ACT WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE
MATCHDAY 9
Sunday 12th June
A huge encounter is in store this weekend in the ACT Women’s Premier League as Gungahlin United and Belconnen United meet at Gungahlin Enclosed with the leadership of the competition up for grabs. Only two points separate the pair heading into the match with a Gunners win seeing them leapfrog last season’s treble winners on the ladder.
And whilst Gungahlin will be confident they have the quality to unlock the Blue Devils defence and claim those three points they will need no reminding of the fact that they came off second best during the Round 4 match between the teams at McKellar Park in late April. That match, played under lights at the home of the Blue Devils, saw second half goals from Talia Backhouse, Michaela Day and Ellie Raymond overturn Brittany Palombi’s first-half opener for the Gunners.
Between them the teams have netted 71 goals in their eight matches suggesting we should be in for a feast of attacking football in this match. Whilst the Palombi sisters, Ashleigh and Brittany, lead the goalscoring charts with twenty between them, the Belconnen ranks share their goals around a lot more. Both enjoy playing close-passing football and attacking at will so we should be in for a thriller.
Two teams with aspirations of breaking into the top two, or at least making life difficult for the leading duo come finals time, clash at Kambah on Sunday afternoon as Tuggeranong United meets Canberra FC. FC, currently third on the ladder, and barring a nightmare collapse almost certain of finals football, will be hoping to repeat their Round 4 success when they came out on top in a nine-goal epic at Deakin Stadium.
Amy McLachlan and Meg McLaughlin traded hat-tricks on that memorable afternoon with FC just sneaking home in the final moments of the game. Tuggeranong have been producing football much more worthy than their results indicate and they will be certain to leave nothing off the park as they bid to keep alive their chances of semi-final football.
Over at Woden Park, Woden-Weston FC welcomes the CU Academy to their home venue and will be confident that they can add another three points to their tally as they attempt to shake off the belligerent chasing pack and secure their top four status. Woden-Weston dominated the Round 4 match at Hawker Football Centre on the scoreboard winning 5-0, Karen Clarke and Erika Pennyfield netting two apiece, but the Academy have been playing well in recent weeks, despite their results, and could cause a headache or two for their opponents.
FIXTURES
Gungahlin United v Belconnen United
(Gungahlin Enclosed, 14:00)
Tuggeranong United v Canberra FC
(Kambah 2, 14:00)
Woden-Weston FC v CU Academy
(Woden Park, 14:00)
TABLE
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
1 | Belconnen United | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 7 | +30 | 21 |
2 | Gungahlin United | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 8 | +26 | 19 |
3 | Canberra FC | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 9 | +13 | 14 |
4 | Woden-Weston FC | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 7 |
5 | Tuggeranong United | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 24 | -9 | 6 |
6 | CU Academy | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 60 | -58 | 0 |
LEADING SCORERS
11 Brittany PALOMBI (Gungahlin United)
9 Ashleigh PALOMBI (Gungahlin United)
8 Meg MCLAUGHLIN (Tuggeranong United)
6 Michaela DAY (Belconnen United)
5 Ellie RAYMOND (Belconnen United)
4 Emma BESTEK, Kate THORNTON (Canberra FC), Erika PENNYFIELD (Woden-Weston FC), Own GOALS
3 Chloe CALLAGHAN, Cara CUTAIA, Samantha PRICE, Jessie WILLIAMS, Katie WOODMAN (Belconnen United), Alice CHURCHILL, Marcia WALLIS (Canberra FC), Alex LAWRENCE (Tuggeranong United), Karen CLARKE (Woden-Weston FC)
2 Talia BACKHOUSE, Aoife COLVILL, Caitlin MUNOZ (Belconnen United), Kat CONROY, Grace GILL, Eden STODDARD (Canberra FC), Ilahna AITCHSION, Natalie DE MARCO, Alex MARTENS, Sally ROJAHN (Gungahlin United), Jamie BERKELEY (Tuggeranong United)
1 Adriana ILHEO, Amy SPENCE, Madelyn WHITTALL (Belconnen United), Rachael GOLDSTEIN, Brigitte WRIGHT (Canberra FC), Lily DAWSON, Karly ROESTBAKKEN (CU Academy), Caitlin CANTRILL, Grace FIELD, Georgia FOGARTY (Gungahlin United), Sandra HILL, Hayley MCLACHLAN (Tuggeranong United), Leah CARNEGIE, Rhianna GOLDSTEIN, Paul VAN DOMMELEN (Woden-Weston FC)