Futsal Premier League Grand Final Preview
The Football NSW Futsal Premier League grand final features nine hotly-contested trophy matches at the home of NSW Futsal, Valentine Sports Park – with all eight clubs represented in the end-of-season dance.
Club champions Mascot Vipers will challenge four crowns (16, 14 & 12 boys plus 13 girls) with Enfield Rovers matching them (16, 14 & 12 boys plus youth men), while Mountain Majik contest three deciders (17, 15 & 13 girls), Dural Warriors three (open men & women, 15 girls), Inner West Magic two (open men & women), Campbelltown Quake (youth men) and UTS Northside (17 girls) one each.
The junior boys’ grades will be crackers with top-two sides Rovers and Vipers facing off in all three contests (16s, 14s & 12s), another three finals also featuring first-versus-second scenarios (open men & women plus youth men), with podium-finishers Mountain Majik and UTS Northside meeting in the 17-girls match after disposing of premiers Mascot. The day’s David-v-Goliath clash is fourth-placed Warriors up against 15-girls frontrunners Majik.
The day is highlighted by the AWD Futsal League 1 decider between runaway premiers South Coast Taipans and third-placed Mountain Majik, while a presentation of our glorious Futsalroos will take place at about 5pm to congratulate them on recently qualifying for September’s Futsal World Cup in Colombia.
12 Boys (9am) – Enfield Rovers (1) vs Mascot Vipers (2)
13 Girls (10am) – Mountain Majik (1) vs Mascot Vipers (3)
14 Boys (11am) – Enfield Rovers (1) vs Mascot Vipers (2)
15 Girls (12pm) – Mountain Majik (1) vs Dural Warriors (4)
16 Boys (1pm) – Mascot Vipers (1) vs Enfield Rovers (2)
17 Girls (2pm) – Mountain Majik (2) vs UTS Northside (3)
AWD 1 (3pm) – South Coast Taipans (1) vs Mountain Majik (3)
Youth Men (4pm) – Enfield Rovers (1) vs Campbelltown Quake (2)
Open Women (5.30pm) – Inner West Magic (1) vs Dural Warriors (2)
Open Men (6.45pm) – Dural Warriors (1) vs Campbelltown Quake)
Valentine Sports Park 6.45pm Saturday 5 March
Round 6 Campbelltown Quake 1-10 Dural Warriors
Round 13 Dural Warriors 4-3 Campbelltown Quake
Major Semi Final Dural Warriors 2-1 Inner West Magic
Minor Semi Final Mascot Vipers 2-4 Campbelltown Quake
Preliminary Final Inner West Magic 2-2 (p 2-3) Campbelltown Quake
It’s the big one with unbeaten Open Men’s Premiers Dural Warriors going for a fifth successive Cup up against a brash Campbelltown Quake who finished fourth – 18 points behind them.
There’s no lack of firepower on show with Dural’s 82 summer goals the fourth highest output of any Club over the last six years and Campbelltown’s 70 sits eighth on the list (Warriors 92 in 2013/14 and Rovers 87 in 2011/12 the leading marks).
And while Dural (who are unbeaten in 23 straight Futsal Premier League contests) have spread the offence with goals from Wade Giovenali (12), Blake Rosier (9), Bruno Pivato (9), Vic Koutsoufis (8) and Brendan Hoyer (7), Quake have been led by Mark Symington (16), Daniel Martinez (12), Dean Lockhart (10), Harley Da Silva (6) and Shannon Fielding (4).
Defence will be pivotal with Campbelltown leaking 57 goals over summer compared to Dural’s 31, a stat not helped by a 10-1 walloping at Minto in round 6, although Quake were much better leading the Warriors in the return fixture at Dural before falling 3-4.
Both sides have plenty of finals experience – Campbelltown playing 18 post-season games to Dural’s 11 – but the discrepancy lies in results with Quake winning half their contests compared to 10 Warriors wins, including their last nine in a row.
And look out for Campbelltown big-match player Mark Symington to build on his 18-goal tally in finals, shadowed by Dural star Greg Giovenali (11).
Historically Warriors have won seven and drawn two of the Clubs’ 13 encounters [ed: game scores from 2010/11 unavailable], including a run of five victories that started with their 6-0 drubbing of Quake in the 2013/14 Grand Final – the only time the long-serving Clubs have met in finals over all this time. This will be fascinating!
Dural professor Rob Varela said it didn’t matter who his opponent on Saturday was; he’s ready for a huge challenge.
“I’m not really surprised Quake are there,” he said. “They’re both very good teams and it’s always close between them – two good coaches and squads, different styles – and whoever we met in the final would be a difficult game.”
“It’s a normal approach for us. We must try and execute well and if we’re not good enough on the night, we’ll come back next year and try again.”
Campbelltown chief Carlos Martinez knows his side must find another gear to pose a serious threat in the Final.
“Dural will go in as favourites and us as underdogs. We have a certain confidence, and our senior guys have really stepped up over the past few weeks and taken responsibility for the team, but beating Dural is always a tough ask,” he said.
