There are normally no positives to take from a 5-0 scoreline, but on Sunday the result did not matter.
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The West Canberra Wanderers knew heading into the game at Deakin Stadium they did not need to take anything - points wise - from it.
They had avoided relegation by one-point, after Belconnen United lost their final game some 24-hours earlier.
A lot was riding on Saturday's game at O'Connor Enclosed. If Belconnen won, the Wanderers would need to beat Canberra Croatia to avoid relegation. If the O'Connor Knights won, Canberra Olympic would need at least a point from their battle with Gungahlin United on Sunday to get back into the top four.
The Knights took a 3-1 victory to end Belconnen's hope, and secure themselves a top four spot.
Wanderers captain Lachlan Fields said given it was 1-0 at halftime, they knew they were still in the contest. But when it got to 3-0, they opted to try some new formations and new players.
"We took it as an opportunity to work on some things for next year," he said.
"We started well, we got unlucky with that first goal and created a few chances. But you just see at the end there, Croatia's the best team in the comp for a reason, and they made us pay.
"The scoreline wasn't nice to blow out at the end, but I think there was some positives still heading into next year."
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Daniel Barac opened the scoring for Croatia nine minutes into the contest.
A pinball scramble in the box five minutes before halftime almost gave the homeside their next, but Wanderers' goalkeeper Jakeb Wiseman blocked each attempt, with assistance from the goal post for the final attempt.
Croatia's second came in the 58th minute. Stephen Domenici chipped a cross into his teammate Hristijan Tanoski on the back post. The No. 12's outstretched one-touch attempt at goal went back to Domenici and his second chip made it 2-0.
Domenici secured his brace 20 minutes later. Deakin's David Seselja found space off a throw in, ran it to the goal line and opted for a cutback to find his teammate.
Substitute goalkeeper Kristian Nel was given no chance with Croatia's fourth. Tanoski drove the ball to the edge of the box, as Wanderers defence dropped, and fired it into the back of the net.
Nikola Taneski made it five soon after. The striker had missed an earlier one-on-one with Wiseman but beat Nel to the ball to slot his second attempt away 5-0.
Croatia will take confidence from their win into finals next week when they face Gungahlin.
Following the finality of the regular NPLM season, Tuggeranong United have earned promotion back to the top flight after their year in the CPL.
And in the NPLW, Wagga City Wanderers will be relegated to state league with ANU set to enter the top league.
NPL round 21 results
NPLM - O'Connor 3 bt Belconnen 1, Monaro 2 bt Cooma 1, Gungahlin 2 bt Olympic 1, Croatia 5 bt Wanderers 0.
NPLW - Croatia 5 bt Gungahlin 1, Belconnen 6 bt Wanderers 0, Olympic 3 bt CUA 0, Tuggeranong 1 dw Wagga 1.
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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.
