Canberra FC 2 (Kofi Danning 83’, Thomas James 90’) def. Riverina Rhinos 0

Canberra FC continued their perfect start to the NPL season with a 2-0 win over the Rhinos at Deakin on Saturday.

The first half was something of a dour affair, with both sides struggling to create chances and very little of note taking place. Both teams looked to find each other out a little but defenses held strong and the game reached its half way mark with no troubling of the scorers.

The second half initially began in a similar manner but the two sides soon changed gear, and play began to flow at Deakin.

The Rhinos had one of the best chances of the second half as Artur Rattel was sent through on goal but Sam Brown did brilliantly to deny him and claim the ball.

And just five minutes later they were on the back foot when Luke Santolin was given his marching orders by the referee and the Rhinos were down to 10 men.

It took only eight minutes for Canberra FC to capitalise, and Kofi Danning made the most of the man advantage to score and hand his side the lead with seven minutes to go.

The Rhinos struggled to create chances down a player, and Thomas James sealed the result with his fourth goal of the season in the 90^th minute.

Canberra FC are at home again next weekend as they welcome Tigers FC to Canberra, while the Rhinos will face Canberra Olympic at O’Connor.

 

Woden-Weston 1 (Frederick Olaide Yinka-Kehinde 78’) drew. Gungahlin United 1 (Jack Green 33’)

Gungahlin United grabbed their first point of the 2018 season as they drew 1-1 with Woden-Weston on the weekend.

The match begin evenly, but Woden-Weston began to threaten and came close on a couple of occasions. Jason Denham was called on to deny the hosts on a couple of occasions from close range although nearly gave up a goal with a dangerous turnover, and as the backline held firm Gungahlin began to get out in transition and trouble Woden-Weston on the counter.

That paid dividends just after the half hour mark as Mikey Katsoulis was fouled in a dangerous area, and Jack Green thumped home a header from the resulting free kick to hand the visitors a one-goal advantage at half-time.

The second-half continued at a frantic pace, and both sides had further chances up front only for strong defence and good goalkeeping to deny them. With just over 10 minutes left Frederick Olaide Yinka-Kehinde raced through on goal and beat Denham with a touch before firing home to even up the scores, and threated again as time wound down.

But neither side were able to find the all important breakthrough despite a wild finish, and Gungahlin will now look to build on the result in their matchup with Tuggeranong next week while Woden-Weston have the week off with a bye.

 

Tuggeranong United 1 (Mate Barisic 16’) def. by Canberra Olympic 3 (Daniel Colbertaldo 19’, Michael John 78’, Robbie Cattanach 90+2’)

Canberra Olympic picked up their third straight league win and snapped Tuggeranong United’s four game streak with a 3-1 win at Greenway on Sunday afternoon.

Full report here.

 

Tigers FC 3 (Niko Kalfas 15’, Alex Oloriegbe 21’, Tony Madaffari 90’) def. Monaro Panthers 0

Tigers FC grabbed their first win of the 2018 season and piled the misery on Monaro with a three-nil win over the Panthers in Cooma.

The hosts took the initiative from the outset and it took them just a quarter of an hour to find the scoresheet as a Monaro infringement in the area was awarded as a penalty.

Niko Kalfas stepped up to the plate and converted cleanly to give his side an early advantage at home and leave Monaro on the back foot.

And six minutes later things got bleaker for the visitors as Alex Oloriegbe doubled the advantage with a well-taken finish for his third goal of the season.

The Panthers had battled well on the road to defeat Riverina in the Cup on Wednesday but struggled to fight their way into the match for much of the first half. Tigers were able to dictate much of the play, but they also did not create too many major chances before the break.

The second half was also a tight affair, with neither side able to stamp their authority on the match throughout until Tony Madaffari sealed the comfortable scoreline with a goal in the final minute of regulation.

The loss was a third straight 3-0 loss in the league for the Panthers after a winning start and they will face Belconnen United, while Tigers face a tough outing against Canberra FC at Deakin Stadium.