“We went close to beating them a few weeks ago up 3-2 with a few minutes to go and lost our nerve; this time the pressure really is on them as Premiers. The secret for us is to stop them from scoring. We know we’ve got goals in us, but they have a variety of players who can score from many different positions. It will be a great game!”
Inner West stalwart Matteo Maoirana tipped Dural to win but wouldn’t completely write off Campbelltown. “Quake definitely have a chance,’ he said. “They’ve got a lot of goalscorers and always find a way to stay in games, but Warriors are far and away the favourites.”
Open Women (5.30pm) – Inner West Magic (1) vs Dural Warriors (2)
Premiers: Inner West Magic
Season results:
Round 4 Dural Warriors 1-2 Inner West Magic Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Round 11 Inner West Magic 2-2 Dural Warriors Valentine Sports Park
Major Semi-Final Inner West Magic 1-3 Dural Warriors Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Minor Semi-Final Enfield Rovers dft by UTS Northside Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Preliminary Final Inner West Magic 5-2 UTS Northside Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
The top-two sides battle out the Open Women’s decider with pacesetters Inner West Magic (47 goals scored) finishing seven points ahead of defensive juggernauts Dural (16 goals conceded), but they won’t be heavy favourites after seeing the head-to-head results. Magic narrowly won their round-four meeting 2-1 with a 2-2 draw in the return fixture before Warriors got the better of the premiers in an exciting 3-1 major semifinal win. It’ll also be a good battle between top grade scorers Rhianna Pollicina (16) and Dural dynamite Rachel Perrins (12).
Youth Men (4pm) – Enfield Rovers (1) vs Campbelltown Quake (2)
Premiers: Enfield Rovers
Season results:
Round 1 Enfield Rovers 4-0 Campbelltown Quake Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre
Round 8 Campbelltown Quake 2-4 Enfield Rovers Minto Indoor Sports Stadium
Major Semi-Final Enfield Rovers 2-1 Campbelltown Quake Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Minor Semi-Final South Coast Taipans 2-1 Dural Warriors Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Preliminary Final Campbelltown Quake 4-2 South Coast Taipans Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Youth Men premiers Enfield Rovers and runners-up Campbelltown Quake finished the season a long way ahead of everyone else to make this an obvious title bout. Rovers scored 66 goals and conceded 23 to strike up a good balance between offence and defence, Michael Kouta (25) leading the charts with Dominic Cox (11) in good support, while Quake were spearheaded by Anthony Haddad (16) and Edward Rinaudi (10). While Enfield won all three meetings over summer Campbelltown were terrific value in a tight 2-1 preliminary final loss to ensure this will be a great battle.
AWD 1 (3pm) – South Coast Taipans (1) vs Mountain Majik (3)
Premiers: South Coast Taipans
Season results:
Round 5 Mountain Majik 1-5 South Coast Taipans Valentine Sports Park
Round 12 South Coast Taipans 9-3 Mountain Majik Illawarra Sports High School
Major Semi-Final South Coast Taipans 4-2 Dural Warriors Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Minor Semi-Final Mountain Majik 10-1 Inner West Magic Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Preliminary Final Dural Warriors 3-9 Mountain Majik Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
AWD Futsal League 1 premiers South Coast Taipans were simply outstanding this season chalking up just the one loss and racking up a massive goal-difference with 73 goals scored and 19 leaked – Rocco Musumeci (22), Mitchell Forrest (15), Patrick Mitchell (12) and Mark Kay (8) celebrating the most. Mountain Majik are no slouches in front of goal either with 54 goals scored mainly thanks to mammoth contributions from Jack Williams (25) and Ben Atkins (20). Taipans won both the season meetings but will be on guard against a Majik side that piled on 19 goals in finals victories against Inner West and Dural.
17 Girls (2pm) – Mountain Majik (2) vs UTS Northside (3)
Premiers: Mascot Vipers
Season results:
Round 7 UTS Northside 2-3 Mountain Majik Sydney Academy of Sport & Recreation
Round 14 Mountain Majik 1-3 UTS Northside Valentine Sports Park
Major Semi-Final Mascot Vipers 2-3 Mountain Majik Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Minor Semi-Final UTS Northside 1-1 Inner West Magic Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Preliminary Final Mascot Vipers 0-2 UTS Northside Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
17 Girls premiers Mascot Vipers are missing from today’s clincher leaving second-placed Mountain Majik up against third-placed UTS Northside. While both sides have exhibited solid summer defence, Majik conceding 23 goals and UTS 21, they also have plenty of scoring options up their sleeve with the Mountaineers led by fab-5 Ashlee Harrison (8), Lydia Surgeon (8), Ashlie Crofts (7), Tori Tumeth (7) and Cassidy Chidgey (5), while the Northsiders boast grade-leading scorer Daisy Arrowsmith (18) and Emma Watkins (9). It’s been tight all season with split season-results underlined by a gripping 3-2 major semifinal win to Majik.
