Resilient Canberra FC thwart Olympic in Elimination Final
By Mat Stramandinoli
Canberra FC 2 (Sarah Evans 62’, Grace Gill 90+1’) def. Canberra Olympic 0
Two-second half goals helped Canberra FC knock off Canberra Olympic at Woden park on Sunday, booking their spot in the preliminary final next weekend.
The defending champions came out all guns blazing for the first quarter of an hour, holding the ball well into their forward half and forcing Olympic to defend deep.
Marcia Wallis had the best of the Canberra FC chances in the first half, but her effort from straight in front sailed over the crossbar in the 20th minute.
Canberra FC were forced into an early substitution as Amy McLachlan went off with an ankle injury, and the game slowed down following the change, allowing Olympic to gain a foothold.
Grace Maher came close shortly after from a free kick but Nat Vasta did well to get across and push the shot away for a corner.
The visitors seemed to struggle with the assistant referee’s flag though, with a number of chances snuffed out as their forwards strayed offside.
Meg McLaughlin was denied by Vasta in first-half stoppage time just metres out from the goal and the two teams headed into half-time locked goalles.
Canberra FC took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half as well, forcing their opponent’s to defend wave after waves of attack, and they broke through just after the hour mark as Sophia Evans struck from well outside the area to beat Gabby O’Brien at the near post.
Jamie Berkeley came close to doubling the lead four minutes later only for her wicked strike to find the side netting, and their opponent’s looked to work their way back into the contest.
McLaughlin’s battle with Vasta continued in the final 10 minutes as she went through behind the backline and slid an effort towards the far corner, only for Vasta to stick out a leg and push the ball away from goal to keep her side in the lead.
That proved pivotal as the game entered stoppage time, Grace Gill sealing the match with a fine free-kick effort that curled into the far corner out of O’Brien’s reach.
The score remained 2-0 at the final whistle, sending Olympic crashing out in the first round of finals, while Canberra FC head into a monster clash with the Academy next weekend.
Comments
Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.