2018-19 SELECT Futsal Premier League kicks off this weekend
This weekend sparks the 2018-19 SELECT Futsal Premier League competition and what a fiery summer it’s shaping up to be!
Last summer a see-saw battle between longtime foes saw Dural Warriors pip defending champs Inner West at the premiership post before Magic turned the tables in a major semi-final boil-over, only for Warriors to claim a 4-2 grand final victory and continue their premier league dominance (five ‘double-trophies’ in the past six years).
Campbelltown Quake rubber-stamped their top-flight re-entry with a solid third-place finish just three points off the Warriors pace, a re-branded Enfield Allstars a solitary point behind them, while club champions Mountain Majik and UTS Northside both went close to securing a maiden finals berth for their club.
Veterans Mascot Vipers will want to wipe the slate clean after they picked up their first open men’s wooden spoon… but it’s the addition of Eastern Suburbs Hakoah – Premier League’s 18th entrant – that’s sure to add spice to the top-shelf showdown.
Promotion is well-deserved for the only club to have participated in all 11 second-tier seasons (Western Raiders & Botany Bay next-most with eight each); and Easts’ men’s side also comes backed with plenty of credential having cracked eight finals in those 11 summers to boast a comp-record four premierships (double next-best Raiders) and three championships (Northern Beaches, 2).
The senior men were premiers three-races running from 2009/10-2011/12, finishing first again in 2014/15 and adding three grand final trophies to a bulging sports cabinet over those years; but it wasn’t until last summer’s groundbreaking club championship that Hakoah will finally get a taste of the big time after 11 straight years knocking at the door.
Waiting for the newbies however is a wall of experience! The other seven clubs all feature in the top-eight list of premier league servants – Inner West Magic / Allstars and Mascot Vipers have been there since the 2007/08 start, followed by Campbelltown Quake (10 seasons), Dural Warriors (9), Enfield Allstars / Rovers (8), Mountain Majik (5) and UTS Northside (4).
The other top-eight club is Sydney City Eagles who contested the first six seasons before crashing out in 2012/13.
Mountain Majik vs Dural Warriors 3.20pm Hawkesbury Indoor Stadium
Inner West Magic vs UTS Northside 6.20pm Valentine Sports Park
Enfield Allstars vs Campbelltown Quake 8.05pm Morris Iemma Sports Centre
Mascot Vipers vs Eastern Suburbs Hakoah 8.50pm All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre
Mountain Majik vs Dural Warriors
Mountain Majik welcome Dural Warriors to Hawkesbury Indoor Stadium hoping to break a five-year duck against the premier league giants. All 10 meetings to date have gone Dural’s way, Glen Kelshaw a massive thorn in Majik’s side with nine goals in the fixture including five in the last two encounters – the same goal-difference as the results (a 1-4 and 3-5 loss that followed a tight 2-3 defeat). Mountaineers officials have promised to bring their open men’s side to the same standard as their lofty club position and this opener marks a moment to prove that intent.
Inner West Magic vs UTS Northside
If rivalry is a novel, Inner West Magic versus UTS Northside at Valentine Sports Park is a burgeoning story. Stalwarts Magic have won six of eight meetings yet every contest’s been decided by three goals or less (three by a goal), and a high team-score of six (when Northside toppled Inner West 6-3 in their opening late-2014 clash) is the lowest high-score in any premier league head-to head combination. In fact the pairing averages less than six goals per game together, so expect a grinding tooth-and-nail encounter.
Enfield Allstars vs Campbelltown Quake
Enfield Allstars host Campbelltown Quake in a scorching match-of-the-round billing at Morris Iemma Sports Centre. Quake’s beaten Allstars the last four occasions (including last summer’s knockout final) to edge the head-to-head nine wins to eight, Campbelltown’s Mark Symington (22) and Enfield’s Shervin Adeli (17 goals) leading the way. But while it’s always a great battle on the court the real winners are fans who’ve witnessed a remarkable 9.4-goal game-average. Danny Martinez has sizzled in recent fixtures scoring 10 goals in the last five meetings.
Mascot Vipers vs Eastern Suburbs Hakoah
It’s probably a fitting appearance measure as newly-promoted Eastern Suburbs Hakoah face last-season’s bottom-side Mascot Vipers in a first-up premier league battle at All Sorts Indoor Sports centre. There’s little background here as Mascot’s been a top-flight entrant for 11 years, the same amount of time Easts have toiled away in tier-two. What is definitely underlined is the clubs’ support credentials, and this should be a firecracker of a maiden fixture.
Next week’s games
SELECT Futsal Premier League round-2 Saturday matches starts with a Campbelltown Quake versus Inner West Magic blockbuster at Minto Indoor Sports Centre (4.50pm), UTS Northside tackle Mascot Vipers at PCYC Dee Why (7.20pm), then Enfield Allstars against Dural Warriors in a classic at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre (8.05pm), and Eastern Suburbs Hakoah meet Mountain Majik at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre (8.50pm).
-By Dan De Nardi
