before David Edlington wrapped up the points in stoppage time.

When Round 12 action commenced on the weekend, there were the usual wins for the top three, but the biggest result came in the battle for fourth place as Yoogali SC came from a goal behind to defeat the travelling White Eagles at Solar Mad Stadium. David Rodriguez had put the Eagles in front four minutes before the interval and it was a lead they held until a two-minute spell with twenty to play. Yoogali’s leading scorer Danny Roche, back from suspension, equalised for the home team, netting his eleventh goal of the campaign, before Isaac Donadel won it moments later, sending a stunning chip over the head of the ‘keeper from 35 metres to claim a critical three points. The maximum return for Yoogali put them above the Eagles into fourth with a two-point cushion, although the Eagles have a game in hand.

ANU FC and the O’Connor Knights are still deadlocked at the top, the leading pair moving onto 31 points for the season with routine wins. The University side defeated Brindabella Blues 3-1 with Carters moving onto twelve for the season. Cuneyt Caglar and Jan Wojna added the other goals for ANU FC with a penalty from Zac Lawrence providing the traveling Blues support with a modicum of cheer.  Meanwhile, a brace from David McCarron led the Knights to a 4-1 away win over Weston-Molonglo FC for whom Dellahi increased his NPL goal tally to seven. Patrick O’Rourke, who now has six goals for the season in the league, and Dennis Misic, recently signed from Brindabella Blues, kept the Knights on track ahead of a huge clash when they visit Queanbeyan City in Round 13.

 

 

RESULTS

ANU FC 3 ( Caglar 13’, Carters 19’, Wojna 35’) v Brindabella Blues FC 1 (Lawrence 32’)

Yoogali SC 2 (Roche, Donadel) v Canberra White Eagles 1 (Rodriguez)

Wagga City Wanderers 1 (Lucas) v Queanbeyan City FC 6 (Shields, Adama, Kita) 

Weston Molonglo FC 1 (Dellahi) v O’Connor Knights SC 4 (McCarron, O’Rourke, Misic)