ACT Premier League: Ivanic scores Macor misses

Canberra FC stamped their authority on the ACT Premier League with a 1-0 win over Belconnen United at MacKellar Stadium on Saturday night.

All the news and scores as the results come in with special thanks to Russ Gibbs.

Paul Ivanic scored the only goal of the game for Canberra FC in the match of the round, ney the season!

Danny Macor missed a crucial penalty for Belconnen who are now five points adrift of the leaders.

Canberra Olympic 4 ANU FC 0

Trent Flanigan (2) and Scott Barsley (2) saw off the challenge of ANU at North Oval.

Coach Ian Heyward despite missing several players thought "it was good result. ANU always defend well, make it hard for teams to play."

Heyward who takes pride in the defensive qualities of the sides he manages noted, "we've conceded 7 goals all season, none against sides lower than us. We've got Canberra City next week and it gives us the chance to establish ourselves in the top four."

Canberra City 1 Queanbeyan City 2

Queanbeyan's push up the table continues. Coach Goran Neveski, who is leaving the club for the rest of the season to visit family overseas, was happy with the win.

0-0 at half-time, City's David Dexter was sent-off for a deliberate handball early in the second half. Mishko Naumoski converted.

Goran Jovanovski scored again for Q'beyan and Tim Malysaik scored a consolation for the young City side.

Zmejko Trakkoski will take over the coaching role for Q'beyan for the rest of the season.

Woden Valley 1 Tuggeranong United 1

John Caggiano scored for the Valley before Simon Gemmell equalised for Tuggers with his fourth of the season.

Tuggers Coach Scott Conlon was not best pleased. Tuggers had heaps of chances but couldn't convert.

In other news
Canberra Olympic/Belconnen United's Round 11 game scheduled for 29th June has been put back due to Olympic's young side being heavily involved with The Rockets/Mariners clash.

Belconnen were not concerned, but the game will now be played on 13th July.

The spirit of football

Referee Danny Parker said, "despite the 10-1 scoreline in the Third Division game between O'Connor Knights and Canberra FC, the game was played in the best spirit."

Sixth Grade: Tuggers v Uni Canberra Pumas

Meanwhile lower, much lower, down the Leagues Nearpost Football experts, Russ Gibbs and Chris Gottaas's sides battled it out.

Russ Gibbs said, "Football was the winner on the day, I scored one, you got that, and Chris didn't turn up to play. Injured or got a sniffle or something. But he was there on the sideline watching his team go down. Tuggers Div 6 beat UC Pumas 2-0, put that on your blog. Our resident Kiwi Api Pou scored the other."

"And I've got ligament trouble, but still made it on the field for the 9th Grade side later in the day. I scored a hat-trick in that one! Ben Morphy got two. We beat ADFA 5-2. We had a minutes silence for the ADFA's boy's involved in the crash during the week. They really are a great group of lads the ADFA guys," said Russ.

Tuggers Uber Coach Steve Beattie was reported to be very pleased with the third win on the spin.

Read More...

Summary only...

Weekender: Canberra Football building community

It’s Canberra Football but not as you knew it!

The Weekender this weeks looks at the changing face of Canberra Football.

Canberra Football is booming on and off the field. It wasn't always so. But as Woden Valley celebrate the opening of their new clubhouse on Sunday 18th May with Central Coast Mariners Lawrie McKinna, Ahmed Elrich and Sasho Petrovski in attendance, I took a look at the changes occurring across the Capital.




Twenty years ago, when I came to Canberra, we had plenty of grass, but few clubhouses, a few shared ovals and that was about it. People used to complain we had little access to football news, little media coverage and few resources. There was little sense of unity, or purpose.

How this community has changed.

Have you noticed the building that has been going on across this city?

Clubs across Canberra have been building. Not just Stadiums and Clubhouses but building community.

They’ve been building with pride; producing match day programmes that run to many pages, Internet websites full information, we now have TV Coverage on ChannelVision, Club Newsletters, Blogs, A radio show and more football, and football coaching than you could hope to watch or ever read about. There are intra-club tournaments, interstate tournaments and international events.

Here’s four clubs, just four, each leading the way.

Woden Valley celebrate 20 years as a club next Sunday. And what a celebration it will be. With a new Clubhouse to be opened, Politicians, Central Coast Manager Lawrie McKinna, Socceroo Ahmed Elrich will all attend. A celebrity football match, small games for the young, skill tests for the old, it promises to be a great day.

Belconnen United has the splendid McKellar Stadium. For men and women it is a great place to play and watch football. Last years Premier League finals pulled in over 2,000 people. The Stadium sets a standard for the City.

Not to be outdone Premier League Champions Canberra FC now has its own new Stadium. The club has produced possibly the most number of professional players of all our local clubs over the years. They have also invested heavily in new infrastructure.

Fomer Socceroo and Canberra FC player Ned Zelic, who has just secured the Georgian Championship and will play next season in the Champions League, turned the first sod in early 2007.

And recently, as the new season approached, I wandered in and found Club Captain Paul Ivanic, Technical Director Nado Spaleta working hard to get things finished. The place has a feeling of pride about it.

And feel free to take a look when you are passing the Deakin Stadium, it looks great with seating for 2,100.

Tuggeranong United are an old Canberra Club. As our city grows Tuggers has become a community with vision and confidence.

Club Captain Jeremy Butler impressed me recently on Nearpost radio as he spoke of building a club for the community. A man with heart, a man with passion. He told of the clubs charity work and annual events. He outlined the plans to move forward with Kambah Oval. Already the ground has a fence, next a quality pitch, a Clubhouse and more. Watch this space.

And of course Capital Football has big plans for Hawker Oval. The ACT Government promised new lighting in the recent budget and a new pitch preparation.

The football playing community is exploding. We have talented people, very talented people, from all walks of life in our midst.

Businessmen and women, politicians, journalists professors, tradespeople and children all playing the game. All involved in some way in their local club.

Woden Valley has set a standard for overseas trips for the young. In this city,in this area, they clearly lead the way. Their approach to football development has also to be applauded. They are well advanced with Small Sided Games introduction; their desire to teach and improve our children’s football experience and all round development is exciting to see.

When the people of Woden Valley enjoy their twenty year celebration on May 18th they are doing something more than playing football.

Like the other clubs around the region they are building community, building a future. Football has always been so much more than a game. Canberra football clubs have clearly recognised this.


And I know some other club have plans to build.Some are further advanced than others. If you'd like to put me right or highlight what your club is up to, please drop me an email.

Read More...

Summary only...

"Every National League Club I play for folds"

Is Canberra FC's Paul Ivanic the unluckiest man in local football?

"I was with the Canberra Cosmos and they folded, then Sydney United and the whole league folded!"

I'm surprised Canberra FC signed him with that record.

But on Sunday Ivanic will lead his side out against Belconnen United in Capital Football's Grand Final.




Ivanic has been unlucky. He missed almost two years of national football when the old NSL folded and it has been hard to get back to that level.

"Sure I'd have another go at the national league but it takes a lot of time so the money would have to be right. I'm 25 now but I'd give it a go," ays Ivanic speaking at the Grand Final breakfast today.

Canberra FC, Club President, Martin Radic, says, "He's only 25, he's just coming into his prime."

But for now all thoughts are on Sundays finale against Belconnen United

"We had a good trip to Croatia earlier in the year, so this brought the guys closer together I think. We're looking forward to Sunday, I think we have the players to win."

Read More...

Summary only...