Capital Football club Gungahlin United sets sights on rising to the national second tier

"But we're pretty staunch advocates, we think Canberra needs a team in the second division whilst Canberra also needs a team in the A-League," the Gungahlin United president said.

"We think it would be a great pathway and a great stepping stone for any player in Canberra. If we're fortunate and lucky enough to make it all the way through, we want to play a part in any player's football journey."

Gungahlin United and Canberra Croatia have aspirations to feature in Football Australia's proposed national second division, which could eventually operate under a promotion and relegation model with the A-League.

The Capital Football clubs were among 32 to have expressed interest in joining a second tier league to bridge the gap between the A-League and National Premier League, with initial plans to kick off in March 2024.

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"There's a lot of pieces that come together. It's pretty exciting just to be a part of it, to be honest. I'm hopeful in the next stage that both Canberra bids go through. It's football, but it's also the ability to be inclusive. We've got this great ability to draw upon an inclusive, diverse football opportunity," Harlock said.

"We are continuing to work behind the scenes to back up what we committed to in the EOI process, and that's quite broad. It's not just about putting one team in there for us, it's about how we can continue to work on our junior and youth pathways."

Players have been waiting for an opportunity. Players like Domenic Giampaolo, whose late strike delivered Gungahlin United a thrilling 3-2 win over Canberra Olympic to close out round three of Capital Football's National Premier League at the AIS on Sunday.

Antoni Timotheou needed just three minutes to put Gungahlin in the lead on Sunday before Maxx Green doubled the advantage to leave Olympic in desperate need of a counter.

They found just what they were looking for through Thomas James late in the first half - and they wouldn't need a second invitation on the other side of the break.

Olympic found an equaliser early in the second half and both sides traded chances for the remainder of the contest - and Giampaolo made his count.

"I think he'd probably tell you he could do that nine times out of 10," Harlock said.

"It was going to take something special to finish that because it was two good teams. I was behind the goal mate, I was waiting for it to hit the crossbar and go over, knowing our luck. It's been a good day."

Gungahlin's fellow second tier hopefuls Canberra Croatia fell 3-2 to the Cooma Tigers on Saturday, while the O'Connor Knights proved far too strong in a 5-1 win over Tuggeranong United, just as Monaro's title defence went up a notch in a 2-0 victory over Woden Weston.

Meanwhile, Olympic burst back to form in the National Premier League women's competition with a 4-0 win over Tuggeranong United, while another Brittany Palombi strike was the difference in Canberra Croatia's 1-0 win over Belconnen United.

Gungahlin held on for a 2-1 victory over ANU while the Canberra United Academy beat West Canberra 2-0.

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