Futsal State League Grand Final 2016 Preview
The Futsal State League Grand Finals stand to deliver nine outstanding trophy matches in front of a passionate crowd at the home of Futsal in NSW, Valentine Sports Park – and all seven clubs are represented on Grand Final day.
To view the official Grand Final Match Day program click here
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Club Champions Sydney Futsal Cub have an astounding seven age groups challenging for the crown (in Open Women, Youth Men, 17 Girls, 15 Girls, 14 Boys, 13 Girls & 12 Boys), with International Football School Futsal Club in three deciders (17 Girls, 15 Girls & 12 Boys), plus West City Crusaders FC (Open Men & Open Women), Western Wolves Futsal Club (Open Men & 14 Boys), Central Coast Futsal Club (Youth Men & 16 Boys), Imperial Eagles (16 Boys) and Parramatta Pumas FC (13 Girls) sure to draw fans from right across Sydney.
And while eight Premiers line-up to take the Premiership-Championship double (Open Men’s frontrunners Parramatta Pumas FC inexplicably missing from today’s schedule), it’s fascinating to note only one match showcases a first-versus-second bout (16 Boys between Central Coast Futsal Club and Imperial Eagles).
The other fixtures feature five third-place getters and three from fourth to truly underline the adage that finals Futsal is a totally new ball-game altogether.
Open Men (5pm) – West City Crusaders FC (2) vs Western Wolves Futsal Club (3)
Premiers: Parramatta Pumas FC
Season results:
Round 5 West City Crusaders FC 1-1 Western Wolves Futsal Club
Round 12 Western Wolves Futsal Club 3-3 West City Crusaders FC
Major Semi Final West City Crusaders FC 5-0 Parramatta Pumas FC
Minor Semi Final Western Wolves Futsal Club 4-4 (7-5 AET) Imperial Eagles
Preliminary Final Parramatta Pumas FC 4-6 Western Wolves Futsal Club
The Open Men’s Grand Final won’t feature premiers Parramatta Pumas but second-versus-third West City Crusaders against Western Wolves is sure to be a spectacle. Two regular season draws between them and the fact that three of the top-five Open Men’s scorers in West City Crusaders Lucas Rossi (17), Evan Daglis (15) and Alexander Crane (14) are countered by four prowling Western Wolves scoring 7-10 goals each, this is a tough one to predict. A dominant West City Crusaders Major Semi Final win is also paralleled by Western Wolves gritty post-season run.
Open Women (4pm) – Sydney Futsal Club (1) vs West City Crusaders FC (4)
Premiers: Sydney Futsal Club
Season results:
Round 2 Sydney Futsal Club 3-0 West City Crusaders FC
Round 9 West City Crusaders FC 2-2 Sydney Futsal Club
Major Semi Final Sydney Futsal Club 4-1 International Football School Futsal Club
Minor Semi Final Imperial Eagles 1-2 West City Crusaders FC
Preliminary Final International Football School Futsal Club 1-3 West City Crusaders FC
Open Women’s Premiers Sydney Futsal Club are known for a tough defensive line that’s leaked just 25 goals, while top-five strikers Emma Noro (19), Freya Hickey (10) and Rebecca Browning (10) have kept the scoreboard ticking over. Fourth-placed West City Crusaders squeezed into the finals having scored and conceded 39 goals, but they drew 2-2 with Sydney Futsal Club late in the season and have rode a wave of euphoria throughout the finals.
Youth Men (3pm) – Sydney Futsal Club (1) vs Central Coast Futsal Club (4)
Premiers: Sydney Futsal Club
Season results:
Round 5 Sydney Futsal Club 3-4 Central Coast Futsal Club
Round 12 Central Coast Futsal Club 1-8 Sydney Futsal Club
Major Semi Final Sydney Futsal Club 3-2 Western Wolves Futsal Club
Minor Semi Final Parramatta Pumas FC 2-10 Central Coast Futsal Club
Preliminary Final Western Wolves Futsal Club 4-4 (4-5 AET) Central Coast Futsal Club
Youth Men Premiers Sydney Futsal Club racked up 73 goals this summer with Nathan Spinola (16 goals) and Scott Armstrong (14) the chief providers, but they won’t take fourth-placed Central Coast lightly with Nathan Baker (12) and junior Bilal Belkadi (11) able to strike from nothing, and the northerners stole a memorable 4-3 victory in Sydney during the season before steamrolling all before them in the finals to take centre stage this weekend.
17 Girls (2pm) – International Football School Futsal Club (1) vs Sydney Futsal Club (3)
Premiers: International Football School Futsal Club
Season results:
Round 6 Sydney Futsal Club 1-4 International Football School Futsal Club
Round 13 International Football School Futsal Club 4-4 Sydney Futsal Club
Major Semi Final International Football School Futsal Club 4-2 West City Crusaders FC
Minor Semi Final Sydney Futsal Club 1-1 (3-1 AET) Western Wolves Futsal Club
Preliminary Final West City Crusaders FC 2-4 Sydney Futsal Club
17 Girls Premiers International Football School Futsal Club won’t rely on 27-goal special Emily Diaz to see them over the line against third-placed Sydney Futsal Club. They also have Jessica Garret (11 goals) and Tamar Felsch (8) in a packed arsenal and boast a defensive line that’s conceded just 18 times all summer (eight of them in a 4-4 draw and 1-4 defeat to Sydney Futsal Club), so they’ll know all about the potency of Sydney Futsal Club’s attack led by Brittney Ornelas (13).
