Glenwood Futsal Club All Age Mens Winter Competition comes to a close
Glenwood Futsal Club Winter Competition All Age Grand Final
After a great futsal season the two best teams in the All Age competition went head to head where both sides had developed a great rivalry on the court. Western Spirit and No Frills were hoping to produce their best game of the season when both played off in the final to become winter futsal champions. This contest was always going to be a superb game between the two teams that finished 1st and 3rd respectively.
Both had very different semi ? final matches with No Frills knocking off the number four side in the competition the Unknowns 7 – 0, while Western Spirit had a very tough match against Nutties FC where after full time the score was 2 ?2, the game went into penalties where Western Spirit got through 3 – 1.
Both sides also had different styles of play, Western Spirit made use of their physical stature and blistering attacks, while No Frills made use of counter attacks and great off the ball movement to create space and opportunity. It indeed had all the ingredients for a mouth-watering contest and it didn?t disappoint.
The game began with No Frills immediately going on the attack and catching Western Spirit off guard with an incredible goal with the game barely 30 seconds old. Brendan Worger received the ball outside the penalty area and he didn?t think twice about a shot and smashed the ball in the top corner. It surprised everyone – even the crowd who went wild on the sidelines. No Frills continued putting the pressure on and came close moments later when a cross from Brendan left Scott Jackson running in unmarked but unable to capitalise on the opportunity.
Western Spirit were able to get themselves back into the game 3 minutes later when good work from Rodney Aidoo Sam left Tony Messina with only the keeper to beat and he didn?t make a mistake equaling the score.
The next few minutes saw both sides lift their game and the tempo with Josh Suwa from No Frills coming close hitting the side netting, Western Spirit followed suit also coming close with Daniel Abhari testing the keeper.
With game evenly balance both sides knew that the next goal would be crucial, and that goal came through No Frills when Josh Suwa made a great run from inside his own half to tee up Brendan who pounced in from an acute angle making the score 2 – 1.
No Frills Continued to mount the pressure and forced goal keeper Mark Zammit to make some outstanding saves from Scott and David Pedrucci.
Western Spirit continued to hold out No Frills until the 13th minute when Scott received the ball from virtually half way and unleashed an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner making the score 3 ?1. The crowd went wild and began to chant along with No Frills possibly sensing an early victory.
To their credit Western Spirit continued to attack and came close when Steve Tesauro?s long range effort hit the crossbar followed a few minutes later by Daniel Abhari?s mazy run where after skipping through a few challenges toe poked his shot agonisingly wide of the goal.
Just when it seemed that Western Spirit were on the verge of finding a goal, Josh Suwa dispossessed Steve Zammit?s pass and thread the ball through to Scott Jackson who made no mistake making the score 4 ? 1.
Just before the stroke of half time Reg Nagina scored perhaps the goal of the night when he received the ball from a kick in, turned two players and unleashed an unstoppable strike into the top corner making the score 5- 1 and sending his teammates and the crown into a wild frenzy. The referee blew for half time and it was looking like a big hill to climb for Western Spirit to get back into the game.
The second half picked up where the first finished with both sides coming out setting a furious pace, but it was Western Spirit that got in first this time after only a minute of play. After some good attacking play an innocuous looking corner was played short to Steve Tesauro who somehow managed to squeeze the ball in from a seemingly impossible angle with his left foot.
This didn?t faze No Frills as amazingly 30 seconds later they were back on the attack and it was the man of the moment Brendan who extended the lead again by ramming the ball home to make the score 6 ? 2.
The game was going back and forth for the next few minutes like a game of tennis as each side tried their best to score but were unable to penetrate either goalkeeper. It wouldn?t last long though as 6 minutes into the second half Brendan was at it again making a great run down the sideline before taking on the keeper and scoring extending the score to 7 ? 2 and getting his fourth of the match.
No Frills were now totally in control of the game and began to spray the ball around the court with confidence and tiring out Western Spirit. It paid dividends 3 minutes later after a series of sublime one touch passing Abhishek Kumar set Scott Jackson through on goal again and he made the score 8 ? 3.
Valiantly Western Spirit continued to fight and their spirit had not died down as they continued to attack and did not let the score line affect their game. They bounced back with a series of near chances before Rodney played a beautiful triangle pass with Daniel before receiving it back and shooting past the keeper to wrap up a classy goal. Western Spirit had nothing to lose and continued to attack but in the process were leaving their defense exposed long enough for through balls and quick counters and this was the case when Brendan was left unmarked one on one with the keeper and he made the score 9 ? 4.
As the game wore on and fatigue increased more gaps were beginning to appear and this was evident 14 minutes into the second half as another goal came by the way of Josh Suwa after good work from David Pedrucci.
With the players getting tired and the clock ticking towards the final whistle both teams refused to let the pace die down and both gave everything they had, unfortunately for Western Spirit, No frills had a little more in reserve due to their great fitness and Western Spirits longer more grueling semi final. With the game almost over No Frills scored two more goals through Brendan and Scott making the final score 12 ? 4, although the contest was much closer than the score line indicated.
The referee blew the whistle to end a great game with No Frills the deserving champions after finishing premiers in the season with 35 points and scoring more goals than any other side with 103 goals. Brendan Worger finished top goal scorer and received the golden boot with 36 goals.
A big thank you to all teams that participated in the Futsal Competition and hope to see you all again next season.
– Luke Cevolani
