REVIEW: CPL – DERBY WIN SENDS CITY CLOSER TO DREAMLAND - Capital Football (2024)

Queanbeyan City moved to within six points of promotion to the National Premier League following their latest victory in Round 17 of the Capital Premier League, a convincing 4-0 win in the derby against White Eagles at High Street. That result maintained their cushion at the top of table with games running out for those who might deny them their dream.

Indeed, with ANU FC capable of only a maximum of fifteen points, which would put them onto 49, and the Blue Devils only capable of a maximum tally of 48, two wins would mathematically put the race to bed. However, such is City’s hugely superior points difference, they may require only five to get the job done.

Another major milestone was chalked off, with the victory rarely in doubt, from the moment that midfield metronome Marko Savkovic struck the opener, a goal that had Queanbeyan ahead by half-time and settled whatever nerves may have been fraying around the compact ground.

Vasko Petrovski emerged as an unlikely goal-hero in the second-half, the big defender doubling the lead, and then adding the gloss on the final result with his second of the match two minutes from full-time. In between, Nahuel Guerrero had increased the score to 3-0, and now it appears merely a matter of when, not if, the promotion party can begin.

Belconnen United will not give up the ghost of a return to the top-flight and kept the pressure on Queanbeyan with a big 5-1 win over West Canberra Wanderers at McKellar Park. Belconnen had three by the break and were never in any real doubt of seeing off the struggling Wanderers, despite a spirited attempt.

The Blue Devils got off to the perfect start, netting the opening goal from the penalty spot with Dustin Wells moving his personal tally onto double figures for the season, before Abraham Kemp was able to increase the lead before twenty minutes had elapsed on the clock.

Wanderers reduced the arrears with a penalty of their own, Liam Cristofani doing the honours from the spot for the visiting team to sow some doubt within the home ranks, but that was dispelled only moments later as striker Luke Vallone was able to restore the two-goal advantage.

The second stanza was equally tough for West Canberra, but they steadied the ship, and it took until the 65^th minute for Wells to add to the tally, his eleventh of the season. Belconnen sealed the win, adding a fifth through Harry Billington, three minutes into stoppage time.

ANU FC remain the team likeliest to halt the Queanbeyan charge, by virtue of having a game in hand and being the closest team to City should they win it. They kept alive their slim hopes of stealing the title by nicking a vital win in the Riverina, scoring in the last minute to see off the resilient challenge of Wagga City Wanderers at Gissing Oval.

The home side had threatened to upset the applecart in the opening half as their midfield maestro, Morris Kadzola, scored from the penalty spot seven minutes before the half-time break to put the Wanderers into a surprise lead, the goal being his eighth of the CPL season.

However, ANU FC have a goal-machine all of their own and, when they did draw the match back onto level terms eleven minutes upon the resumption of play in the second-half, it was little surprise that Jack Gibson was the source of the equaliser. The forward is enjoying the season of his career and scored for the seventeenth time in the league.

There was still plenty of time for a dramatic conclusion. After Wanderers were reduced to ten men following the dismissal of Bryce Falepau nine minutes from the final whistle, ANU FC scented a chance. And they were to take it as the match ticked into its final sixty seconds, Jacob Hart popping up for the fourth time in 2024 to score what might prove to be a vital goal.

A dismissal for Canberra Juventus star Domenic Giampaolo in the 68^th minute didn’t help the home team in their quest to derail Brindabella Blues, the visitors seeing off the ten men with a 2-0 victory at Ainslie Oval after Giampaolo was sent off for receiving a second yellow card within minutes of his first.

By that time though the visiting team had already scored twice to get their season back on track, the win securing finals football for the top four after Wagga City Wanderers failed to get the maximum points they needed at home to ANU FC to delay what appeared to be the inevitable.

Riley Williams opened the scoring for the Blues, netting in the 26^th minute of the match to put Brindabella on course for the win, and when Deng Aleer-Deng doubled the lead just ten minutes later, the course of the points was set. Juventus responded well, and made life uncomfortable for their visitors, but couldn’t find the goal to give themselves a chance of a recovery.

