Premier League grand final extravaganza

More than a thousand supporters turned out at Dural Sports & Leisure Centre during the day to witness all the high drama, blood, sweat and tears.
And in a statement that finals futsal is a different ball game altogether only three of the league?s nine minor premiers ended up lifting the grand final trophy, Campbelltown the most successful bagging four championships (open women?s, youth men, 16 boys and 14 girls), while the other winners were Dural (open men?s last week), Enfield (16 girls and 12 boys), Inner West (14 boys) and Mascot (12 girls).

Campbelltown win Open Women?s trophy
It proved seventh time lucky for Campbelltown Quake following their thrilling 3-2 win over great rivals Sydney City Eagles in the open women?s decider.
Campbelltown had endured six straight grand final defeats heading into Saturday?s encounter with Sydney City ? including two straight open women premier league losses to the Eagles and four straight state title losses (twice to Eagles) ? and with both making this year?s decider despite finishing behind Enfield on the competition ladder it seemed like destiny the two combatants would meet again to decide the 2011/12 women?s champion ? and what a match it was.
Sydney City suffered a pre-game blow with the loss of star player Jodie Bain, who broke her toe in the major-semi final win over Enfield, and another player failed to turn up to give Roy Cowie?s side a limited bench for the end-of-season contest.
At the other end Campbelltown coach Thomas Thomson stuck to his game plan to run the pants off City? and did a fantastic job in rotating his players to keep fresh legs on court.
To make matters worse for Sydney they conceded a soft goal five minutes in when the Eagles keeper fumbled a Laura Donnelly strike on her line to gift Quake an early lead.
City bounced back and drew level again only for Campbelltown to restore their lead on the quarter-hour when Leesa Thompson flicked a neat freekick to Sam Muscat who dribbled past two defenders and delicately placed her shot into the top corner.
However, the Eagles managed another equaliser just before halftime, to make sure the game was all even at 2-2 at the break.
Campbelltown put their noses in front a third time just after the restart when Donnelly beat one defender, tried to take on another, lost the ball, got it back, lost it again and with the ball breaking free took her opportunity well to place a decisive shot into the back of the net and put Quake 3-2 up.
With the game still in the balance City threw everything at Campbelltown, hitting the post three times and thwarted numerous times by Brown who was having a blinder in goals, and it was Quake?s stoic defence that proved the difference in the end as the fulltime hooter sounded with the scoreline still at 3-2.
Campbelltown coach Thomas Thomson was delighted for his young side, most of who had been together for many years and part of so many close, fruitless efforts. He stated the obvious feeling the team expressed following their well-deserved victory.
?It was relief more than anything, after going close so many times,? he said. ?I?m really proud of them. I?m proud that they?re all Quake girls through and through ? I?m sure they have purple and orange blood in their veins.?
?What?s even better is these kids are just on 21 or younger, so the rest of the competition will have to chase them for some time yet as they won?t be getting old too quickly? only the coaches will.?
Thomson pointed to a true team effort as the centre of their win and held special praise for a committed defence.
?The last two year?s we?ve been premiers and went in [to the grand finals] a little bit lazy, so the prep talk this time was that we?d be more desperate, and from young Jemma Crane who?s in our 14?s and came on for five minutes while I rested a couple of other players, to Ashley [goalkeeper Brown] who I?ve coached since under 12s and is a real character, everyone did their bit,? he said.
?What?s funny is the last couple years it?s been on the opposite foot where we?ve always been the team behind and attacking, attacking, attacking and they?ve been scrambling hard in defence. This year was different as we were the ones scrambling, giving it everything, and we hung in there. There were definitely a lot of nerves in the last few minutes but I?m very pleased that the girls finally did it.?
The grand final defeat was the first in 12 years for Eagles coach and well-respected Futsal personality Roy Cowie, who could?ve been forgiven for getting used to seeing his teams lift trophies. It left a bitter taste but Cowie refused to take anything away from the terrific match and great Campbelltown win.
?I thought it was a really good game but, to be honest, I anticipated the result. We really missed [injured] Jodie Bain and Quake defended really well,? he said. ?Their keeper had a very good game, I think she won them the game, but it was more because we had to chase them all game with a small bench and they just wore us down in the end.?
