Futsal Premier/State League Round 7 Preview

Some great match-ups shape round seven premier league with leaders Enfield against third-placed Campbelltown, Phoenix meet Inner West, UTS Northside welcome Dural north of the bridge, and Mountain Majik tackle Mascot.

While it’s anyone’s game in the open men’s, it’s even closer in the club championship with Dural (104) overtaking Enfield (100) on the weekend as both clubs try to wrestle the coveted title form Inner West’s grasp (97). Mascot (82) may rue dropping six points due to an early-season irregularity.
There’s no room to move as Enfield Rovers tackle Campbelltown Quake in a top-three battle at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre. Enfield are nine league games unbeaten to sit top (they’re also seven without loss at home) but Dural and Campbelltown are a whisper behind to add extra importance to this encounter. And what about the history! Quake have won their past four meetings after Rovers had won the previous five (including an epic 2011/12 preliminary final 5-4). Also keep an eye on wily Shervin Adeli: he’s already halfway to the most goals scored in a premier league season (Daniel Fulton’s 24 for Boomerangs in 2011/12) with five braces in six games (the most in a season is seven – Fulton and Adeli that same summer).
Phoenix Futsal Club face Inner West Magic at Ryde Sports & Community Centre in an interesting match-up for both sides. Phoenix are struggling to keep up in the club championship (only youth men hold a top-four position) as they trail newcomers UTS by 30 points, but they meet an Inner West side that’s won just twice to stand a real chance of inflicting further pain. Magic’s won all four clashes between them but none convincingly, however, Phoenix haven’t won at home in 11 games (equal with Mascot’s top mark) and they’ve lost seven straight at Ryde; they’ll also need to plug a leaky defence that’s conceded 33 times in six runs.
Maybe a change in venue will help UTS Northside against Dural Warriors at Sydney Boys High School. The newcomers have played like a yo-yo in their debut summer with some outstanding performances marred by some ordinary ones, including last weekend’s 6-0 loss to Quake, but the positives are certainly there with Northside three points off a top-four place. UTS do have three girls teams in the top-four, but Dural lead the club championship (topping four grades) and they won’t like being behind Enfield in their trademark open men’s den (winners three straight times), so Northside can expect no mercy this weekend.
Mountain Majik versus Mascot Vipers at Valentine Sports Park should be an entertaining affair as both teams look to capitalise on Inner West’s fourth-place stutter. Despite four losses to their names both sides find themselves still in the playoff hunt. Mascot have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks (3-3 draw with Magic last week) but they’re yet to topple Mountain following heavy 8-3 and 10-5 losses last summer, and they also haven’t won in seven road trips (one short of the Phoenix and Sydney City Eagles mark). In fact, they’ve lost five in a row away from home (and closing in on their seven road defeats from 2011/12).
State League round 7
State league heats up in round seven as leaders Raiders face a dangerous Sydney Futsal Club at Liverpool’s Whitlam Leisure Centre, red-hot Parramatta Pumas tackle second-placed Boomerangs at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre, and West City Crusaders welcome undefeated Eastern Suburbs Hakoah to Penrith Valley Regional Sports Stadium.
International Football School Futsal play a hungry Western Wolves at Peninsula Leisure Centre, cellar-dwellers Mount Druitt Town Rangers have a tough task against Sydney City Eagles at Kevin Butts Stadium, Sutherland Shire confronts South Coast Taipans at Menai Indoor Sports Centre, while Botany Bay Pirates have the bye.
If you thought the open men’s points table was tight – seven points separate the top 11 teams – the club championship is just as squishy with South Coast one point in front of Sutherland and Sydney City, and Easts, Raiders and Boomerangs close behind.