Futsal Premier/State League Round 9 Review
The Futsal Premier League produced some interesting results in Round Nine as Inner West beat Enfield 3-1, Dural downed Mascot 8-2, Campbelltown defeated Mountain Majik 9-3, and UTS Northside edged Phoenix 2-1.
There’s a new leader in charge with Campbelltown (21 points) ahead of Enfield (19), Dural (19), Inner West (18) and Mountain Majik (12) in an intriguing run to the finals.
Inner West Magic showed terrific poise to defeat Enfield Rovers 3-1 in a great game at Valentine Sports Park. Both sides created plenty of chances as Inner West gripped a 1-0 halftime advantage, Brian Griffin-Colls, Dean Bereveskos and Cristian Ciampa goals eventually bettering Shervin Adeli’s sole strike for Enfield.
Magic have now beaten top-dogs Warriors and Rovers in a five-match unbeaten streak that positions them just three points behind leaders Campbelltown and one behind Dural and Enfield.
Campbelltown Quake stormed home to beat Mountain Majik 9-3 at Minto Indoor Sports Centre. Quake held onto a slender 2-1 halftime lead but five-goal guru Mark Symington and his crafty Campbelltown crew put on a second-half show to make it four in a row (three straight against Majik), Dean Lockhart bagging a double to counter goals from Mountain’s Ben Gray, Manuel Duarte and Aaron Fraser.
Incredibly the Mountaineers have found a dozen scorers this season (almost double Campbelltown’s seven) but they’re running the risk of falling off the playoff bandwagon now six points behind fourth-placed Inner West.
For Quake, Symington’s just the fifth premier-leaguer in five summers to notch up a five-goal outing (Shervin Adeli, Lachlan Wright, Chris Zeballos and Daniel Fulton the others), and he now tops this season’s scorers chart with 16 strikes, one more than Enfield’s Shervin Adeli. Campbelltown’s Danny Martinez eight goals is next best.
Dural Warriors made comfortable work of Mascot Vipers in an 8-2 win at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre. It was 4-0 at halftime and Warriors won by six goals despite a red card (two bookings) to Wade Giovenali, the six-goal victory just the tonic Dural needed after last week’s dusting from Inner West.
Greg Giovenali and Nathan Niski netted twice each for the home side, a 10th straight win against Vipers, and the Pinto brothers Leonardo and Leandro scored for Mascot. Vipers suffered a ninth straight away loss (a new premier league mark) and are now 10 games without a road victory.
UTS Northside staved off last-placed Phoenix 2-1 in a nail-biting affair at Sydney Academy of Sport & Recreation. UTS clung to a tight 1-0 advantage midway to record a second successive one-goal victory over Phoenix.
Whatever happens with Phoenix (currently bottom of the club championship) they’ve certainly been great value in premier league as almost a third of their games (12 from 37) have been one-goal thrillers – they’ve won six and lost six.
Next Week’s Games
Round 10 of the Futsal Premier League pits Dural in a crunch match against leaders Campbelltown at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre, Phoenix host Enfield at Ryde Sports & Community Centre, Mountain Majik meet Inner West at Valentine Sports Park, and UTS Northside face Mascot at Sydney Academy of Sport & Recreation.
Futsal State League Round Nine
NSW Futsal State league round nine featured some hot contests with West City Crusaders coming from behind to beat Boomerangs 7-5 in an incredible match at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Stadium. Crusaders were on tenterhooks trailing the visitors 3-4 at the changeover, but an inspired second term lifted West City two goals ahead by fulltime.
Eastern Suburbs Hakoah made thrift work of Western Wolves in a 13-4 demolition at Emerton Leisure Centre. A first-half Hakoah blitz had 8-1 in front at halftime and they showed off their title aspirations in a nine-goal victory – their sixth in a row in an unbeaten season – that positions them on top of the points table.
International Football School Futsal lifted for a maiden 5-3 win over Mount Druitt Town Rangers at Kevin Butts Stadium. The wooden-spoon tussle was definitely exciting as School scored the only first-half goal to lead at oranges, but the game opened up in the second period with ‘Inter’ on top 5-3 – their first state league victory.
Sutherland Shire made it four on the trot with a 6-2 victory over Botany Bay Pirates at Menai Indoor Sports Centre. The home side led 2-1 at the break but controlled the second period to register a cosy four-goal win.
Sydney City Eagles had to fight hard for a 4-2 win over South Coast Taipans at University of Wollongong Sports Hub, Parramatta Pumas hosted a revved-up Raiders (five straight wins) at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre, while Sydney Futsal Club had the bye.
The results leaves the ladder a right royal mess with first-time leaders Easts (20) heading a traffic-jam of Boomerangs (18), Eagles (18), Raiders (16), Sutherland (15), Wolves (13), Crusaders (11), Pumas (11), and even Sydney Futsal Club (8), Pirates (8) and Taipans (7) can cause a playoff picture impact.
Next Week’s Games
The Futsal State League Round 10 features South Coast against Western at University of Wollongong Sports Hub, Raiders host International Football School Futsal at Whitlam Leisure Centre, Boomerangs welcome Botany Bay to Canberra’s mpowerdome, Mount Druitt tackle Eastern Suburbs at Kevin Butts Stadium, Sydney Futsal Club play Sutherland at Marrickville PCYC, West City face Parramatta at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Stadium, while Sydney City have the bye.