?I don?t take much notice of who scores goals because I believe Futsal boils down to defence, and they defended well. Their keeper did a double save and then a defender kicked it off the line, so you?ve got to give them their dues.?
?They?ve got very good, structured play from the sideline and corners, and they?re very hard to defend against because of their set plays ? they?re a true Futsal side.?
The loss left Cowie contemplating the future but he dipped his hat to a City side that played their guts out in trying circumstances.
?This is the first time I?ve been beaten in a grand final in 12 years and I don?t like the feeling at all,? he said. ?You?ve got to lose sometimes and you walk around thinking about wrong decisions, but we also had to restructure our team with the players out and Tommy [Thomson] had good tactics and kept making changes and it took the legs out of my players with all the running around they had to do.?
?But they played their absolute hearts out on that big court at Dural, and that was a huge effort. When it?s all said and done we lost our first four games of the comp and ended up making the grand final and winning the state title, so it was still a good season.?
Quake shake Dural in Youth Men cup
Campbelltown Quake upturned the table on premiers Dural Warriors in a spirited youth men?s grand final that went to the team from Sydney?s south-west 5-2.
Premiers Dural had been the form team all year, losing just twice (once to Campbelltown 3-1) and belting Quake 4-0 and a much tighter 1-0 in their two recent meetings, and they looked good early on when Blake Rosier opened the scoring with a great low drive that went through the legs of Quake keeper Andrew Haim.
It was a terrific goal from Rosier who?d pilfered the ball on defence at the other end of the court before going coast-to-coast to bury a fine individual effort and put his team in front.
But the goal woke a sleeping giant as Campbelltown responded in emphatic fashion, Jake McGing scoring in the eighth and 11^th minutes to give the visitors a 2-1 lead heading into the break.
McGing was on fire and bagged his hat-trick soon moments later to put Quake up 3-1 and they kept piling on the pressure, Warriors keeper Nick Starr doing his best to keep his side in it by pulling off some outstanding saves in critical moments, but with eight minutes to go stand-in coach Rhys Giovenali ? filling in for Toby Seeto who is in Thailand with the Futsalroos ? was forced to sub Starr off and go to a fifth man.
The move paid immediate dividends as Wade Giovenali pushed the ball into the back of the net from a goalmouth scrap to give Dural a chance trailing 3-2, but the high-court press was always going to expose them at the back and Campbelltown duly netted two cheeky long range goals into an open net from McGing and Tom Herceg in the final minute to seal a commanding 5-2 win.
Rhys Giovenali congratulated a young Dural team for their season-long efforts and knew that greater times lay ahead of them.
?There is a bit of disappointment for the boys after a lot of hard work this year? but they?re still a very young team and will only lose three players because of their age next year, so it?s exciting to know the potential they have in them,? he said.
?The experience should also help them as they now know that after a season full of hard work it all comes down to the grand final and you have to be ready for it.
?Some poor defensive errors let us down and the boys? intensity just wasn?t there the whole game, they didn?t lift for the grand final. They had a successful season for the way they played all year but they didn?t keep it going to the end.?
Campbelltown coach Dom Helene called it a great win and pointed to the recent 1-0 major semi-final loss to Dural and following 7-0 preliminary final annihilation of Mascot as catalysts for their grand final victory.
?I?m very proud of the boys as Dural have been the benchmark all year,? he said. ?I think we took a lot of confidence out of the last time we played them and then last week?s win over Mascot gave us even more belief. The boys certainly came good at right end of the season.?
?We changed the way we defended [against Dural] and wanted to put more pressure on them and it worked out very well for us, although it was a pretty tight game all the way through. But with the way we scrambled hard in defence you could tell the boys wanted to do everything they could to stay in front.?
After a few lean years in the youth competition following their double trophy win Helene was delighted to see his charges back in the winning circle and ranked this grand final as his best as coach.
?I was very excited, and for a couple of the boys who are going to be too old to play in youth next year because of their age, for them it was huge,? he said.
?They are a very close unit. A number of them have grown up together and even go to school together, so the camaraderie was already there, and the new boys were welcomed in quite easily. They are good friends, have good families and a good support network behind them, and all that contributes to the overall result.?
