Round 10 Review – SELECT Futsal Premier League
Round 10 of the 2016/17 Football NSW Select NSW Premier League saw Dural smack Enfield 10-2, Inner West hold off Boomerangs 2-1, Mountain Majik edge UTS Northside 4-3, while Mascot zipped South Coast 6-0.
Inner West (25 competition points) lead the way as Dural (19) moved ahead of Enfield (19) on goal-difference, UTS (14) are now in the sights of Mascot (10), Boomerangs (10) and Majik (10), with South Coast (6) not too far behind four games from the end.
On the scoring front Enfield’s Michael Kouta (12) and Dural’s Vic Koutsoufis (12) are tied at the top followed by Majik’s Jordan Guerreiro (10), Rovers star Shervin Adeli (9), Magic duo Daniel Fogarty (8) and Matthew Lecce (7), Dural’s Samuel De Oliveira (7) and Mountain man Manual Duarte (7) – 14 others are still in the running managing five or six goals for the campaign.
Magic (168 points) overtook Vipers (163) to edge ahead in the club championship, Majik (127), Warriors (120), Taipans (117), UTS (113) and Rovers (99) all pretty close together as Boomerangs (30) drifted further away.
South Coast Taipans 0 Mascot Vipers 6 (Leandro Pinto, Shu Torihara, Julian Rinaldi, Alex Euripidou 2, Conor Quiligan)
UTS Northside 3 (Alex Apanian 2, Blake French) Mountain Majik 4 (Nicolas Ortega, Manuel Duarte, Jordan Guerreiro, Samuel Galisano)
Boomerangs FS 1 (Michael Rinaudo) Inner West Magic 2 (Chris Zeballos, Daniel Fogarty)
Dural Warriors 10 (Samuel De Oliveira 3, Vic Koutsoufis 3, Brendon Hoyer 3, Glen Kelshaw) Enfield Rovers 2 (Shervin Adeli, own goal)
Vipers strangle Taipans
Mascot Vipers demolished South Coast Taipans 6-0 at the University of Wollongong Sports Hub to jump into playoff contention just four points behind fourth-placed UTS.
The visitors certainly showed up to play and built on their 2-0 halftime advantage to slam a total of six goals past a hapless South Coast, Alex Euripidou scoring a double supported by Leandro Pinto, Shu Torihara, Julian Rinaldi and Conor Quiligan strikes – the result linking Vipers with Boomerangs and Majik in joint-fifth place.
Mascot’s fourth premier league clean sheet is only surpassed by Dural (16), Enfield (8) and Campbelltown Quake (6).
Majik nip Northside
Mountain Majik came from behind at halftime to overcome UTS Northside 4-3 in a gripping match at Sydney Boys High School.
The home side fired out of the blocks with two goals in the opening 10 minutes securing a mini-buffer midway through the term before Majik hit back with Jordan Guerreiro on the end of a neat cut-back from the corner that found him at the top of the D.
An encouraging finish to the half provided a great platform for the Mountaineers to power ahead in the second term, Nicolas Ortega, Manuel Duarte and Samuel Galisano goals putting the visitors 4-2 clear heading into the final few moments.
Northside pressed with a fifth-man powerplay and the strategy paid off with a late goal, but it wasn’t enough as Majik held on for a 4-3 victory that closed the gap between fourth and fifth to just four points with four pivotal games remaining.
Mountain coach Babak Mentai has been in a world of pain this year suffering an anterior tendon problem in his shoulder, and he went straight from hospital to the game courtesy of a little dose of painkillers. He liked what he saw from his troops.
“I watched a lot of [UTS] games on YouTube as well as our last match and learned how they attacked and what their weakness in defence was,” he said.
“I talked to my players about the way UTS play and made them aware of how to play them; I told them we shouldn’t go through the middle and to use the corners and get the ball into the D… and all four goals were quite similar. My players really listened and accepted what I was saying and that’s why they were successful.”
“It was also very hot and a little uncomfortable [at the venue], very humid inside and it was taking a lot of energy from both teams. I told my players to conserve their energy and move the ball more, and they did that well and I was very confident of holding the advantage,” Mentai said.
“[On a possible playoff surge] As I said from the beginning, we need to improve our playing before setting goals that are too high. This result gives the players high motivation to continue the competition, but each game is different and you cannot predict anything.”
“I’m not looking a month ahead, at the moment we just think about the next match against Mascot. I don’t like to put pressure on the players that they have to be in the finals, that they have to win; I just ask them to do what I want them to and have fun with the game, and we can see how we go.”
Northside’s penchant for close games continues with a gasping 18th one-goal result coming in just their 38th league match (over three seasons). Only veteran clubs Campbelltown (30 close-calls across nine seasons), Mascot (29 in 10) and Inner West (27 in 10) boast more heart-attack scorelines.
Remarkably, almost a quarter of UTS’ close-calls have come against the Mountain side. In fact, this could be considered the tightest premier league rivalry with four of six encounters finishing in a one-goal result to go with a 2-2 draw earlier this season and a ‘blowout’ 5-3 victory to Majik last year. The overall ledger leans slightly Mountain’s way with three wins to Northside’s two.
Magic edge Boomerangs
Inner West held their nerve to register a tight 2-1 win over a gallant Boomerangs at the AIS Training Halls, the result extending Magic’s lead at the top of the ladder to six points over Dural and Enfield.
The competition leaders showed their mettle early and were well in control when Daniel Fogarty got on the scoreboard in fortunate circumstances midway through the term, a deflection landing at his feet at the top of the D with the ensuing strike flashing past Boomerangs keeper Ashley Collins into goal.
