National Futsal Championships: Grand Final Match Reports

The competition saw a plethora of talent on display from all over Australia over the past four days from the age groups of 12’s through to under 23’s both boys and girls. Beautiful goals, some incredible skill, great team moves and tough tackles were the order of the championships.

Under 12 Boys
NSW THUNDER 5-2 VICTORIA METRO
The under 12’s boys opened up the action in the first Grand Final of the day in an enthralling match where the NSW Thunder defeated Victoria Metro 5-2.
Thunder captain Ryan Teague scored a brace while George Antonis, Scott Browning and goalkeeper Gene Marantos scored the others. For Victoria, Dennis Menelaou and Nicholas Kyranakis scored their goals.

Under 12 Girls
NSW METRO THUNDER 7-0 VICTORIA
In a match that saw some exceptional defensive play from either side, the game was ultimately a sterling triumph for NSW with a 7-0 victory over Victoria.
While Victoria had limited possession of the ball throughout the first half, they pushed hard at NSW and seized every opportunity to rush the goal. NSW proved fierce competition however, and with the first of three goals going to Julia Vignes the home team swiftly dominated the field. Courtney Nevin secured a further two goals while team-mates Annabelle Daczko and Isabella Volkanovski rounded out the win.
While Victorian players Alana Jancevski and Renee Sofronidis provided strong resistance, in the end the match was a decisive win for NSW that should make their coaches proud.

Under 13 Boys
NSW METRO THUNDER 5-2 QUEENSLAND METRO
Despite some terrifically vocal supporters and some hard-fought goals, Queensland are the runners up in the Under 13 Boys division following a 5-2 victory from NSW.
From the opening minutes NSW ducked, weaved and slid about the court in a display of deflection that was second-to-none.
Queensland excelled at interception and came close to the goal many times, but NSW were determined to gain the upper hand. After Queensland’s Ethan Wildermuth scored the first goal of the match, NSW pushed back with a determination that saw Rocco Chisari and Yousef Sawalha both take goals, and Marco Tilio manage two.
Despite a masterful goal from Queensland’s Josh Dearn, an unfortunate own goal ensured that NSW held a comfortable lead throughout the game and helped ease them to victory.

Under 14 Girls
NSW METRO THUNDER 7-0 ADELAIDE FORCE
In a spectacular opening that saw Karly Vouros score two goals in quick succession, NSW stormed to victory with an impressive 7-0 win over Adelaide Force.
Following NSW’s opening salvo Adelaide proved remarkably adaptable. While they were spread wide, they were also exceptionally quick and gave great opposition, particularly Susan Roberts in an early near-miss. The Thunder’s defence however was exemplary and numerous Adelaide attacks were circumvented.
NSW’s tally was quickly complemented by a further two goals from Karly Vouros at the opening of the second half – clearly a player to watch – along with goals from Bethany Gordon and Olivia Robinson.
Though Adelaide provided a strong and evolving opponent, this was very much NSW’s game and we look forward to good things from them in future matches.

Under 14 Boys
NSW THUNDER 2 (3) – (1) 2 VICTORIA METRO
A penalty shootout was needed in the Under 14 Boys to split the NSW Thunder and Victoria Metro after a 2-2 draw in normal time.
In front of a boisterous crowd, which featured a large number of traveling fans, the Thunder managed to come from behind twice to force the game into extra time and eventually win the game in a penalty shootout.
Nikita Parkes and Tallon Zahra were the scorers for NSW while Nicholas Vassiliou and Christos Ghenes-Lambiris picked up the Victorians goals.

Under 15 Boys
NSW THUNDER 4-1 NSW Lightning
In a clash of the two New South Wales sides, it was the Thunder team that overcame the Lightning with a convincing 4-1 victory.
Goal scorers for the Thunder were Joshua Bartolotto with two, Dillan Kahale and Connor Quilligan, while for the Lightning the lone goal came from Cristian Berrios.

Under 16 Boys
NSW THUNDER 4 -2 NSW LIGHTNING
In another all NSW affair it was an end to end match where the Thunder came out on top of the Lightning in a six goal thriller.
Jacob Basden was the difference, picking up a double, while Anthony Haddad and Jordan Pyne scored the other two. For the Lightning Ahmad Safdari and Michael Kotzambasis added goals to the scorecard.

Under 16 Girls
NSW Thunder 2-3 NSW LIGHTNING
In an enthralling match full of scoreline turnarounds, the NSW Lightning defeated state rivals the NSW Thunder 3-2.
The heroes for the Lightning were Danika Matos, Indianna Asimus and Stephanie Cortes. For the defeated Thunder, Georgia Koutzoumis and Cassidy Chidgey scored to hand Lightning the win.

