Round 11 Review – SELECT Futsal Premier League
Round 11 of the 2016/17 Football NSW Select NSW Premier League saw Inner West defeat South Coast 5-2, Dural punch UTS Northside 5-1, Boomerangs shock Enfield 4-3, while Mountain Majik came from behind to down Mascot 7-4.
Inner West (28 points) lead Dural (22) ahead of this weekend’s pivotal fixture, with both teams assured of semi-final berths. Enfield (19) is next followed by a besieged UTS (14) that has Boomerangs (13), Majik (13) and Mascot (10) breathing down their playoff necks, South Coast (6) now too far behind to make the post-season.
The Golden Boot race tightened with Dural’s Vic Koutsoufis (13), Majik’s Jordan Guerreiro (13) and Enfield’s Michael Kouta (12) the most likely, and Rovers star Shervin Adeli (9), Mountain man Manual Duarte (9) and Magic’s Daniel Fogarty (9) still in the picture – 19 others have managed 5-7 goals for the summer.
South Coast Taipans 2 (Matt Mazevski 2) Inner West Magic 5 (Jonathan Barzel 2, Daniel Fogarty, Chris Zeballos, Miles Downie)
UTS Northside 1 (Nathan Amore) Dural Warriors 5 (Blake Rosier 2, Nathan Niski 2, Vic Koutsoufis)
Boomerangs FS 4 (Ben Basser-Silk, Jason O’Dwyer, Callum Smith, Michael Rinaudo) Enfield Rovers 3 (Anthony Tomelic 3)
Mascot Vipers 4 (Julian Rinaldi, Conor Quiligan, Shu Torihara, Luke Okuda) Mountain Majik 7 (Manuel Duarte 2, Jordan Guerreiro 2, Andrew Luttringer 3)
Magic overpower Taipans
Inner West Magic overcame a stubborn South Coast Taipans 5-2 at the University of Wollongong Sports Hub to place a fingertip on the premiership trophy – four points from the last three rounds will end Dural’s five-year accolade dominance (the last team to win an open men’s premiership or championship was first-past-the-post Enfield in 2011/12).
The visitors led barely three minutes into the game when Jonathan Barzel latched onto a neat Chris Zeballos pass to the edge of the D, only to see Taipans return fire with a well-taken Matt Mazevski goal restoring parity moments later, the two sides trading barbs up until the break to register a tight 1-1 scoreline.
Barzel and Daniel Fogarty goals immediately after the restart gave Inner West a bit of breathing space before a second Mazevski strike pulled South Coast back to 3-2 down midway through the half to make for an interesting finish; but a Zeballos bomb and Miles Downie strike in the closing five minutes ensured Magic’s 5-2 victory.
The Sydneysiders have won all six encounters between the clubs quite comfortably, a 5-3 success in their late-2011 debut clash the closest it’s ever been – but then, Inner West have had quite the season.
A fifth straight triumph equals Magic’s record from the 2014/15 summer, a seventh unbeaten home game is already a new club benchmark, and their third straight away win is just one short of top marks they set in 2014/15 and 2012/13… if they beat Dual this week they claim their first open men’s premiership since the 2009/10 summer (Dural’s first year in the top–flight).
Inner West head honcho Matteo Maiorana said the solid run against South Coast was excellent preparation for this week’s top-two battle (particularly as Magic inflicted the Warriors’ biggest ever league loss in their 7-2 round-five pasting).
“The first half was a tight encounter, we still created plenty of chances but just couldn’t finalise them. The second half was a different story – three shots and three goals to put the game away in an excellent five-minute salvo,” he said.
“The boys are looking good: the senior boys in Fogs [Fogarty] and Zebba [Zeballos] are leading the team, the younger boys are making excellent contributions, and we have the best goalkeeping combination in the country. With a few more boys coming back from injury the team is looking extremely strong at the moment.”
“Whenever Miles [Downie] gets his name on the scoresheet [coach Stephen] Knighty is extra happy, so it was a good day all round for the team and the club,” Maiorana said.
“Next week we take on Dural, who are in excellent form. It’s always a massive clash when we play each other and we know that a win will seal the premiership.”
Taipans coach Bobby Mazevski watched another even contest slip away from his young brigade. “I thought we defended well in the first half and forced their goalkeeper into a few good saves as well,” he said.
“It’s not the first time this year where we’ve effectively lost the game inside the opening five minutes of the second half [and] two quick goals to Magic put them in control. I’m left a little frustrated that we just haven’t been able to put 50 minutes [of Futsal] together often enough this year.”
Mazevski’s on the mark talking up a better defensive effort from South Coast this season. While they’ve leaked a competition-high 52 goals, it’s still considerably better than 80 and 82-goal concessions from their other two premier league campaigns.
Dural defeat Northside
A second-half splurge saw Dural Warriors fly past UTS Northside 5-1 at Sydney Boys High School, setting up a drooling do-or-die match-up at top-placed Inner West this weekend.
The Warriors battled hard for a 1-0 halftime edge, returned Blake Rosier grabbing the only goal of a tough first half, and the club champion netted again straight after the restart to double Dural’s advantage.
The visitors then powered to an unassailable 5-0 position with Nathan Niski scoring twice and Vic Koutsoufis also chiming in before Nathan Amore scored a Northside consolation.
Dural’s sixth win over UTS in as many meetings saw them stake outright second spot on the ladder six points behind Magic with three rounds left to play, while Warriors weapon Vic Koutsoufis searches for one more brace that would see him join an elite nine-man group that’s scored five or more doubles in a premier league season.
