Tuggeranong United v Gungahlin United – Sunday 2pm – Greenway Enclosed

Tuggeranong United will look to end a three-match losing streak in the league when they host Gungahlin United at Greenway Enclosed on Sunday afternoon. Losses to Belconnen United, Woden-Weston and the Academy have set them back in their chase of top four, and they will be looking for a bounce back after also going down in the Federation Cup on Thursday night. Tuggeranong currently sit six points back of Canberra FC in fourth place, and four points behind Woden-Weston in fifth. While a win here would be a great start in climbing the table, they will also be relying on other results to help them out.

 

Gungahlin continued a strong run of form with a come-from-behind win over Canberra Olympic to sit level on points in second spot. With a third-best attack across the league and an equal-second best defense, Diego Iglesias’ side are in a good spot around the halfway mark of the season and can build on that great recent form with a win here. Last weekend’s win was without the Palombi sisters featuring up front, but with a return likely this week the Tuggeranong defence will need to be on their toes. This is sure to be a great match at Greenway, with it quite possibly proving to be make or break for the hosts.

Canberra Olympic v Belconnen United - Sunday 3pm - O'Connor Enclosed

Canberra Olympic will hope to carry one of their best performances of the season last week against Gungahlin into a clash with league heavyweights Belconnen United. Olympic lead twice in that match thanks to goals from Nat McCann and Kiara Gaspari but were unable to close the match as Gungahlin fought back. That meant that the hosts will still be looking for their first three points of the season, but will find it tough against United. The pace up front of Maddy Whittall and Chloe Callaghan, combined with deadly finishing, means that the Olympic defence will need to be careful of pushing too high as they move the ball out, something that Gungahlin exposed last weekend.

For United, they continued a winning streak that stretches back to Round Three of the league, and have showed no signs of slowing down in recent weeks. A grand total of two goals conceded throughout the season gives an indication of where they are at, while their attacking output does not come close to been rivalled. The last time these two met United inflicted a 13-0 drubbing on their opponents, but will face a better-drilled, more confident Olympic side this time out.

 

Woden-Weston FC v Canberra FC – Sunday 3pm - Woden Park Enclosed

The fight for fourth spot will continue on Sunday as Woden-Weston host Canberra FC at Woden Park. The last time these two met they played out a goalless draw in a tense affair, but both coaches will be looking for more this time out. Both sides were in the same ladder positions, only reversed after that match, and have both had streaky records since. Woden-Weston gave themselves a good run-in to this match with a 4-2 Federation Cup win over Tuggeranong on Thursday, and Diego Elmoudawar will be hoping that his side pull up well from that match. Elmoudawar used that match as a chance to blood a number of youngsters, who performed well, so should be able to push out a full-strength side in this matchup.

For Canberra FC, a 3-0 loss to Belconnen last weekend continued a streaky patch a loss to Tuggeranong United and wins over Monaro Panthers and Canberra Olympic. Mark Risteski has juggled a squad in and out of fitness for much of the year, but needs to begin sorting out the right combinations as we get towards the business end of the season. A win here would put last year’s Grand Finalists five points up on their opponents for fourth spot, but a loss will throw them right back into the contest. With two of the most evenly matched teams in the competition battling it out and with the stakes getting higher for the season, this is sure to be a great match.

Canberra United Academy v Monaro Panthers - Sunday 4pm - Hawker Football Centre

The Academy will look to keep ahead of Gungahlin United on Sunday as they take on Monaro Panthers at Hawker Football Centre. The Academy inflicted a 7-2 defeat on Panthers last time they met but have stuttered at time since then, dropping three matches since that round after beginning undefeated. A fast start here for the Academy, as with their four goal first-half last weekend against Tuggeranong will be the key to pulling away from Panthers.

Angelo Maralit’s side pulled out an unexpected draw from their clash with Woden-Weston last weekend and will head into this match confident that they can pull out a better result than the last time they faced off. Monaro have continued to improve as the season as gone on and Zoe Szeremet has developed into a legitimate goal threat against any defence, including the often leaky Academy backline. If Monaro can allow the game to be played at their pace and not get pulled out of position by the Academy then they stand a far better chance of getting within striking distance here.