?I?ve won two titles before as a coach but this one was very special because at the end of last season I told them we?d be on a three year project. I?ve worked a lot with [Futsalroos assistant coach and Dural men?s coach] Rob Varela and he?s very much into developing youth to a national standard and I wanted to pass these values on to the kids. I didn?t think we?d win it so I was pleasantly surprised.?
Enfield win 16 Girls clash
Minor premiers Enfield Rovers completed the double with a convincing 2-0 win over Mascot Vipers to lift the 16 Girls championship trophy.
It was a methodical start to the game as both sides probed for possession before Mascot?s Xanthe Dumbrell played a nice one-two with Kristina Janeska with Dumbrell?s shot was well held by Enfield keeper Sarah Easthope.
Enfield had their best chance midway through the first half as Kiara Farquhar had her shot outside the D blocked by Rovers keeper Cassandra Nader and the Mascot custodian then held Paige Hayward?s follow-up.
A few minutes later Hayward lifted her shot over the bar from inside the D but Enfield didn?t wait much longer for their breakthrough, Carla Blancato breaking clear to go one-on-one with Nader and cleverly punch the ball off the outside of her boot to lift Rovers 1-0 in front.
Mascot kept their heads up and a neat one-two between Alysse Tasevski and Tara Murphy almost provided the equaliser, Easthope holding on to a good save, but Vipers had to thank Nader for keeping them in the contest with an outstanding double-save to deny Enfield?s Caitlin Murphy right on the stroke of halftime.
Mascot bounced out brightly in the second half and Kristina Janeska went close twice, the first a bit soft and easily held by Easthope but the second forcing the Enfield keeper to tap clear.
Rovers slowly started to turn the screws as Sarah Yatim drove a freekick just left of the post and she then forced Nader into a fine save following a brilliant pass from Carla Canini midway through the term.
Janeska was proving to be a handful for the Enfield defence and had a good break was stopped by Easthope before Murphy had a shot blocked by Nader at the other end, then it was Janeska?s turn again as her brilliant play resulted in a shot clanging against the outside of the post with four minutes remaining.
With the clock ticking down inside the final minute Tasevski almost found an equaliser for Mascot, her shot from outside the D forcing Easthope into a diving catch and from there the play went down the other end where Murphy played a beautiful touch to Yatim on the burst and her strike whistled into the back of the net to clinch a 2-0 Rovers victory.
Enfield coach Andrea Canini was thrilled for his team.
?The girls were devastated when they lost last year?s grand final in extra time to Mascot and we just kept the same team, worked hard on a few things, and they had a great season [losing just one match all year]. I?ve really enjoyed coaching them,? he said.
?The girls showed a lot of heart, showed that they really wanted it and, lucky for them, they?ve done it!?
Rovers captain Sarah Yatim scored the match-winner and was delighted for her team-mates.
?They worked really hard as individuals and as a team and made it exciting to play every game,? she said. ?They?re all good players in their own way and I?m very happy for all of us.?
Quake clinch 16 Boys trophy
Campbelltown Quake won an absolute screamer against Enfield Rovers in a nerve-wracking 16 Boys trophy game, Bruno Antelmi scoring the 3-2 match-winner inside the final minute of play.
Campbelltown pipped Enfield for the minor premiership on goal-difference alone after a gripping season and were then forced to take the grand final knock-out route when Rovers beat them 7-4 in the major-semi a fortnight ago, so there was every reason to believe this game would also be hotly contested.
Enfield had the first real chance when Alex Vlismas? sharp turn and shot was well held by Quake keeper Thomas Hewell and it wasn?t long before team-mate Sebastian Malfara would go close at the other end, sending one blast whistling over the bar and a second effort just across the face of goal after he did well to draw Rovers keeper Kristian Sekutkoski off his line.
Moments later and Malfara did provide the breakthrough, sending a great pass to Bruno Antelmi at the far post and his shot deflected off Sekutkoski into goal for a 1-0 Campbelltown lead midway through the half.
Enfield?s Alex Vlismas then fired from out wide to force Howell into a great low save before Quake?s Matias Da Silva Santos had to be carried off by coach Daniel Martinez following a bump to his knee.