Fogarty’s now scored in the last four encounters between the sides and Magic’s 1-0 halftime lead probably should’ve been more as the Territorians really didn’t get going until midway through the second term when they managed some solid possession in the lead up to their equaliser, excellent ball movement freeing up Michael Rinaudo at the far post to make it 1-1.
With the game in the balance veteran Zeballos gave Inner West the final edge when his shot clipped a defenders heel and a reflexed Collins could only palm it onto the inside post into goal for Magic to claim a 2-1 win – and put the icing on a massive 27 point club championship haul.
Inner West mastermind Matteo Maiorana applauded his side’s tenacity despite missing key players Roberto Maiorana, Adam Cooper, Daniel Vellonio and Michael Cimino.
“The game was a close encounter from beginning to end but our experience prevailed,” he said. “It was always going to be difficult; the Boomers are a young side who never give in. We had in the back of our minds what happened last time we played them [rescuing a late 3-3 draw], we remained focused and made sure we claimed the three points.”
“Our squad was stretched this weekend… once again our young boys proved more than adequate. Kristian [Boomerangs coach Collins] should thank his brother [Ashley] in the Boomers goal, who made some outstanding saves to keep their team in it.”
“I don’t know if the score truly reflected the game as we dominated and created many chances; but take nothing away from them, they are a good side,” Maiorana commented.
“The results went our way today so destiny is in our hands. The club championship and open men’s premiership in the same year has never been done before, so the club is extremely focused.”
Kristian Collins was a little disappointed with the defeat but couldn’t hide his pride. “It was a great game, it really was, and you win some and lose some,” he said. “It’s frustrating because we had the chances in the second half to get a result, maybe not good enough for the win but a draw would’ve been a fair result on the balance of the game.”
“They had the lion’s share of possession in the first half, which is what you expect against teams with several internationals in them. We defended well and took control of possession a little bit more in the second term, we even had them chasing shadows for a couple of minutes before Michael Rinaudo scored.”
“Looking at where we were 12 months ago, our improvement is definitely showing. We’re considered a more worthy opponent in recent times and earning some deserved respect from the big Sydney teams,” Collins said.
“A lot of our efforts are in heading toward the F-League as well. We want to build year-on-year with a solid group of players, and these improvements are all stepping stones in the right direction.”
“[On a chance to figure in the playoffs, Collins said fourth-placed] UTS have to play the top three teams plus us, while we only have to play Enfield and the bottom three teams. On the balance of fixtures I think if we can knuckle down and take 10 points in the run home we’re a realistic chance of making the finals.”
“We haven’t played a finals series in a while now, I think since the 2014 F-League, so it’d be nice for the boys to get a bit of a reward for their efforts.”
It’s a close rivalry between the clubs and Inner West claim four wins to three Boomerangs successes plus a 3-3 draw earlier this season – and half their eight meetings have been decided by a goal. The Territorians boast the biggest result however with a 9-5 win in Tuggeranong three summers ago.
Warriors crush Rovers
Dural Warriors leapfrogged Enfield Rovers into second place following a 10-2 demolition at The Centre that sent a clear message to the competition’s high-end rollers that the dash to the line ain’t over yet.
The home side was always in control and commanded a 4-0 halftime scoreline, and they were seven up before a goalmouth scramble own-goal finally put Enfield on the board, Warriors cruising to an eight-goal victory on the back of Samuel De Oliveira, Vic Koutsoufis and Brendon Hoyer hat-tricks.
Dural’s really holds the wood over Enfield with 12 wins from 17 encounters (three draws), and nine of the victories have been by three or more goal margins – this one the biggest of the lot!
It was also an eighth double-figure Warriors score (Enfield next with four, Campbelltown two) and coach Rob Varela was chuffed.
“I’m pleased with the performance; very high intensity in defence, we moved the ball around quite well and took our chances. Still no Greg [Giovenali] on the court, but it is only three points… we are still looking for consistency,” he said.
“We played well and it was one of those games where you plan things and work on things at training and they come off. We talked about this game being the start of the season and we need good results from here on end, but we really needed to win this one to have any chance of a top-two finish. We just can’t afford any slip-ups and have some hard games coming up.”
“[On reaching double-figures against a team coming second in the comp] We create lots of chances in every game and when you put them away you can score high. But when you look at the goalscorers: 18-year-old Youth player Samuel de Oliveira got three, Vic Koutsoufis is still improving and got three, Glenn Kelshaw who’s not a known goalscorer chipped in – everyone’s working hard.”
The eight-goal margin was Enfield’s heaviest defeat since entering the competition in 2010, and they’ve only conceded double-figures once before – an 11-7 loss to Dural three years ago. On the flipside, perennial goalscorer Shervin Adeli’s consolation goal meant he’s found the back of the net in an eye-popping 11 contests between the sides.
Rovers coach Ernie Bivona offered no excuses for his team’s underwhelming performance against the red-hot champions.
“Dural played a very intense and clinical 50 minutes – I was very impressed with their performance. The holiday break always hurts us; that was the first time we got together from the [last] game. In saying that, Dural were very sharp!” he said.
“I’ll take the blame as I didn’t prepare the team and got the tactics wrong. The lads gave it everything they had; it was very hot and they were playing under some personal emotions. We missed a lot of our chances and Dural were very fast to get behind the ball and win it back. In the end all I can say is well played Dural.”
Next week’s games
Football NSW Select Futsal Premier League round 11 Saturday night features South Coast Taipans against Inner West Magic at the University of Wollongong Sports Hub (5.40pm), UTS Northside versus Dural Warriors at Sydney Boys High School (6.40pm), Boomerangs FS welcome Enfield Rovers to the AIS Training Halls (7.20pm), and Mascot Vipers host Mountain Majik at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre (8.50pm). Visit the Football NSW website (Futsal tab) for full details.
-By Dan De Nardi
