Futsal Premier League Round 13 Preview

Football NSW Futsal Premier League round 13 Saturday night features just two matches with Enfield Rovers versus South Coast Taipans at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre (8.05pm), and Mascot Vipers tackle UTS Northside at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre (8.20pm).

The premier league club championship is no nearer to certainty with Mascot (194) two points behind Inner West (196) but with two matches in hand.

Mountain Majik (175) and Enfield (170) are fighting for third place, with Dural (148) and UTS (148) currently joint-fifth.

South Coast (115) are just ahead of Campbelltown (108) in a dogged relegation fight, runaway Premier League 2 leaders Boomerangs (228) now definite of a top-flight return despite a final-round bye after dominating next-best Raiders (192) and Sydney City Eagles (155).

PL2 bottom club Botany Bay Pirates (65) trail Phoenix (103) by 38 points, with State League frontrunners Sydney Futsal Club (184) well ahead of West City (147).

Mascot Vipers v UTS Northside

All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre 8.20pm Saturday 6 February 

Mascot Vipers can take giant strides into consolidating a top-four finish with a huge match-up against a fired-up UTS Northside. Fourth-placed Mascot head Enfield by two points and can even catch Campbelltown should they also succeed in a final-round match up with South Coast. First Vipers have to account for a UTS side that’s coming last on the ladder but who flexed their muscle in a dominant 7-0 victory over Taipans on the weekend. Northside will be buoyed further by claiming the last two meetings with Mascot, 2-1 and 4-3 following an initial 8-3 Vipers win, as they battle to avoid the wooden spoon.

Enfield Rovers v South Coast Taipans

Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre 8.05pm Saturday 6 February

It’s do-or-die for Enfield Rovers in their clash with a struggling South Coast Taipans. Enfield’s stop-start season has them teetering on the brink of missing this year’s playoffs, trailing fourth-placed Mascot by two points and hoping Vipers stumble over their last two fixtures (against UTS and Taipans) otherwise a star-studded Rovers outfit will be watching the finals this summer despite boasting the competition’s second-best for-and-against (+13 to Dural’s +49). South Coast need to lift their game to have any chance after succumbing 7-0 to Northside on the weekend, Enfield also enjoying 11-3 and 10-4 victories in their previous two encounters.

-By Dan De Nardi