Belconnen United 6 (Karen Clarke 45’, Nicole Jalocha 51’, Jessie Williams 59’, 64’, Chloe Callaghan 73’, 90’)def. Tuggeranong United 1 (Adriana Ilheo 4’)

Belconnen United turned on the burners in the second half on Saturday as they came from an early goal down to record a 6-1 victory over Tuggeranong at McKellar Park.

Adriana Ilheo shocked the home side as she put Tuggeranong ahead inside the opening few minutes, stirring memories of Tuggeranong’s round two victory over the reigning premiers. Tuggies continued to hold out but suffered a blow as forward Meg McLaughlin was forced from the field midway during the half, and were caught out on the cusp of half-time as Karen Clarke stole in to give the hosts parity at half-time.

From there on it was all Belconnen as the home side ran rampant throughout the second half. Nicole Jalocha struck first as she scored just six minutes in to give her side the lead, before Jessie Williams doubled the advantage eight minutes later with a well taken strike.

Williams completed a brace five minutes afterwards in a fantastic performance, showing no signs of having played 114 minutes on Thursday night in the Federation Cup. With time winding down Belconnen continued to turn the screws, and livewire forward Chloe Callaghan scored Belconnen’s fifth 17 minutes from time before completing her own double in the final minute of regulation time as the hosts reinforced their position at the top of the ladder.

The loss leaves Tuggeranong five points behind Woden-Weston for the last finals spot, ahead of a massive clash with the Wanderers this weekend.

 

Canberra FC 2 (Hayley McLachlan 59’, Alice Churchill 90’)def. Monaro Panthers 0

Canberra FC kept their grip on second spot in the PS4 NPLW Women’s with a 2-0 win over Monaro Panthers at Deakin Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts controlled much of the game from the outset but were unable to break down a disciplined Monaro defence, and toiled away for much of the first half. The visitors did not create many chances, as the absence of Zoe Szeremet hurt them going forward.

After the sides were locked goalless at half-time it took just 14 second half minutes for the hosts to break through, and Hayley McLachlan took full advantage as the Panthers failed to clear a corner, knocking the ball home to put her side in front.

Canberra FC continued to control the game after taking the lead and settled into a rhythm as the half wore on. Just as time wound down though they doubled their advantage, as Alice Churchill’s effort slipped through the hands of Nat Vasta in goals and nestled in the back of the net.

The loss for Monaro means they are all but mathematically out of the race for finals with a tough clash against Belconnen United up next weekend, while Canberra FC will take on rivals Canberra Olympic as they look to secure their finals berth ahead of the last few weeks of the season.

 

Gungahlin United 0 def. by Woden-Weston 1 (Lotta Raap 90+’)

An injury time goal from Lotta Raap gave Woden-Weston a 1-0 win over Gungahlin United on Sunday and put them five points clear of Tuggeranong in the fourth finals spot.

Full report here.