16 Boys (1pm) – Central Coast Futsal Club (1) – Imperial Eagles (2)
Premiers: Central Coast Futsal Club
Season results:
Round 7 Imperial Eagles 4-3 Central Coast Futsal Club
Round 14 Central Coast Futsal Club 4-1 Imperial Eagles
Major Semi Final Central Coast Futsal Club 4-1 Imperial Eagles
Minor Semi Final Sydney Futsal Club 2-2 (3-2 PENS) West City Crusaders FC
Preliminary Final Imperial Eagles 4-4 (5-4 AET) Sydney Futsal Club
The 16 Boys contest is the only first-versus-second Futsal State League Grand Final as Premiers Central Coast Futsal Club (75 goals, 37 conceded) face Imperial Eagles (50 goals, 26 conceded). The top-two sides traded regular season victories, Central Coast Futsal Club winning the last two meetings 4-1 after Imperial Eagles had come from behind to snare a 4-3 win. Central Coast’s Bilal Belkadi has scored an incredible 29 goals, team-mate Chris Altuneg adding 13, while Imperial Eagles blast away with Alexander Small (14) and Felipe Rava (8).
15 Girls (12pm) – Sydney Futsal Club (1) vs International Football School Futsal Club (3)
Premiers: Sydney Futsal Club
Season results:
Round 6 Sydney Futsal Club 3-4 International Football School Futsal Club
Round 13 International Football School Futsal Club 1-6 Sydney Futsal Club
Major Semi Final Sydney Futsal Club 6-1 West City Crusaders FC
Minor Semi Final International Football School Futsal Club 4-3 Central Coast Futsal Club
Preliminary Final West City Crusaders FC 3-4 International Football School Futsal Club
15 Girls Premiers Sydney Futsal Club smashed 107 goals this summer, Tanya Marjanovic (18), Emily Thurgar (17), Genia Furlong (16), Alessandra Camporeale (15), Lana Giampaoli (11) and Bridget Fallah (10) all busting double-figures, and though International Football School Futsal Club scored half as much (52 goals, Hannah Britten scoring 10) they did topple Sydney Futsal Club on their home turf early in the piece to show plenty of promise again.
14 Boys (11am) – Western Wolves Futsal Club (1) vs Sydney Futsal Club (3)
Premiers: Western Wolves Futsal Club
Season results:
Round 1 Western Wolves Futsal Club 2-1 Sydney Futsal Club
Round 8 Sydney Futsal Club 2-5 Western Wolves Futsal Club
Major Semi Final Western Wolves Futsal Club 4-3 Central Coast Futsal Club
Minor Semi Final Sydney Futsal Club 3-1 Imperial Eagles
Preliminary Final Central Coast Futsal Club 1-4 Sydney Futsal Club
14 Boys Premiers Western Wolves Futsal Club will feel in the box seat having beaten third-placed Sydney Futsal Club twice this season and Timothy Williams (15 goals) and Nathan Bogadi (9) showing good form, but Sydney Futsal Club have Alexander Zinnato (13 goals), Dimitri Kostopoulos (12) and Connor Magiasis (11) all capable of putting on a good show and they were terrific in dispensing Central Coast Futsal Club in the Preliminary Final to totally measure up in this final.
13 Girls (10am) – Parramatta Pumas FC (1) vs Sydney Futsal Club (3)
Premiers: Parramatta Pumas FC
Season results:
Round 4 Parramatta Pumas FC 4-0 Sydney Futsal Club
Round 11 Sydney Futsal Club 4-4 Parramatta Pumas FC
Major Semi Final Parramatta Pumas FC 6-1 West City Crusaders FC
Minor Semi Final Sydney Futsal Club 4-2 International Football School Futsal Club
Preliminary Final West City Crusaders FC 2-3 Sydney Futsal Club
13 Girls Premiers Parramatta Pumas FC collected 87 goals this season at the expense of just 14 (lowest of all age groups), Fab-5 Julia Morales (21 goals), Ellie Smyth (18), Chloe Gordon (13), Erin Leah Tavares (13) and Tayler Filbin (11) scoring the bulk, and while third-placed Sydney Futsal Club only scored 41 goals – Georgia Witney (10) at the forefront – they only leaked 21 themselves and were heroic in a 4-4 comeback draw with Parramatta Pumas FC late in the season that propelled their excellent run to the decider.
12 Boys (9am) – Sydney Futsal Club (1) vs International Football School Futsal Club (4)
Premiers: Sydney Futsal Club
Season results:
Round 6 Sydney Futsal Club 9-3 International Football School Futsal Club
Round 13 International Football School Futsal Club 1-6 Sydney Futsal Club
Major Semi Final Sydney Futsal Club 7-6 Central Coast Futsal Club
Minor Semi Final West City Crusaders FC 2-3 International Football School Futsal Club
Preliminary Final Central Coast Futsal Club 1-3 International Football School Futsal Club
This is the final’s truest David-versus-Goliath clash! 12 Boys Premiers Sydney Futsal Club ran up a century of summer goals led by Thomas Mumford (29), Dylan Kanjo (21), Gustav Soerensen (12) and Alan Mahon (12), and they’ll fancy themselves against International Football School Futsal Club that squeezed into fourth place on goal difference behind a defence that’s conceded 64 goals (eight-goal Jye Bailey’s their highest marksman) and lost both times they met.
-By Dan De Nardi