Both Giovenali brothers were missing from the fray and Dural coach Rob Varela was only just satisfied, particularly with a top-two dogfight against Magic looming this weekend.
“We dominated possession throughout, our defence very tight, and we ran away with it in the second half,” he said. “I’m quite happy with our performance but we need to improve to be competitive against Inner West next week.”
Boomerangs upset Enfield
Boomerangs FS sprung a 4-3 surprise on top-three Enfield Rovers at the AIS Training Halls to remain in the playoff picture now one point behind fourth-placed UTS Northside.
The Territorians showed plenty of courage early on to match it with their more fancied opponents and even take a 2-1 lead at oranges, standing toe-to-toe with Enfield in the second half to round out an edgy 4-3 victory – their first success against Rovers since late 2012 (Enfield still boast five wins in eight meetings).
Ben Basser-Silk, Jason O’Dwyer, Callum Smith and Michael Rinaudo scored for Boomerangs, while Enfield whirlwind Anthony Tomelic finished with a hat-trick for the losing side to take his season tally to seven goals following an opening round four-for against South Coast.
Only four others have scored more hat-tricks than Tomelic in a premier league season – team-mate Shervin Adeli claimed four in both the 2013/14 and 2014/15 campaigns, while three players boast three summer triples in Mascot’s Mitchell Stamatellis (2013/14), Campbelltown’s Mark Symington (2012/13) and Boomerangs ace Daniel Fulton (2011/12).
The eight-contest fixture has certainly produced some big individual performances over the years with Adeli, Fulton and Rovers player Dominic Cox all scoring hat-tricks in the past, while Fulton and Enfield veteran Lachlan Wright have also tallied league-high five-goal games – a mark only reached on four other occasions in the competition’s 10-year history.
Enfield are winless in their past three outings and face besieged UTS this weekend, leaders Inner West the week after, and a desperate Mascot in the final round. From competition pace-setters early in the season, Rovers are facing a distinct possibility they may miss the finals altogether if they don’t pull their socks up.
Majik storm past Vipers
Mountain Majik came from three goals down to defeat Mascot Vipers 7-4 at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre and catapult to within one-point of fourth-placed UTS Northside.
It was all Mascot to start the game and Julian Rinaldi, Conor Quiligan and Shu Torihara goals raced them to a 3-0 scoreline before the Mountain side rumbled into action and four goals of their own elevated the visitors to a 4-3 halftime edge.
The Majik momentum continued into the second term with a further three counter-attack goals racking up a four-goal buffer midway through the half, Vipers grabbing a consolation goal to round out a 7-4 result – Andrew Luttringer completing a hat-trick to go with Jordan Guerreiro and Maunel Duarte doubles.
Guerreiro obviously likes playing Mascot while team-mate Duarte scored in an eighth game this season and can join a band of 10 players who’ve scored in 10 or more games during a season – Enfield superstar Shervin Adeli managed a perfect 16 straight scoring games in 2014/15, while Greg Giovenali has done it three times.
It’s a fascinating rivalry between the clubs: Majik won the first three meetings and Vipers claimed the next three before a thrilling 4-4 round-four draw at Blacktown, when the Mountaineers blew an early 3-0 lead of their own and watched on in horror as a last-ditch Mascot penalty leveled the game.
Mountain coach Babak (Bobby) Menati was very pleased with the outcome this time round. “The court was very sleepy and difficult for us to play our Futsal, but they were used to it and scored three very good goals in the first 10 minutes. Mascot did show they are very young but that already they know how to play with each other,” he began.
“I told you last week that I always talk with my players about how every game is different; that the ability is there, I just need to work on their enthusiasm and motivation.
“I had a plan at the beginning of the game. I wanted to try and attack their middle and make them make the long passes – make them have more risk to lose the ball – and we canceled their attack many times,” he said.
“At halftime the game was quite intense and I told my players to calm down and [reminded them] that the game is not finished; it was dangerous being just one goal in front.
“There was also one sentence I wanted my players to remember – that every single game from now is a grand final for us. It is difficult for my young players to know how to come back from 3-0 down, and I’m very glad of them to be able to do this.”
With an historic maiden finals campaign back within reach Menati was determined to stay realistic in the face of much excitement.
“This game is now history; tomorrow the players must be completely ready for the next team. We don’t think South Coast is bottom of the ladder, we were as well at one stage and every game is unpredictable – Taipans beat Dural 2-0. We will prepare for next weekend like we’re playing against a champion team,” he said.
“I’m not looking at being in the grand final; my players need to grow more mentality through experience, and have fun. It took a while, but they are getting used to playing the Futsal I want them to… I do my job and rest is up to them.
“I do see a bright future for Futsal in Australia, not just in my team but other teams like Mascot. I see a lot of young players who are really skilful and, by God, they need to be looked after to help them grow professionally, and not left until they’re 25 and 26.”
Mascot’s predicament is quite stark. While their defence is the best its ever been (37 goals conceded way below 75 and 81 goal marks registered in the past few years, and potentially better than 47 leaked in last season’s remarkable campaign), it’s a spluttering offence that’s dragged them down the chain as 30 goals in 11 matches sits 20 short of the past five season tallies.
Next week’s games
Football NSW Select Futsal Premier League round 12 Saturday night features Mountain Majik versus South Coast Taipans at Blacktown Leisure Centre (4.40pm), UTS Northside host Enfield Rovers at Sydney Boys High School (6.40pm), Boomerangs FS welcome Mascot Vipers to the AIS Training Halls (7.20pm), and Inner West Magic play Dural Warriors at Valentine Sports Park (7.40pm). Visit the Football NSW website (Futsal tab) for full details.
-By Dan De Nardi