The game delay worked wonders for Campbelltown when Jack Taseski played a crisp one-two with Jesse Taunton and Taseski finished off nicely for a 2-0 advantage five minutes before the break, but Enfield kept at it and Howell had to tip Kris Vlismas? ranged shot out for a corner and Ruben Espejel lifted his freekick just over the bar before the teams retired for halftime.
Rovers caught Quake napping when play resumed, Espejel latching onto a great long throw from Sekutkoski to turn sharp and volley beautifully into the back of the net to halve the deficit at 2-1 down.
Howell then had to charge out of the D to diffuse another Enfield break and Rovers thought they had the equaliser when Connor May cracked the fish net only for the referee to call play back for a freekick.
Enfield didn?t have to wait long to eventually draw level when Alex Vlismas drove into goal following a great burst up-court and Rovers were back in it at 2-2 six minutes into the second term.
The goal sparked Campbelltown back to life and Nick Ortega danced his way past two defenders and Sekutkoski and passed to Taunton unmarked at the back stick, but he botched his first touch and the Enfield defence scrambled back to knock the ball out.
Shannon Fielding then went close for Quake, his shot taking a wicked deflection and forcing Sekutkoski into a ridiculous reflex save but the scoreline remained unchanged with four minutes to go.
Sekutkoski was on fire and did well to tip clear a tight Da Silva Santos shot and then deny Antelmi?s right-side rocket, but with 50 seconds left he could do nothing to stop Antelmi?s blistering effort and Quake led 3-2.
Enfield still had one last throw of the dice, Howell stopping Espejel?s first try from inside the D and then holding onto an Espejel blast from right in front as the fulltime hooter sounded.
Martinez was having kittens on the sidelines as he watched his side blow a fairly comfortable 2-0 halftime lead.
?I?m definitely happy as it was a hard-fought match,? he said. ?We let them back into the game but it has been that close all year for us against Enfield, so it was good to get them back for that semi-final loss.?
?They?re a good group of players and I just told them to make sure they enjoyed the moment as well as focusing on what we needed to do to win.?
Antelmi realised every child?s dream when he scored the grand final winning goal.
?It was really good to win it in the last minute but I actually didn?t know how much time was left, I just wanted to make sure of the shot,? he said.
?It was a very tense second half and we were struggling for a while, but the boys did good to push it home. I thought we deserved it as we have worked hard all year.?
14 Girls Quake, Rattle and Roll
A Jemma Crane extra time goal lifted Campbelltown Quake to a terrific 1-0 win over premiers Inner West Allstars in the 14 Girls grand final.
The lead up to the match couldn?t have been any better after both sides traded one-goal victories throughout the season, Allstars claiming a slight edge by winning their major-semi final encounter 3-1 two weeks ago.
In a tight grand final Rhianna Pollicina almost got Inner West off to the perfect start when her strike from the right shot across goal and cannoned off the far post straight at the feet of team-mate Lorena Bugden, but her follow-up was well covered up by Quake keeper Chloe Gray on the ground.
Seven minutes in and Indianna Nelson went close at the other end, her low drive kicked away by Inner West custodian Nicole Simonsen.
Pollicina was proving her worth when a crafty freekick from halfway whistled over the bar and a second freekick minutes later from closer range also scared the crossbar, and she almost turned provider by feeding Allstars team-mate Nadia Nisbet only for Gray to save well. 
With the clock ticking towards halftime Pollicina went on another canter and played a sweet one-two with Victoria Guzman, but Gray was up to the task again and saved athletically to keep the scores locked at 0-0 at the break.
Inner West came out firing in the second term and a clever back heel from Bugden forced a corner before Nisbet shot over the goal, and Nelson also tried one from long range for Campbelltown to no avail.
Pollicina almost found the opener with four minutes remaining when her freekick from the left curled around the Quake defence and just wide of the post, but Campbelltown started to assert itself a little more and Ruby Mosca?s shot from just outside the D forced Simonsen into action.
Allstars nearly stole it right on fulltime when Maddison Zahra drove low but Gray held her nerve and the ball to send the game into extra time.
