Futsal Premier League round 12 Review
Football NSW Futsal Premier League round 12 Saturday night had Dural 6-3 victors over Mascot, Inner West defeated Enfield 3-1, Campbelltown flipped Mountain Majik 7-1, and UTS Northside demolished South Coast 7-zip.
Warriors also downed Rovers 4-1 in a rescheduled round-14 clash on Thursday, Magic beat Majik by the same scoreline in a round-six catch-up on Friday and Magic meet Rovers in a round-five contest on Monday. Visit the Football NSW website (Futsal tab) for full details.
The crowded results saw a rampant Warriors finish the regular season on an unprecedented 40 points (from a possible 42) and a record margin over second-place Magic (27), but they now have to wait almost a month while Quake (22), Vipers (19) and Rovers (17) battle out the remaining top-four positions.
The dreaded wooden spoon is also going down to the wire with Taipans (9) and Majik (9) just ahead of UTS (7), the latter two meeting in a final round decider (all three sides can finish bottom).
On the goalscoring charts Mark Symington (16 goals for Quake) leads Enfield weapons Anthony Tomelic (14) and Shervin Adeli (13), with Campbelltown combination Danny Martinez (12) and Dean Lockhart (10), Dural duo Wade Giovenali (10) and Blake Rosier (9), Mascot’s Andrea Gallina (9) and Northside’s Grant Lynch (9) rounding out the summer’s best.
The club championship is also certain of a final round determination with Mascot (176) still giving perennial winners Inner West (176) a big run for their money, and Enfield (162) and Mountain Majik (160) close enough to make it even more interesting heading into the final fortnight.
At the other end South Coast (106) are just ahead of Campbelltown (99) in a desperate league survival bout, runaway Premier League 2 leaders Boomerangs (216) looking definite for a top-flight return dominating next-best Raiders (177) and Sydney City Eagles (155).
Botany Bay Pirates (62) are likely to drop from PL2 at the end of summer trailing Phoenix (79) by 17 points, with State League frontrunners Sydney Futsal Club (127) the most likely to rise over West City (112) and Parramatta (97) having played one less round than both Crusaders and Pumas.
Dural Warriors 6 (Greg Giovenali 2, Bruno Pivato, Nicholas Starr, Chris Polkinghorne) Mascot Vipers 3 (Tuan Cao, Alex Eripidou, Leonardo Pinto)
Inner West Magic 3 (Michael Cimino 2, Chris Zeballos) Enfield Rovers 1 ()
Campbelltown Quake 7 (Dean Lockhart 2, Harley Da Silva 2, Edward Rinaldi 2, Daniel Martinez) Mountain Majik 1 (Andrew Luttringer)
South Coast Taipans 0 UTS Northside 7 (Grant Lynch 3, Nathan Amore 2, Lucas Dawson, Bojan Basara)
Rd 14: Enfield Rovers 1 (Shervin Adeli) Dural Warriors 4 (Chris Polkinghorne, Wade Giovenali, Nathan Niski, Brendan Hoyer)
Rd 6: Inner West Magic 4 (Jonathan Barzel 2, Daniel Fornito, Chris Zeballos) Mountain Majik 1 (Jamie Dib)
Rd 5: Enfield meet Rovers 2 () Inner West Magic 4 (Daniel Fornito, Michael Cimino, Daniel Fogarty, Brian Griffins-Colls)
Warriors overcome Vipers
Warriors came from 2-0 down to beat Mascot Vipers 6-3 in a cracker of a match at Dural Sport & Leisure Centre side – a jubilant Dural week following their 4-1 defeat of Enfield in a rescheduled round-14 clash and becoming premier league’s highest ever points finisher with 40 from a possible 42 (13 wins, one draw).
A fourth successive Dural premiership didn’t phase Mascot as they drummed up an early two-goal advantage before the Warriors juggernaut finally got going with two-goal hero Greg Giovenali calling the shots, a tight 2-2 halftime scoreline blowing out to 6-3 by the final whistle despite the sending off of key Dural player Blake Rosier (scored in eight games this summer but faces suspension).
There are few superlatives left for Dural and their super coach Rob Varela. The legendary Warriors conquests are the stories of Futsal folklore and this current band of brothers is unbeaten in 22 highest-level league games, 14 matches without loss at the Leisure Centre, 10 straight wins on the road, and 13 different goalscorers (their entire roster including keeper Nick Starr on the weekend).
Varela was delighted about claiming the coveted number one spot after a grueling schedule and without the services of some star Futsal veterans.
“People wrote us off without Toby [Seeto], but we’ve got a new team, different faces, and the boys worked hard all year and were determined to do well,” he said.
“This title rates pretty high as every player had to contribute; but it’s a totally new competition now. Once you’re in the playoffs it’s what you do on the day – if you don’t perform on the night you get beat. Obviously we’re confident, but anything can happen from here.”