AWD Mixed
QUEENSLAND METRO 3–0 NSW LIGHTNING
Queensland secured some silverware through their Metro squad as they defeated the NSW Lightning 3-0 in a match played in high spirits.
Both sides pushed to take the lead in the first half with chances at either end but it was the Lightning keeper, Katelyn Smith, that shone brightest, making some crucial saves and interceptions.
Smith was finally beaten just before the break as Trent Warner broke the deadlock to give the Queenslanders the lead. Minutes later and the Queensland lead was doubled as Justin Mykkeltvedt found the back of the net.
Rodney Afif then made it 3-0 after the break, ensuring the championship trophy will be heading to Queensland.

Youth Womens
NSW METRO 1–0 BOOMERANGS FS
NSW Metro took on the Boomerangs FS in a very tight and close final which the sky blue side won by a solitary first half goal.
Similar to their earlier meeting in the competition, it was again difficult to separate these two great sides.
Natalie Penman opened the scoring for NSW inside the first half with a powerful free kick from distance that gave the Boomerangs keeper no chance.
The Sky Blue side held their ground despite a barrage of attacks from the Boomerangs in a frantic finish to the match where the trailing team threw everything at the goal bar the kitchen sink.

Youth Mens
NSW THUNDER 2–4 BOOMERANGS FS BLUE
In an edge of the seat Grand Final match up, the Boomerangs defeated the NSW Thunder 4-2.
The Thunder took the lead inside the first few minutes of the game courtesy the boot of Robert Perre after a neat cut back.
The Boomerangs then deservedly equalised with just over five minutes remaining in the first half through the powerful Thomas Zeitlhofer.
Just past the half way point of the second half, Benjamin Basser-Silk completed a swift counter attack by the Boomerangs to put the Blue’s ahead.
With only minutes remaining the Thunder went searching for the equaliser and a great move by Perre, and Anson Gilligan was finished by Rodney Lewin to make the scores 2-2.
With the game heading for extra time and only 50 seconds remaining, Jake Wilsener made it 3-2 for the Boomerangs.
With the Thunder throwing everyone forward in search of an equaliser, Wilsener popped up again and ensured the Boomerangs would be crowned champions.

Under 23 Womens
NSW LIGHTNING 0(2)–(3)0 NSW THUNDER
A penalty shootout was required to determine the winner between the NSW Lightning and NSW Thunder. The Thunder made no errors from the spot to come away with a 3-2 shootout win.
The opening exchanges of the match fell the way of the Thunder with some desperate defending and great goalkeeping keeping the scores locked at 0-0.
As the first half moved on, the Lightning started getting more comfortable on the ball and were able to string some passes together, causing a few minor headaches for the Sky Blue side.
Neither side could find a way to goal in the first half as the teams moved into the break with the scores locked at 0-0.
The Sky blue’s picked up the pace again through the second half and were again looking the more threatening.
The stalemate continued in the second half in a match where it seemed the team to score would run away with the victory.
The final minutes saw end to end action. First Georgia Plessas almost gave the lightning the lead, only for Dana Buttigieg to stick out a leg and save the day.
Almost immediately from there Doris Osman found herself with a great opportunity, only for Sarah Easthope to make a confident save.
The deadlock continued into extra time as the teams needed to be separated by a penalty shootout.
The Thunder were calmer when it mattered most, winning the shootout 3-2.

Under 23 Mens
NSW METRO 4–0 VICTORIA
It was Sky Blue verse Navy Blue in the Under 23 final as the NSW Metro took on Victoria. NSW was too strong for their traveling counterparts, winning comfortably 4-0.
The crowd was treated to a fast paced beginning to the match with the Sky Blues going closest first.
With six minutes left of the first half, NSW broke the deadlock. Dylan Basger shot toward goal, Victoria keeper James Brennan seemed to see the ball late as it squirmed under him and over the line.
Michael Loupis then sent a pile driver toward goal but Brennan was up to the task this time, palming the ball out for a corner.
In the final 10 seconds of the half NSW doubled their advantage. Loupis squared the ball up for the on rushing Jordan Guerreiro who at full stretch put the ball into the back of the net.
The Victorians tried their luck from distance with Adam Cooper going close twice in quick succession in the second half.
A slightly different approach from the traveling side in the second half seemed to be working for them as they began pressing the Sky Blues.
Brennan then kept his side in it, making a fantastic save from Loupis.
Brian Griffin-Colls then gave the Sky Blues some extra breathing space with five to go, slamming the ball into the back of the net.
Nathan Amore then added further salt to the wound, scoring a screamer volley to make the score 4-0.

Powerchair Exhibition Match
POWEROOS 2-1 A-LEAGUE ALL-STARS