In a tense match Pollicina drove another freekick just wide of the post and Gray dashed out of goals to deny a good break from Princess Ibini-Isei before extra time broke for its halftime interval, and straight after the restart Pollicina latched onto a beauty that sailed just over the bar before having another attempt stopped brilliantly by Gray.
Then against the run of play Quake player Chrystal Duggan worked the ball up court and had a tight shot well saved by Simonsen, but Jemma Crane was there for the follow up and scored a terrific goal to hand Campbelltown the lead with three minutes left on the clock.
Nisbet had one last try for Inner West but her long range effort drifted just high and to the left, Quake winning 1-0.
Campbelltown coach Claire Walsh was ecstatic for her team of youngsters but said it was a close call all the way.
?Inner West are a tough team and it?s always a 50-50 between us. I just told the girls to stay composed because we play much better Futsal when we do, and I thought they did that well.?
Quake keeper Chloe Gray did an outstanding job in keeping premiers Allstars goal-less for 50 minutes in a tense grand final but preferred to praise her team-mates.
?I just wanted to get it to the players in good positions as they always put the pressure on us? but I thought it was always in our reach,? she said.
Allstars shine in 14 Boys decider
Inner West Allstars rounded off a commanding season with a 2-0 win over Campbelltown Quake in a tough 14 Boys grand final.
Allstars had won every one of its 15 games this season but didn?t seal the championship match until two minutes to go to cap off a terrific 2011/12 competition.
It was always going to be tight as Campbelltown has probably done the best against Inner West this season in going down 4-2, 4-2 and 4-3 (in the major semi-final two weeks ago), and Quake got off to a great start when Naderr Alnimer had his shot tipped clear by Allstars keeper Gregory Frelingos.
The game then churned into a mid-court arm-wrestle, Campbelltown glovesman Conor Irwin doing well to come out of goals to break down an Inner West break with a terrific tackle before Allstar Alusine Fofanah passed well to Daniel Carreno who shot just wide of the post.
With five minutes left in the half Fofanah and Quake player Trent Sierra clashed heads forcing the latter off court to stop some bleeding and halftime couldn?t come quick enough for both coaches to regroup.
It was a more committed Campbelltown effort after the break as Lachlan Roberts broke clear but his low shot across goal drifted left of the post, while at the other end Fofanah went one-on-one with Connor Irwin  twice, the first time missing left before he made no mistake second time around, coolly finishing low and left to give Inner West the lead with seven minutes to go.
Irwin kept Quake in the match by denying Liam Rose and Carreno with great leg saves, and his team-mates Roberts and a patched up Sierra almost pulled them level when they moved the ball well up court only for Sierra to shoot just over.
The game breaker came with two minutes left on the clock when a terrific save by Irwin could only be parried as far as Jordan Pyne, who had the simplest of tap ins from 1m out to give Allstars a decisive 2-0 buffer.
Inner West coach Matteo Maiorana was pleased with the result but thought his team could?ve played better.
?It was probably the worst we?ve played all season. Quake put a bit of pressure on us and pressed us high up the court, so we had to play a little bit of the long ball, which we don?t like, but I thought we deserved it,? he said.
?I?m very proud of the boys. We won the minor premiership and grand final, and had eight players at the nationals, so it?s been a fantastic season for us.?
Alusine Fofanah scored one goal and set up the other for Allstars and agreed with his coach about one hot summer.
?It?s very good to win and for me to play well in the final, but thanks to my team-mates for all their support ? it?s been a great year for us,? he said.
Vipers strike for Under 12 Girls trophy
Mascot Vipers played out of their skins to upset powerhouse premiers Inner West Allstars 2-1 in a fantastic 12 Girls grand final.
Inner West had gone the season undefeated (just a 3-3 draw with Mascot to go with 14 wins), scored 109 goals in 15 games and left everyone in their wake, and Allstars had the early going in the grand final too with Bianca Galic calling Vipers keeper Melati Abdullah into action and Angelique Dimitrakas sizzling one just wide of goal.
Inner West claimed their lead in the 14^th minute when Marissa Kassapakis drove one into the net for a 1-0 advantage, but Mascot finally got going and captain Lissa Mumbulla found herself open inside the D only to shoot straight at Allstars keeper Sheridan Rainey.
