NPL1 Round 17 Wrap

By Tim Warren / capitalfootball.com.au

NPL1 Round 17 Wrap

Gungahlin United’s delivered a clinical performance to knock over Tigers FC at the AIS on Sunday, ensuring that the latter will go into next weekend’s Premiership decider behind Canberra Olympic on points.

The heavy defeat means Cooma remain planted on 32 competition points, while Olympic’s emphatic 5-1 win over the Riverina Rhinos on Saturday saw them leapfrog their rivals with 34.

Gungahlin got off to the perfect start against the Tigers with Samuel Habtemariam netting the opening goal of the game in just the 9th minute, when he calmly tapped in the rebound following Misko Naumoski’s shot being saved onto the bar by Jakob Cole

In a first half that was dominated by Gungahlin’s possession and attacking flare, the home side thought they had doubled their advantage nine minutes before the break, however the linesman ruled the goal offside.

Gungahlin took a one goal lead to the break and it didn’t take long for them to add a second just after half time.

Tom Mclachlan stood over a free-kick on the edge of the area after Zac Barbatano was brought down, and he struck an effort that deflected off the side of the wall and into the net past Cole just four minutes in.

It only took another three minutes for Gungahlin United to score their third goal and secure the three points.

A spectacular solo run into the box and a slice of luck with a deflection off a defender saw Barbatano surge into a goal scoring position and expertly finished the ball in the bottom corner.

The flurry of goals in quick succession proved too much for Tigers to overcome, with the visitors failing to register on the scoresheet.

The Tigers will be wanting to quickly find form before their NPL1 finals campaign starts, with the side coming off recent losses to Canberra FC and Gungahlin, as well as an FFA Cup Round of 32 exit to Hume City.

This weekend’s results set up a mouthwatering final round clash for the Capital Football NPL1 Premiership, with Tigers FC to visit Olympic in a title decider next Sunday at O’Connor to decide who takes home the silverware.

Meanwhile, Gungahlin will be hoping to keep their excellent run of form going as they clash with Canberra FC at Deakin Stadium where the makeup of the top four will be confirmed.

Original website: https://capitalfootball.com.au/nplw-round-17-wrap/