The opening 10 minutes secured Belconnen United FC's spot at the ladder's top, with three fast goals securing the table leaders a 3-0 gap Canberra Olympic FC could not chase down.
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Olympic clawed back two goals, but Belconnen slotted away another in the second half to put the final nail in the coffin 4-2.
The first goal came courtesy of a Keira Bobbin and Olivia Bomford combination off a corner. Leah Carnegie sent the ball into the six-yard, before it was cleared to the feet of an unmarked Bobbin, whose shot took a helping touch off Bomford's foot.
The second goal came minutes later, after Bomford ran through the middle of the park and played a diagonal ball past the defence, with defenders calling for offside, to the feet of Reilly Yuen who slotted it home 2-0.
The next was off another set piece, with Belconnen's skipper Michaela Day scoring her side's third in 20 minutes off a freekick on the edge of the box.
Olympic responded with their own goal off a set piece from a freekick. Alexandra Cook's left footed strike sailed into the top right corner to make it 3-1 five minutes before the half.
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United coach Michael Zakoski said the opening three goals was a result of things the side had been working on in training coming to fruition.
However, he said the injury of central defender Karen Clarke during the game was concerning as it added to their list of injuries.
"We're seeing the girls be a bit more composed at the back and not play as direct as often, so I'd like to see that continuing into the next few weeks but ... we have another injury to add to our list so it's going to be another challenge and we may see some new faces having to step up again," he said.
"She is an important player for us, she gives us a lot of experience at back and missing her potentially next week will be a big loss as we go into a big two weeks against Gungahlin and Canberra Croatia."
Belconnen kicked off the scoring again in the second half. Individual brilliance down the righthand side by Bobbin ended in a goal as a reward in the 52nd minute, making the score 4-1.
Olympic responded again 11 minutes later to make it 4-2. A long ball after a short goal kick caught the Belconnen defence off guard. Finding the feet of Sienna Farrar, who played through ball behind the defence for Ashleigh Sykes to run onto. The former Canberra United player made no mistake, taking a touch around her trailing defender and slotting it home.
Olympic coach Nicole Begg said it was great her side did not drop their heads after the opening 10 minutes and there were plenty of positives.
"The girls did all the hard work, they know they're capable of a lot better than what they showed at the start of the game were keen to come out after halftime and improve," she said.
"The basics are what we can do a lot better. Keeping the ball and completing actions in defence. We'll keep focusing on those going forward."
The win and three points keeps United on top of the ladder for now, as Canberra Croatia FC have a game in hand but a poorer goal difference against their name. A 7-0 win by Croatia against Tuggeranong United FC on Sunday would be enough to take over Belconnen on the ladder.
Following the loss, Olympic will remain fourth on the ladder regardless off Sunday's results in the NPLW.
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