The game then turned when Gabrielle Peak, who was having an outstanding game at the back in containing Allstars weapon Princess Ibini-Isei, went on a canter up court and passed deliciously to Kathy Stavrakas. Peak got it back and shot nicely into goal to tie up proceedings 1-1 minutes before halftime.
Mascot were on a roll and just after the break found themselves in front when Rainey didn?t do enough on a lob into the goalmouth and Tamara Soto didn?t make a mistake in front of goal, poking it in to put Vipers 2-1 up.
It was almost all one-way traffic after that as Inner West launched raid after raid, Galic having her drive tapped over the bar by Abdullah, Dimity Antonis turning and shooting just over with 10 minutes left and Abdullah denying Ibini-Isei twice inside a minute with two fine saves.
Allstars then blew two freekick opportunities inside the final two minutes before Kassapakis had a wonderful freekick from her own half tipped clear by Abdullah with 30 seconds left and Vipers held on for a memorable victory.
Mascot coach Zvi Ben David couldn?t hide a smile under his well-known beard.
?I?m extremely happy and very proud of the girls,? he said. ?Allstars were undefeated and dominated the competition but my girls had their own self-belief.?

?I thought Gabby Peak was outstanding and closed it up quite smartly at the back, and this released Lissa [Mumbulla] to be more creative.?
?Especially after the 12 Boys lost in overtime [Mascot were undefeated minor premiers] to Enfield in the game before I emphasised to the girls that anything can happen in a grand final and that we had nothing to lose. I think this made them more relaxed. Of course having the lead was very important.?
Vipers captain Lissa Mumbulla also had praise for her team-mate Peak?s efforts.
?Gabby sticking to Princess took her out of the game,? she said. ?Zvi told us we had to try our hardest and to lift and I thought we really kept our positions well after we scored. I?m very happy for all of us.?
Rovers bag 12 Boys grand final
Enfield Rovers got grand final day off to an enthralling start with an exciting 4-3 win in extra time to deny runaway 12 Boys premiers Mascot Vipers.
Mascot were on a 15-game winning streak heading into the decider but did have their troubles against third-placed Enfield this season, winning narrowly both times (5-3 and 5-4).
After both teams went back and forth in a game of possession Vipers hit the front midway through the term when Daniel Arzani found the back of the net.
Enfield keeper Aidan Munford then produced a couple of good saves to keep the score unchanged and with 20 seconds to go before halftime Dillan Kahale scored for Rovers to draw them level at 1-1.
The second half was just as frenetic as Vipers keeper Alessandro Ramondino came off his line to deny Kahale before Mascot regained their lead when a great touch from Conor Quilligan beat one defender and he chipped an advancing Munford to go 2-1 up.
Ramondino then denied Vipers a stronger advantage with a terrific save before a Mitchell Knight header hit the inside of the post and scuttled across the face of goal to keep the scoreline unchanged.
Midway through the period Enfield?s Jackson Trajkovski turned the game when his awesome blast from near halfway found the top right corner of the net to square up proceedings a second time at 2-2, and Rovers went in front for the first time following a cheeky chip pass from Volarich to Rodrigo Villar, who finished coolly to put his side 3-2 up with two minutes to play.
Mascot had shouts for a ball that hit the goal-line turned down but they didn?t have to wait long before actually crossing the line, Quilligan passing to Ben Morrison at the far post for a simple tap-in that leveled the fulltime scores at 3-3.
Vipers could have gone ahead in the first period of extra time when Villar dispossessed Kosta Tsournakakis with an open goal in front of him and the excellent defensive effort was to prove timely as Xane Zaineddine drew the defence and sent a great ball across to Noah Chia to finish off nicely with three minutes of play remaining in the match and Enfield leading 4-3.
Rovers held on for an amazing upset win and coach Imad Zaineddine was ecstatic.
?The pressure was all on Mascot after the season they had, but I thought we actually had the better semi-final series,? he said. ?We weren?t at our best during the season but we certainly peaked at the right time.?
Noah Chia scored a memorable match winner for Enfield in extra time ? realising just about every athlete?s dream.
?It was good to score the goal? I?ll probably remember this for a while,? he said.
-By Dan De Nardi