FNSW Futsal Premier League Round 8 Review
Dural Warriors beat Boomerangs 2-1 to snare Football NSW Futsal Premier League first place following round eight action that also saw Enfield Rovers edge Inner West Magic 5-4, Campbelltown Quake nip Mountain Majik 3-2, and Mascot Vipers draw 2-2 with Phoenix Futsal Club.
On the points table Dural (17) head Boomerangs (16), Inner West (15) and Campbelltown (13), with Enfield (10) and Mountain Majik (9) still in the hunt for a finals berth, while Mascot (6) and Phoenix (5) have one option left to stay in the playoff chase – win.
Individually, another Daniel Bennett brace takes the Boomerangs ace to 10 goals for the season, equal with Mountain Majik’s Corey Bizco. Shervin Adeli (Enfield) scored four goals against Inner West to join Rovers teammate Giovani Leuzzi and Magic spearhead Daniel Fogarty on nine goals. Shayne Ardle (Quake), Harley Da Silva (Quake) and Toby Seeto (Warriors) have netted seven times each.
Round 8
Dural Warriors 3 (Blake Rosier, Toby Seeto, Bruno Pivato) Boomerangs 2 (Daniel Bennett x2)
Campbelltown Quake 4 (Harley Da Silva x2, Shannon Fielding, Daniel Martinez) Mountain Majik 3 (Corey Bizco x2, Mitchell Long)
Enfield Rovers 5 (Shervin Adeli x4, Giovanni Leuzzi) Inner West Magic 4 (Daniel Fogarty x2, Dylan Maloney, Ediz Alpkaya)
Mascot Vipers 2 () Phoenix Futsal Club 2 (Robert Davey, Jarrod Cowley)
Warriors displace Boomerangs
Dural Warriors overtook Boomerangs for the competition lead with a tight 3-2 win at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre on Saturday night.
Blake Rosier and Toby Seeto goals put Dural in the box seat before Daniel Bennett responded with a Boomerangs brace that leveled the scores at 2-2 at halftime.
Bruno Pivato restored the Warriors advantage in the second term and the defending champions showed their worth to register an eighth consecutive premier league home victory 3-2.
Dural coach Rob Varela was chuffed with the performance. “It was a gutsy 3-2 win with a depleted squad against the [competition] leaders,” he said.
“The second half saw us regain control and we created a good number of chances which we didn’t manage to convert against some determined defending… [once] we got the winning goal it was a case of holding possession.”
Rovers bite Magic
Enfield Rovers emerged 5-4 victors in a titanic tussle with Inner West Magic at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday night.
Inner West led 2-1 at the break but couldn’t stop a second-half Enfield onslaught as Rovers stormed home to win 5-4, their fifth success over Magic in six confrontations.
Enfield’s Shervin Adeli blasted in four goals and Giovanni Leuzzi added another to counter a Daniel Fogarty double for Inner West supported by Dylan Maloney and Ediz Alpkaya strikes.
Rovers are proving to be the masters of close calls having won seven of 10 games decided by a goal over the past three summers (Phoenix have won five of seven and Dural four of six).
Quake nip Majik
Campbelltown Quake made it nice and cozy at the top of the leaderboard following a come-from-behind 4-3 win against Mountain Majik at Minto Indoor Sports Stadium on Saturday night.
Majik started their last away game of the regular season with vigour and led 1-0 before Danny Martinez restored parity for Campbelltown, the visitors taking the lead again just before halftime.
A Harley Da Silva screamer levelled the scores a second time early in the second term before a Shannon Fielding goal pushed Quake in front for the first time 3-2.
The lead was shortlived however and the game seemed destined for a 3-3 draw until Mountain’s Corey Bizco was dismissed for a second booking with two minutes remaining and Campbelltown made the most of the extra man with Da Silva tapping home in the dying seconds to register an important 4-3 victory and atone for a heartbreaking 6-5 round-one loss to the Mountaineers.
Quake manager Carlos Martinez was still recovering from yet another heart-stopper. “We did it again with 20 seconds to go… we’re the cardiac kids,” he said, underlined by Campbelltown’s 13 games decided by a goal over the past three summers (only Inner West has more with 14).
“It was a scrappy match, definitely not our prettiest as Majik did very well to disrupt us all game. We’re not getting carried away with the results; we’re just taking it week by week.”
Mascot, Phoenix draw
A 2-2 draw did no service to either Mascot Vipers and Phoenix Futsal Club in a thrilling stalemate at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday night.
Robert Davey and Jarrod Cowley scored for Phoenix and Mascot matched them to register a third Vipers draw for the season. Campbelltown (2011/12), Dural (2011/12) and Boomerangs (2012/13) recorded three draws in the past three competitions and Mascot could step ahead on their own with six games still to play.
The shared point also means both sides fall further behind the playoff chase – Mascot are seven points off fourth-placed Quake and Phoenix a point further back in last place, putting more pressure on finding results in the final rounds.
Next week’s games
Football NSW Futsal Premier League round nine features a cruncher between Inner West Magic and Dural Warriors at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre, Mountain Majik tackle Enfield Rovers at Hawkesbury Indoor Stadium, Phoenix Futsal Club host Campbelltown Quake at Ryde Sports & Community Centre, while Boomerangs welcome Mascot Vipers to Canberra’s mpowerdome. Check the footballnsw.com.au website for kickoff details.
-By Dan De Nardi
