Futsal Premier & State League: Round 14 Review

Round 14 of the Futsal Premier League decided this summer’s top-four after Enfield downed Campbelltown 7-2, Inner West dashed Phoenix 6-0, Dural edged UTS 2-0, and Mascot met Mountain Majik.
Dural Warriors sealed their Premiership hat-trick with a hard-fought 2-0 win over UTS Northside at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre. The newcomers never made it easy for the triple champs and a goal in each half was just enough for a Warriors victory that left them undisputed leaders in yet another golden summer.
UTS can certainly hold their heads up after sticking it to their more experienced rivals and the signs are definitely there that Northside can be a premier league force, but the night belonged to Dural with a sixth straight win catapulting them into a familiar position – Warriors have topped the open men’s four out of the last five seasons.
Enfield Rovers steamrolled Campbelltown Quake 7-2 at Minto Indoor Sports Centre to finish second behind Dural. It was one-way traffic as Enfield took a 4-1 halftime lead, the irrepressible Shervin Adeli scoring four goals and Lachlan Wright twice in the 7-2 victory – Rovers first win over Quake in six tries.
Dean Lockhart scored both Campbelltown goals and they’ll need to lift their game if they’re to make a semi-final impact; Quake’s won just one of their past five contests and face the might of Inner West who are unbeaten in 10 matches. Interestingly it’s Campbelltown’s fourth successive fourth-place finish.
Adeli’s four-score made him the most prolific Futsal Premier League scorer with 27 for the summer (three more than Boomerangs star Daniel Fulton in 2011/12). He’s now rattled the cage in 18 straight Futsal Premier League games to take ominous form into the finals. His incredible summer run includes four hat-tricks (eight braces), the most by any player in one season.
Inner West accounted for Phoenix Futsal Club 8-4 in front of a vocal crowd at Valentine Sports Park, but it wasn’t quite enough to run down Enfield’s goal-differential, pushing Magic into a knockout semi-final against Campbelltown next week.
It looked like Magic would rein in the necessary 10-goal winning margin when they led 6-0 at halftime and 8-0 with 15 minutes to go as hundreds cheered them on, but Phoenix found something they have been missing all summer – grunt. And the underdogs punched in four quickfire goals to add some respectability to the scoreline and finish their dour season with a bang.
Seven different scorers contributed to Inner West’s sixth straight win over Phoenix to make it 10 games unbeaten (just two shy of Dural’s all-time record of 12 matches without defeat in 2013/14); Magic will set a new benchmark should they take out this summer’s title.
Mascot Vipers ended their season on a high with a gritty 6-4 win over Mountain Majik at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre. It was Mascot’s first win against the Mountaineers and the explosive scoreline made it a staggering 47 goals scored in their four contests to date.
Next week’s games
It’s Futsal Premier League Finals time as Dural Warriors host Enfield Rovers in a thrilling major semi-final match-up at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre, while Inner West Magic meets Campbelltown Quake in the elimination bout also at Dural.

Futsal State League Semi-Finals
In Futsal State League Semi-Final action at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre, Eastern Suburbs Hakoah advanced to the championship game with a 5-2 win over Raiders in a grinding major semi-final.
Andy Kanchik was the man of the moment as his four goals helped Easts turn a 3-1 midway advantage into a dogged victory, Gilad Swartz scoring Hakoah’s other goal while Goran Ljuboja and Adam Savetta netted for Raiders, who now face Sydney City in next week’s Preliminary Final. Unbeaten Easts have chalked up 11 straight wins.
What a difference a week makes as Sydney City Eagles knocked out Sutherland Shire 3-1 six days after being on the losing side of the ledger. Matthew Trotter, Nic Colantonio and Mario Shabow scored for Eagles to cancel out Scott Hatfield’s sole Sutherland strike, City now cast in a Preliminary Final against Raiders.
Next week’s games
The Futsal State League Preliminary Final features a red-hot match-up between Raiders and Sydney City Eagles at Valentine Sports Park, with the winner to meet Hakoah in the trophy decider at the same venue the following week.