Mascot stalwart Zvi Ben David was full of applause for the Dural dynasty adding yet another trophy to the cabinet … but he held one Warriors player up on a pedestal as the ultimate Futsal gladiator – gamechanger Giovenali.
“It was a very good game. In reality they created many, many chances and our keeper Luis Soto had a blinder!” he said. “Dural are a very, very well drilled team, they know each other really well, but we were very much in the game [without injured Andrea Gallina] … so if we make the semis we will be dangerous.”
“Dural can be beaten but Greg Giovenali in their team makes it a lot harder. Let me put it this way: if he was on our side we would win every time,” Ben David laughed.
Varela remained pragmatic: “We can be beaten with or without Greg,” he said. “He’s an important player but so was Toby and so was Jarrod [Basger]. We’ve got new faces in the team … and I think Blake [Rosier] will miss the next game, so we will be tested in the finals.”
So how do the last five Warriors seasons compare:
2015/16: 40 points (13 wins, one draw), a record 10-13 points ahead of Inner West with a record 80 goals scored and 31 conceded
2014/15: 34 points (11 wins, one draw), three ahead of Inner West and Enfield, 60 goals scored, 21 conceded
2013/14: 32 points (10 wins, two draws), four ahead of Inner West and Campbelltown, 79 goals scored, 32 conceded
2012/13: 37 points (12 wins, one draw), nine ahead of Inner West, 72 goals scored, a record low 20 conceded
2011/12: 30 points (9 wins, three draws), one behind premiers Enfield, 72 goals scored, 37 conceded
Dazzling Dural aside, long-time Futsal supporter Ben David has been energized this Summer of ‘15/16.
“Usually the club championship is determined early on in the season with Inner West just too strong across the grades, but this season everything is going down to the wire – the club championship, promotion and relegation, age-group premierships …”
“Futsal needed some reinvigorating, some new life put back into it, and every week everyone is getting excited about different aspects of the competition,” Ben David said.
“More clubs are coming into play – Enfield, Mountain Majik, UTS, Dural – and now Mascot is in a position to challenge for the title. We all now how Matteo [Inner West spearhead Moiarana] is the expert in pulling off miracles over the years, so nothing is guaranteed until the final game; but it’s good to see more competition.”
Magic halt Rovers
Three wins in four days elevated Inner West Magic up the points table and into second spot following a 4-1 defeat of Mountain Majik on Friday night, 3-1 win over Enfield on Saturday, and another 4-2 victory against Rovers on Monday.
Inner West were in solid form at both ends across the weekend and can take some good momentum into the finals giving secured second place on the ladder and a semi-final meeting with premiers Dural.
It was a triple-loss for Enfield following their 1-4 loss to Dural in a Thursday night catch-up that leaves them on the brink of missing the finals, now embroiled in a battle with Mascot and Campbelltown for the remaining two spots.
Quake squash Majik
A full-strength Campbelltown Quake made shrift work of Mountain Majik winning 7-1 at Minto Indoor Sports Centre to demonstrate their premier league possibilities.
After the lights went out in the Men’s Youth game due to Saturday night’s electrical storms, Quake seniors came on all charged up and ascended to 3-1 at oranges, going on with it in the second term behind Dean Lockhart, Harley Da Silva and Edward Rinaldi doubles to put themselves in a strong position of making the playoffs.
All Campbelltown chief Carlos Martinez wanted was to be in a position of making the finals in the open men’s and, more importantly, stay within striking distance of South Coast in the club championship.
“It was a good win, we did what we had to do and I expected that sort of result. We had all our guys playing against a team full of young people and we needed to put in a good one – and we did,” he said. “It was a really good performance to be honest. We’ve been disappointing of late and I think we redeemed ourselves.”
“Making the semis is more important than finishing second because you can win it from anywhere in the top four. A second chance is always nice, but the way it’s gone this season we’d be happy just to make the finals.”
Northside drown South Coast
UTS Northside dusted off the cobwebs with an exhilarating 7-blot whitewash of South Coast Taipans at the University Of Wollongong Sports Hub to make it a thrilling three-way battle for the wooden spoon.
Notorious for going down in tight games UTS raced to a 4-0 halftime break and completed the shackle-breaking rout in the second half to register just the second cleansheet of the summer and Northside’s first in premier league (Dural’s the only club in five years not to be held scoreless – 78 games).
Mountain Majik head Taipans on goal-difference just two points ahead of UTS on the points table, with the Mountaineers hosting Northside in the final match of the season.
This week’s games
Football NSW Futsal Premier League round 13 Saturday night features Enfield Rovers against South Coast Taipans at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre (8.05pm), while Mascot Vipers tackle UTS Northside at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre (8.20pm). Visit the Football NSW website (Futsal tab) for full details.
-By Dan De Nardi