16 Boys (1pm) – Mascot Vipers (1) vs Enfield Rovers (2)
Premiers: Mascot Vipers
Season results:
Round 2 Enfield Rovers 1-0 Mascot Vipers Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre
Round 9 Mascot Vipers 5-1 Enfield Rovers All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre
Major Semi-Final Mascot Vipers 2-3 Enfield Rovers Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Minor Semi-Final Mountain Majik 8-2 Inner West Magic Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Preliminary Final Mascot Vipers 4-1 Mountain Majik Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
It’s a dream 16 Boys final with premiers Mascot Vipers (57 goals scored, 31 conceded) well matched by Enfield Rovers (51 goals, 33 conceded). Both teams have a trio of sharpshooters with Aidan Taouil (10), Jacob Gjorsevski (10) and Conor Quilligan (9) headlining Mascot’s troupe and Noah Chia (12), Jackson Volarich (10) and Kosta Grozos (9) leading Enfield’s platoon. Rovers pipped Vipers in a round-two clash but fell 5-1 in the second round of matches before turning the tables again in an electric 3-2 major semifinal win to set up this afternoon’s mouthwatering clash.
15 Girls (12pm) – Mountain Majik (1) vs Dural Warriors (4)
Premiers: Mountain Majik
Season results:
Round 2 Dural Warriors 1-3 Mountain Majik Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Round 9 Mountain Majik 4-2 Dural Warriors Valentine Sports Park
Major Semi-Final Mountain Majik 3-0 Inner West Magic Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Minor Semi-Final UTS Northside 0-3 Dural Warriors Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Preliminary Final Inner West Magic 3-4 Dural Warriors Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Unbeaten 15-Girls premiers Mountain Majik were on target 79 times this summer (and conceded a miserly 12) with four of the grade’s top-5 scorers in Isabella Libri (19), Alyssa Rose (15), Courtney Nevin (14) and Tori Tumeth (14) at their disposal; and they’ll certainly fancy themselves against a Warriors outfit that finished fourth 15 points behind them on the table and fell in both regular-season clashes. But Dural have leading-scorer Emily Bastow (22) in their ranks and will be boosted by successive 3-0 victories that eliminated Inner West and UTS Northside on their way to a hard-earned grand final berth.
14 Boys (11am) – Enfield Rovers (1) vs Mascot Vipers (2)
Premiers: Enfield Rovers
Season results:
Round 2 Enfield Rovers 5-3 Mascot Vipers Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre
Round 9 Mascot Vipers 1-3 Enfield Rovers All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre
Major Semi-Final Enfield Rovers 4-0 Mascot Vipers Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Minor Semi-Final UTS Northside 3-3 Campbelltown Quake Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Preliminary Final Mascot Vipers 2-0 UTS Northside Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
14-Boys premiers Enfield Rovers netted 55 times over summer behind an arsenal featuring grade-leading scorer Marco Tilio (22), Alex Fadel (10), Izaak Haupt (10) and Nathan Tohme (9); but they face a stern test from a second-placed Mascot Vipers that leaked just 19 goals (eight to Rovers, 11 to everyone else in 12 tight displays) and have Emmanuel Tzanakes (13) leading their attack. Enfield won both regular-season contests by two goals before a 4-0 major semifinal result put them in the box seat for the championship game.
13 Girls (10am) – Mountain Majik (1) vs Mascot Vipers (3)
Premiers: Mountain Majik
Season results:
Round 1 Mascot Vipers 4-5 Mountain Majik All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre
Round 8 Mountain Majik 7-2 Mascot Vipers Valentine Sports Park
Major Semi-Final Mountain Majik 4-1 Inner West Magic Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Minor Semi-Final Mascot Vipers 3-0 South Coast Taipans Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Preliminary Final Inner West Magic 0-3 Mascot Vipers Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
A dominant Mountain Majik suffered just one loss and scored an outlandish 93 goals on their way to claiming the 13-Girls premiership by eight points, propelled by the competition’s top-three scorers Courtney Nevin (35 goals in 15 matches), Julia Vignes (22) and Monique Holder (22). Mascot Vipers finished 14 points behind them in third place with a leaky defence that conceded 42 goals, but they also have plenty of firepower in Isabella Di Sipio (15), Ella Martins (9), Charlie Rule (8) and Stephanie Augoustis (8) to put dual regular-season losses to Majik well behind them.
12 Boys (9am) – Enfield Rovers (1) vs Mascot Vipers (2)
Premiers: Enfield Rovers
Season results:
Round 2 Enfield Rovers 2-1 Mascot Vipers Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre
Round 9 Mascot Vipers 1-7 Enfield Rovers All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre
Major Semi-Final Enfield Rovers 0-1 Mascot Vipers Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Minor Semi-Final Inner West Magic 2-0 Mountain Majik Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Preliminary Final Enfield Rovers 7-4 Inner West Magic Dural Sports & Leisure Centre
Its first-versus-second when 12 Boys premiers Enfield Rovers meet nemesis Mascot Vipers in the trophy match. Enfield scored 53 goals this summer behind Dean Skiadaresis (14) and Peter Grozos (13) contributions, while Mascot netted 57 times mainly thanks to leading scorer Clayton Rasmussen (22). And while Enfield won both regular-season encounters Mascot stunned them in the major semifinal by a goal to ensure this title will be hotly contested.
To view the official match day program click here
-By Dan De Nardi