RESULTS

ROUND 17

3 August

Queanbeyan City 4 (Savkovic 36’, Petrovski 64’, 88’, Guerrero 78’) White Eagles 0

Belconnen United 5 (Wells 7’ (p), 65’, Kemp 19’, Vallone 36’, Billington 90+3’) West Canberra Wanderers 1 (Cristofani 35’ (p))

Canberra Juventus 0 Brindabella Blues 2 (Williams 26’, Aleer-Deng 36’)

Wagga City Wanderers 1 (Kadzola 38’ (p)) ANU FC 2 (Gibson 56’, Hart 90’)

TABLE

TOP SCORERS

24: Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City)

17: Jack GIBSON (ANU FC)

11: Dustin WELLS (Belconnen United)

10: Jake BISHOP (Belconnen United), Abderrahim DEALLAHI (Queanbeyan City), Curtis SCHAEFFER (Brindabella Blues)

9: Hassan ALNUWAYSIR (ANU FC)

8: Morris KADZOLA (Wagga City Wanderers)

7: Abraham KEMP (Belconnen United), David REITSTATTER (Belconnen United), Riley WILLIAMS (Brindabella Blues), Thomas YONGAI (Wagga City Wanderers)

6: Babin PAUDYAL (Belconnen United), Zac STEELE (Wagga City Wanderers), Ollie WITRZENS (Brindabella Blues)

5: Harry BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Baxter DONOHOE (West Canberra Wanderers), Nahuel GUERRERO (Queanbeyan City), Virgil MOUTAUD (West Canberra Wanderers), Own GOALS

4: Nathan DUCK (Canberra Juventus), Jacob HART (ANU FC), Misko NAUMOSKI (Queanbeyan City), Mohammed YANSANEH (Queanbeyan City)

3: Gabriel AYUEL (Queanbeyan City), Cuneyt CAGLAR (Brindabella Blues), Zac CHADWICK (ANU FC), Liam CRISTOFANI (West Canberra Wanderers), Jayde JAMES-WARD (Belconnen United), Ethan KRUG (ANU FC), Kade LYONS (Wagga City Wanderers), Adrian MACOR (Canberra Juventus), Alasdair MOORE (ANU FC), Michael NELSON (Brindabella Blues), Marko SAVKOVIC (Queanbeyan City), Luke VALLONE (Belconnen United), Henry WILKS (Brindabella Blues)

2: Deng ALEER DENG (Brindabella Blues), Seth BONNET (Queanbeyan City), Adam BROOKS (Canberra Juventus), Frazer BURNS (Canberra Juventus), Bryce FALEPAU (Wagga City Wanderers), Leo HADLEY (ANU FC), Samson LUCAS (Wagga City Wanderers), Braulio MELO (White Eagles), Max MOTTL (ANU FC), Vasko PETROVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Steven SRBINOSKI (Queanbeyan City)

1: Wyatt ADAM (Wagga City Wanderers), Riley ANGELOSANTE (White Eagles), David CARDER (Belconnen United), Tom COSENTINI (Canberra Juventus), Lachlan DENLEY (White Eagles), Daniel FELIZZI (Brindabella Blues), Daniel FOX (West Canberra Wanderers), Marcus GRZIC (White Eagles), Clayton GUNNING (West Canberra Wanderers), Josh HICKMAN (White Eagles), Jack JANKE (Belconnen United), Bojan JANKULOSKI (West Canberra Wanderers), Deakin JEWELL (Belconnen United), Steven KRESKAS (Queanbeyan City), Owen LEARMONTH (Brindabella Blues),Tony MADDAFARI (Canberra Juventus), Goran MILUTINOVIC (White Eagles), Tim NGUYEN (Belconnen United), Jacob OCHIENG (Wagga City Wanderers), Maxwell PREST (Wagga City Wanderers), Fahad RAMADHAN (Wagga City Wanderers), Nicholas ROUfa*gALIS (Canberra Juventus), Mark SHIELDS (Queanbeyan City), Nathan SINGH, Naser SMOQY (Wagga City Wanderers), Ethan STAMATIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Nashwan SULAIMAN (Wagga City Wanderers), Owen STEPHENSON (West Canberra Wanderers), Jai TEIN (Canberra Juventus), Reece UPTON (White Eagles), Liam VICKERS (White Eagles), Tao WANG (ANU FC), Isaac WEEKLEY (Brindabella Blues)