There is still hope left in the Canberra United squad as they proved they’re still a finals contender after a crushing 5-1 home victory over the Newcastle Jets.
After also beating Adelaide United last week, this is the first time Canberra have had two wins in a row in 23 matches. It was in March 2021 that they last won back-to-back, which coincidentally was also against Newcastle.
Canberra head coach, Njegosh Popovich, said the milestone was on his radar for something he wanted to achieve during his debut season in the role.
“That was one of our bucket lists to get through during the course of the year and it’s a good feeling,” he said.
However, what really got fans cheering against Newcastle was the scoring fever that seemed to affect the Canberra team, with four different players scoring in their 5-1 win.
The scoring feat is something that Popovich always knew his side was capable of but had yet to witness during their shaky start to the season.
“The reality of it is, I’ve always said there’s a warning shot out there to all the teams that we’re very potent up front and we proved that today,” he said.
While she didn’t end up on the scoresheet herself, Canberra midfielder Nickoletta Flannery found herself at the centre of the action, assisting with the first three goals for her team.
Cool. Calm. Collected. 👏
Michelle Heyman with an expert finish to open the scoring for @CanberraUnited! 🟢
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— Liberty A-League (@aleaguewomen) January 14, 2023
Canberra have struggled in the second half in some of their previous matches, but Flannery said she was impressed with her team’s ability to keep the pressure on for the full 90 minutes.
“It’s incredible how we can finish up a game and we just scored in the last five minutes in this heat again,” she said.
“I think it shows great trust in each other and we pushed until the end.
I think that goes to show that the girls know what it means to play for Canberra United.”
Having now settled into the season, she is confident this is the boost that her side needed to kickstart a potential finals run.
“It builds great momentum for the rest of the season on finding the back of the net and we’re getting in those positions more and more,” Flannery said.
“I think its just building blocks and hopefully we’ll get there towards the back end of the season and keep on moving up.
Feature Image Credit: Lawrence Atkins
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