NPLW Round 3 Wrap
Monaro Panthers 2 (Alicia Meuronen 49’, Elizabeth Edwards 78’) def. by Tuggeranong United 3 (Kassandra Guglielmin 29’, Sarah Daisley 70’, 88’)
Tuggeranong United picked up their first NPLW first grade win since 2017 as a brace from Sarah Daisley guided them to a 3-2 victory against the Monaro Panthers on Saturday.
The teams traded opportunities in the early stages of the first half but it wasn’t until just before the half hour mark that Tuggeranong went ahead.
A United corner was not cleared properly and it fell to Kassandra Guglielmin who fired home from inside the box to give Tuggeranong a 1-0 lead that they took into the break.
It lasted only four minutes of the second half though, the hosts equalising thanks to a long-distance rocket from Alicia Meuronen that whistled into the top corner.
Parity remained for 20-odd minutes until Sarah Daisley won the ball off her opponent in the middle of the park with a strong challenge, before she caught the keeper off her line with an effort from a long way out to put her team back in front.
Monaro equalised again eight minutes later thanks to Liz Edwards as she raced onto Chris Yip-Apu’s ball to fire home, but it was not to be for the hosts as Daisley’s free kick struck the underside of the bar and crossed the line with only minutes remaining.
The win lifts Tuggeranong into seventh spot ahead of a challenging meeting with Belconnen after the Easter break, while Monaro will take on the Canberra United Academy at Hawker.
Canberra FC 7 (Rachael Goldstein (4), Brittany Palombi, Mel Bunker, Vanessa Ryan) def. Canberra Olympic 0
Canberra FC picked up a second 7-0 win in two matches as they thumped Canberra Olympic at Deakin Stadium in their round three match.
The hosts got off to a quick start as Rachael Goldstein tucked a neat finish inside the near post, but it wasn’t until the half hour mark and the in-form striker grabbed two more before half-time to have her side leading by three goals at the break.
Four minutes into the second half Brittany Palombi twisted and turned her way through the Olympic backline before firing home and with 10 minutes gone in the half Mel Bunker’s initial header hit the crossbar, only to nod in the follow up goal.
Canberra FC were cruising at that point, up by five, but continued to push and Vanessa Ryan extended the lead inside the final 10 minutes.
There was still time for one more goal though, and Goldstein grabbed her fourth, tapping in at the far post to seal another big victory and solidify Canberra FC’s place at the top of the table.
Gungahlin United 0 def. by Belconnen United 5 (Maddy Whittall 7’, Nicole Jalocha 31’, 33’, Sam Price 38’, Bronte Pyke 76’)
By Jakob Gisik
Nicole Jalocha bagged a first-half double as Belconnen United cruised to a 5-0 win over Gungahlin United at GEO on Sunday afternoon.
Star players Lauren Keir, Jazz Zaebel and Caitlin Munoz were all absent for the Blue Devils, but it mattered little as the visitors rode a dominant opening half to victory.
Belconnen jumped out of the gates fast and grabbed the lead inside seven minutes, after Maddy Whittall fought her way through the Gungahlin defence to tap home a low cross from Leah Carnegie.
Carnegie could have had a goal of her own in the 27th minute, but her rifling shot from the top of the penalty area was denied by the crossbar.
The Blue Devils weren’t left to rue the missed opportunity though, as Jalocha netted the first of her goals four minutes later.
After turning her defender with ease, Jalocha engaged in a lovely one-two movement with Carnegie before stabbing a shot past Gungahlin goalkeeper Kailey Tonini from just outside the six-yard box.
Jalocha was at it again two minutes later as she hit a first-time volley into the bottom left corner following an errant Gungahlin header.
Belconnen then made it four for the half as Alexia Forner played a well-weighted ball into the path of Samantha Price who finished clinically past Tonini in goals.
The home side had a chance to strike back early in the second-half following a Sally James error, the Belconnen goalkeeper handling the ball a good five metres outside her own penalty area.
Freyja Jacobson stepped up to take the resulting free kick and a strong effort saw her shot sail inches over the crossbar.
The Gungahlin defence clamped down on the Blue Devils in the second-half, as Antoni Jagarinec’s side failed to produce any meaningful attempt on goal.
That was until the 76th minute however, when a lovely touch from Price sent Bronte Pyke through on goal and the left-back slotted the ball inside the post to make it five for Belconnen.
Gungahlin had a chance to claw one back in the 90th minute when Ella-Rose Brown fired a long-range effort at goal, only to see Belconnen substitute keeper Jayla Murphy make a brilliant overhead save to prevent the ball from dipping under the crossbar.
Both sides face a quick turnaround before their next match, with the Women’s Federation Cup quarter-finals beginning this week.
Gungahlin will be away to Woden-Weston FC on Wednesday, while Belconnen will square off against the Canberra United Academy on Thursday in a rematch of last year’s Cup final.
Wagga City Wanderers 0 def. by Canberra United Academy 4 (Hayley Taylor-Young 50’, 79’, 87’, Sasha Grove 71’)
The Canberra United Academy picked up their second win in a row with a 4-0 defeat of Wagga City thanks in large part to a hat-trick from Hayley Taylor Young.
Neither side were able to make headway in the first 45 minutes of an even clash, but it took just a few minutes of the second half for Taylor-Young to continue her scoring form with a neat finish from a tight angle past the goalkeeper.
Shortly after Alexandra Hinson was forced into a save from Wagga City’s Tess Vaccari but the Academy extended their lead entering the final 20 minutes as the ball was cut back from the left to Sasha Grove to fire home.
Nine minutes later the lead was three when Taylor-Young headed home a free-kick for her second goal and she completed her hat-trick with five minutes remaining as the keeper spilt a cross and the forward was there to mop up the loose ball.
The win sees the Academy occupy second spot on the table heading into Easter, while Wagga remain in fifth place after two matches.
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