SELECT Futsal Premier League – Round 2 Preview
The 2018-19 SELECT Futsal Premier League kicked off in fine style and now it’s round-two action: Campbelltown Quake vs Inner West Magic blockbuster at Minto Indoor Sports Centre (4.50pm), UTS Northside vs Mascot Vipers at PCYC Dee Why (7.20pm), Enfield Allstars vs Dural Warriors at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre (8.05pm), Eastern Suburbs Hakoah vs Mountain Majik at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre (8.50pm).
It’s a battle for the ages when Campbelltown Quake meet Inner West Magic at Minto Indoor Sports Centre. The head-to-head stands 12-9 to Inner West (2 draws) over an 11-year time-span, and Magic walloped Campbelltown 7-0 in their last run at Minto in February to give them some real stick heading into the fixture. On the other hand, Quake are determined to challenge the big guns this year and have promised to tighten up on defence to help bridge the gap; this game will sort out where they’re at.
UTS Northside face Mascot Vipers at PCYC Dee Why in a match poised to go either way. Northside were terrific value in a tight 3-4 opening-round loss to giants Inner West, while Mascot held off a very good Eastern Suburbs to draw 1-1 and show they’re also on the post-season radar this season. UTS have beaten Vipers in their last four meetings to hold a 6-2 overall winning edge, yet Mascot hold the two biggest victories between the sides (8-3 and 5-1).
Batten down the hatches it’s Enfield Allstars versus Dural Warriors at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre. Both sides are looking to steady the ship following opening-weekend defeats (Allstars to Quake and Warriors to Majik) but it doesn’t get much tougher than this one. Dural dominate the head-to-head count winning 13 times to Enfield’s three (three draws), but Allstars will be buoyed by an 8-3 victory last time they faced-off at Morris Iemma, where a Shervin Adeli hat-trick took him to 17 goals across the 19 encounters.
Newcomers Eastern Suburbs Hakoah have their hands full when they play Mountain Majik at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre. No weekend was going to be easy for Easts, and they did extremely well to snag their maiden premier league point in a 1-1 draw with Mascot on the weekend. But they now face a Mountain side that just knocked off defending champions Dural 3-2, and they did it without two of their biggest players on the court. Hakoah will relish this opportunity to show their wares on home turf.
-By Dan De Nardi
