Photo Credit: @tufc_tuggies on Twitter

Monaro Panthers 1 (Zoe Szeremet 71’)drew. Canberra Olympic 1 (Kirsten Hurt 35’)

Canberra Olympic picked up their first point of the 2017 NPLW season on Saturday as they played out a 1-1 draw with Monaro at Riverside Stadium.

Having struggled initially in the season, Olympic had been steadily improving and this matchup stuck out as one that they could take advantage of.

The game started as an end to end affair but both sides struggled to create chances as the contest wore on. Olympic found their first real chance after 35 minutes and Kirsten Hunt was there to make the most of it as she found the back of the net to give the visitors the lead.

Monaro struggled at the pointy end of the field and were missing last week’s hat-trick hero Zoe Szeremet, however her arrival for the second half heralded a different outlook.

The forward came straight from sitting a University exam and was substituted in upon her arrival, and her impact was almost immediate as the pulled her side level with just under 20 minutes to go. Neither side were able to find a chance to score a winner as time wore down, and both continue to hold the bottom two spots on the NPLW table.

 

Tuggeranong United 3 (Meg McLaughlin (2), Kristy Helmers)def. Canberra FC 0

Tuggeranong United bounced back from last week’s 4-4 draw with Monaro in a convincing defeat of Canberra FC on Sunday. The home side won this matchup 4-2 in the opening week of the competition, and started the stronger of the two sides this time.

It took only 15 minutes for Tuggies to take the lead as Meg McLaughlin fired home while under pressure from the visiting defence. CFC struggled to get themselves into the game as Tuggeranong looked to create more chances and Kristy Helmers doubled the advantage for the home side as she found space inside the defence to beat the keeper.

Down 2-0 at the break the visitors needed to respond, but were still unable to find their rhythm playing very differently to their normal selves. They were punished again early in the second half as McLaughlin got her second goal of the match and never got into the contest from there. The win brings Tuggeranong even on points with their opponents and facing Belconnen United last week, while Canberra FC now sit fourth ahead of a matchup with Monaro Panthers.

  

Canberra United Academy 2 (Isabel Mulhall 69’, Aiofe Colvill 80’)def. by Woden-Weston FC 3 (Cassia McGlashan 7’, Sarah Crittenden 31’, Lotta Raap 51’)

The Canberra United Academy fell to a second straight defeat on Sunday as a strong first half from Woden-Weston set them up for victory at Hawker. Cassia McGlashan opened up the scoring early as Woden-Weston pushed the Academy back, and Sarah Crittenden’s strike after thirty minutes put the visitors in the driver’s seat at the break.

The younger Academy side struggled to work their way into the game as Diego Elmoudawar’s side held them at bay expertly, and Lotta Raap’s goal six minutes into the second half looked to have put the game to bed.

However the Academy came back and pushed hard, and worked their way back into the game. After producing a number of chances, the home side hit back through Isabel Mulhall with 21 minutes left to reduce the deficit, before Aiofe Colvill made it a one-goal deficit with just ten minutes to go. With Woden-Weston pressed back against the wall the Academy had one final chance, but it was sent over the bar from just infront of goal as a draw beckoned.

Woden-Weston will face Gungahlin United next weekend while the Academy take on Canberra Olympic as they look to snap their losing streak.

 

Gungahlin United 0 def. by Belconnen United 2 (Maddy Whittall 5’, 27’)

Belconnen United took home a sixth-straight victory on Sunday as Maddy Whittall’s first half brace was enough at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval. The visitors came out as the better side and made it count over a wasteful home side, with a number of chances going begging for Gungahlin, including late in the second half.

 Full report here.