hummel F-League Week 1 Mens Review

The hummel F-League Men’s competition kicked off in three states with goals galore, shock scores and plenty more following a scintillating week one of action.

Boomerangs got the early jump with double wins over St Albans 12-1 and Vipers 4-3, Dural beat South Brisbane 5-0 in the first ever Queensland F-League match, and East Coast downed Sydney Scorpions 6-4, while Strikers and Vipers gained rebound victories against Capital FC on Sunday to set up an enthralling season ahead.

East Coast Heat 6 (Jonathan Barzel, Harley Da Silva, Jordan Guerreiro, Johnathan Kontalis, Clayton Musumeci, Peter Spathis) Sydney Scorpions 4 (Shervin Adeli 3, Andres Gomez)

St Albans Strikers 1 (Jose Portillo) Boomerangs 12 (Michael Reeve 2, Daniel Bennett 3, Thomas Zeitlhofer 3, Angelo Konstantinou, Jason O’Dwyer, Glenn Smith, own goal)

South Brisbane 0 Dural Warriors 5 (Chris Polkinghorne 3, Glen Kelshaw, own goal)

Vic Vipers 3 (Fernando De Moraes 2, Miguel Barrigos) Boomerangs 4 (Jason O’Dwyer, Daniel Bennett, Callum Smith, Michael Reeve)

St Albans Strikers 6 (Jose Portillo 4, Marcos Barbosa, Nejdet Sahin) Capital FC 2 (Cameron Gordon, Slavisa Stojilovic)

Vic Vipers 10 (Adam Cooper 3, Vitor Brauner 2, Ben Monteleone, Miguel Barrigos, Konrad Machoy, Vinitius Leite, Maxim Avram) Capital FC 0

Heat sizzle Scorpions

East Coast Heat held off Sydney Scorpions 6-4 in a highly entertaining game at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre on Friday night.

East Coast surged ahead 3-1 at halftime and an electric second period ended with Heat still two goals in front.

Eight players ruffled the net, one short of the record nine registered in a 9-2 2013 result between Boomerangs and St Albans, and a 9-3 win to Melbourne Heart against Strikers in 2012.

East Coast Heat 6 (Jonathan Barzel, Harley Da Silva, Jordan Guerreiro, Johnathan Kontalis, Clayton Musumeci, Peter Spathis) Sydney Scorpions 4 (Shervin Adeli 3, Andres Gomez)

Boomerangs belt Strikers

Boomerangs began their season with a bang by beating St Albans Strikers 12-1 at YMCA Derrimut Health and Aquatic Centre on Saturday morning.

The Territorians got an early jump with a Strikers own goal plus Michael Reeve, Thomas Zeitlhofer and (Boomerangs goalkeeper) Angelo Konstantinou strikes making it 4-0 at the change-over.

Jose Portillo pulled one back after the break but weren’t helped by Juso Julardzija’s red card, the visitors going into party mode with Reeve scoring again, Bennett and Thomas Zeitlhofer completing hat-tricks, and Jason O’Dwyer and Glenn Smith goals putting the icing on a comprehensive 12-1 victory.

It was the equal-fourth highest game score from any team (Dural bagged 20 against St Albans in 2012 and Scorpions put 19 past Strikers last year) and the equal-third highest winning margin in F-League history (behind those mentioned 20-1 and 19-3 scorelines).

St Albans Strikers 1 (Jose Portillo) Boomerangs 12 (Daniel Bennett 3, Thomas Zeitlhofer 3, Michael Reeve 2, Angelo Konstantinou, Jason O’Dwyer, Glenn Smith, own goal)

Dural down Brisbane

Dural Warriors blitzed South Brisbane at Eagles Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon – the first ever Men’s F-League match played in Queensland.

It was 3-0 at the break and a five-goal fulltime whitewash offered Dural the perfect start to a sunny winter, Chris Polkinghorne claiming a hat-trick – Dural’s third F-League clean sheet is also the most of any club over four tournaments.

South Brisbane 0 Dural Warriors 5 (Chris Polkinghorne 3, Glen Kelshaw, own goal)

Boomerangs knick Vics

Boomerangs pipped Vic Vipers 4-3 in a thriller at YMCA Derrimut Health and Aquatic Centre on Saturday afternoon, sending Boomerangs temporarily to the top of the F-League ladder.

The atmosphere was electric as the two sides traded blows, Boomerangs holding onto their slender 3-2 halftime sliver to claim a second successive win to start the season.

Boomerangs are F-League’s true heartstoppers having played out more one-goal results than any other club (13) but with the least success, just three wins. Interestingly Vipers had won seven of nine one-goal thrillers before this gutwrenching defeat – just their second loss on Victorian soil (and in a row).

On an individual note, De Moraes’ double places him fifth on the F-League’s all-time scorers list with 23 goals. The competition’s best-ever shooters are Dural ace Jarrod Basger (50), Boomerangs star Daniel Fulton (43) and Dural gun Greg Giovenali (35), while Vipers trio Jonathan Barientos (24), De Moraes (23) and Adam Cooper (22), Warrior Nathan Niski (21), Viper Miguel Barrigos (20) and Striker Tomislav Grgic (19) round out the top-nine marksmen.

Vic Vipers 3 (Fernando De Moraes 2, Miguel Barrigos) Boomerangs 4 (Jason O’Dwyer, Daniel Bennett, Callum Smith, Michael Reeve)

Strikers take Capital

St Albans Strikers turned chalk into cheese with a 6-2 defeat of Capital FC at YMCA Derrimut Health and Aquatic Centre on Sunday morning.

The Strikers were blushed 12-1 by Boomerangs a day before but they turned it right round on Sunday, racking up a 4-1 halftime buffer before holding out a second-half improvement from Capital FC to win 6-2.

St Albans Strikers 6 (Jose Portillo 4, Marcos Barbosa, Nejdet Sahin) Capital FC 2 (Cameron Gordon, Slavisa Stojilovic)

Vipers repulse Capital

A second-half Vic Vipers riot brought Capital FC to a standstill with a 10-0 demolition job at YMCA Derrimut on Sunday afternoon.

Capital were stubborn in the opening period and only trailed Vipers 2-0 at oranges, but a second-half Vics goalscoring blitz had the home side 10-0 victors at the hooter, Adam Cooper scoring three and Vitor Brauner two.

Vic Vipers 10 (Adam Cooper 3, Vitor Brauner 2, Ben Monteleone, Miguel Barrigos, Konrad Machoy, Vinitius Leite, Maxim Avram) Capital FC 0