Futsal Premier/State League Round 5 Review
It doesn’t get any better than round five Premier League as Enfield edged Dural 3-2 in a titanic duel, Inner West beat Campbelltown 4-2, Mountain Majik pipped UTS Northside 2-1, and Phoenix outgunned Mascot 8-7 in a series of hotly-contested matches – the trophy race is well and truly on!.
Enfield Rovers set a cat among the pigeons with a red-hot 3-2 win over three-time champs Dural Warriors at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre.
Dural started strong and hit the post three times within minutes before an Enfield own goal finally edged them in front, but the lead was short-lived as Shervin Adeli hit back before halftime to send both sides into the changeover locked at 1-1.
Warriors came out firing in the second term and kept plenty of possession but excellent defence from Rovers and a couple of terrific counter-attack goals – from Adeli and Clayton Musumeci – lifted the home side to a handy 3-1 position.
Warriors pulled one back through Daine Merrin to give the visitors a sniff of a comeback but they missed a penalty after the buzzer to hand Rovers victory and end Dural’s competition-best 10-game unbeaten road run.
The tight win reinforced how good Enfield is in pressure situations. Over the past five summers they’ve won 11 of 14 games decided by a goal (79%), furthering the distance to next-best Dural (63%).
Rovers are eight league games undefeated (four short of Dural’s incredible run last summer) to claim outright command of the points table, three ahead of Warriors (10) with Inner West (9), Campbelltown (8), UTS (6) and Mountain Majik (6) in hot pursuit.
Magic settle Quake
Inner West Magic finally put some petrol in the tank with a grinding come-from-behind 4-2 win against Campbelltown Quake at Valentine Sports Park.
Magic have already endured two draws this summer and with the scores locked 1-1 at halftime and Mark Symington’s early second-half strike for Quake it was looking ominous again for the home side.
But then Symington put one into his own net and a second Marino Musumeci goal had Inner West up 3-2 in the blink of an eye, Daniel Fogarty slotting in a late sealer as Campbelltown pushed forward for an equaliser, Magic winning 4-2 and jumping Quake on the ladder.
Phoenix wrestle Vipers
When the smoke finally cleared at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre, Phoenix Futsal Club rose from the ashes with a stirring 8-7 defeat of Mascot Vipers.
Matthew Orlic and Keifer Dotti netted braces as Phoenix held onto a 4-2 lead midway through the match and Mascot threw everything at them in the second term as the two sides traded blow for blow but Phoenix showed true character to claim a hard-earned and well-timed win, Tuan Cao bagging a hat-trick for a gallant Vipers.
The motivated victory ended a 16-game win-less streak for Phoenix (equal with Sydney City) and braked them one loss short of the eight straight Eagles losses from three summers ago.
It was also the equal-second highest combined score in a premier league clash, three goals short of Dural’s 11-7 victory over Enfield last season, and Mascot’s now been involved in three games where 15 goals have been scored – all of them defeats.
Phoenix and Vipers also seem to be building up a healthy rivalry with two wins apiece and a draw from five close league encounters.
Majik snip Northside
Mountain Majik won a ding-dong battle with UTS Northside 2-1 at Sydney Academy of Sport & Recreation.
A 1-1 halftime stalemate was broken by a decisive Mountain second-half blast that pegged them alongside UTS on the table, just two points off top-four pace.
Next week’s games
Futsal Premier League round 6 features some terrific match-ups as Campbelltown host UTS Northside, Mountain Majik meet Enfield, Phoenix play Dural, and Mascot face Inner West.
Futsal State League round 5
While ladder-toppers Western Wolves waited out the weekend, Raiders closed in with a highly-spirited 4-2 win against West City Crusaders at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Stadium.
Shayne Ardle and Lucas Rossi helped Crusaders stay 2-2 at the break but Ardle got sent-off and City couldn’t contain a crafty Jovan Miladinovic hat-trick that elevated Raiders to a third straight win.
International Football School Futsal fought out an enthralling 4-4 draw with Parramatta Pumas at Peninsula Leisure Centre. International’s found the going tough early on this summer but they worked hard for a 3-2 halftime advantage that they clung to for the rest of the match – Nathan Lara, Andre Gumprecht, Damien Brown and Brendan Hodges goals securing School’s first points.
Sydney Futsal Club powered to a 14-3 defeat of Mount Druitt Town Rangers at Kevin Butts Stadium and move within striking distance of the top-four. The visitors led 5-2 at oranges but turned on the second-half afterburners to win by 11 goals – their 33 campaign goals six more than any other club after five rounds.
Boomerangs were too good for South Coast Taipans winning 7-2 at Canberra’s mpowerdome to stake a top-four spot. The home side led 4-1 at the changeover to jostle in behind leaders but with a lot of other candidates right on their tail.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah downed Botany Bay Pirates 4-2 at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre did neither side a huge favour. It was 2-2 halfway through the game but Hakoah broke free in the second period to win by two goals and surge to fifth on the ladder.
Next week’s games
Futsal State League round 6 stars a Dural Sport & Leisure Centre doubleheader with Parramatta Pumas against Western Wolves and Sydney City Eagles versus Eastern Suburbs Hakoah, Botany Bay Pirates host Sydney Futsal Club, Raiders tackle South Coast Taipans, Boomerangs welcome Mount Druitt Town Ranges to Canberra’s mpowerdome, Sutherland Shire face International Football School Futsal at Menai Sports Centre, while West City Crusaders have the bye.
Humble request
If all clubs could please update their scores to Football NSW as soon as possible it would make these reports more accurate, more detailed and uploaded for your viewing pleasure much sooner. Thank you to those clubs who are already efficient and thank you all in advance for your co-operation – there’s two very exciting competitions unfolding at the moment!
-By Dan De Nardi
