SELECT Futsal Premier League – Round 3 Open Women’s Review
The 2018-19 SELECT Futsal Premier League round-three saw Inner West Magic beat Dural Warriors 3-0, UTS Northside down Eastern Suburbs Hakoah 3-0, Mountain Majik edge Enfield Allstars 4-3, and a 2-2 draw between Mascot Vipers and Campbelltown Quake.
Harry Potter rules the points table with Magic and Majik on top following perfect three-from-three starts (they face each other this weekend!), UTS (6 points) shuffling into third spot ahead of Campbelltown (4), Easts (3) and Dural (3) – but it’s early days and history’s surely on everyone’s side.
The glorious rise and agonising fall of the open women’s competition has seen more than just an incredible five different champions over the past five years, there’s also been some absorbing roller-coaster rides for some clubs.
2012/13 champions Mascot fell to sixth the following year and dead-last the next – but something sparked in 2015 because they jumped from a fifth-placed finish to a 2016/17 premiership-championship double!
They’re not the only ones to ride the yo-yo string of top-flight Futsal as Enfield placed sixth in 2013/14 then won the championship two years later, and have been bottom-two the last two seasons.
Even consistency is a fleeting reward: Dural’s the only club to feature in the last six post-seasons, Inner West five times, and they’ve both only won the decider once, while opportunistic Mascot have two titles to their name from just three playoff trips.
So just how important is every game?
Well, only once in the past six women’s comps has a fifth-placed side fell more than a single result short of a finals berth (when South Coast finished four points behind fourth-placed UTS in 2016/17, but Taipans had a final-round fixture vs bottom-side Enfield cancelled as it had no bearing on the standings).
And there’s always someone with a target on their back: Northside have been that fourth-placed side feeling the playoff pinch for the last three years running.
But sneaking into the finals is one thing; you’d better aim high to guarantee a seat at the grand-final table as the championship decider’s been a top-two battle the last five years running.
[In the last six years] Inner West claim the premiership high-mark with 37 points earned in 2015/16 (36 last summer), and also hold the highest minimum-score registered for a finals berth finishing 2012/13 fourth with 23 points. That season was a real doozie with Mascot (28) inching both Dural and Campbelltown to the premiership post by a solitary point.
Inner West Magic 3-0 Dural Warriors Valentine Sports Park
UTS Northside 3-0 Eastern Subs Hakoah PCYC Dee Why
Enfield Allstars 3-4 Mountain Majik Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre
Mascot Vipers 2-2 Campbelltown Quake All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre
Magic cast off Warriors
Inner West Magic were decisive in a 3-0 shutout of Dural Warriors at Valentine Sports Park on Saturday evening.
The home side looked in control throughout and turned a 2-0 halftime lead into a three-goal victory, Ceyda Cambaz, Ashleigh Palombi and Rhianna Pollicina scoring a goal each.
The scoreline could’ve been more had Brianna Clarke not pulled off some remarkable saves in between the sticks for Dural, including a brave double-stop to deny Inner West’s Tori Tumeth in front of goal, but in truth the defending champs put on a Futsal masterclass.
While Ceyda Cambaz led the way for Magic, their squad included five players under the age of 16 as coach Matteo Maiorana heralded a new dawn for the club.
“I thought we were fantastic. Magic and Dural have a massive rivalry so our girls knew they needed to be up for this game,” he said. “Other than a 10-minute period at the start of the second half where Dural had a lot of the ball, we completely dominated.”
“If it wasn’t for their goalkeeper [Clarke], who was a standout, the score could’ve been more.”
Magic now have two cleansheets in three runs, but perhaps face their biggest challenge in a top-two showdown versus Mountain Majik this weekend.
Northside nudge Easts
UTS Northside made thrift work of talent-laden Eastern Suburbs in a commanding 3-0 win at PCYC Dee Why on Saturday night.
Grace Arnold scored on the quarter-hour to put the home side in front and UTS continued to frustrate Hakoah in the second term, Daisy Arrowsmith doubling the advantage just after the half-hour before Sara Piriz put the icing on the cake with Northside’s third goal six minutes from fulltime.
Easts have leaked 12 goals in the first three games.
Mountain outshine Allstars
Mountain Majik came from 3-0 down at halftime to steamroll Enfield Allstars 4-3 in a scintillating affair at Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre.
Zoe Zaczek put an energised Enfield on the board early with a ninth-minute goal that was soon compounded by a quick double-strike from Dominique Caridad and Jo-Anne Saliba nearing halftime to make it 3-0 to Allstars at the changeover.
But the Mountaineers are on a rampage of late and Tanya Borazio pegged one back on the half-hour before crafty Ashlie Crofts turned the game right on its head with a 10-minute hat-trick that catapulted Majik 4-3 in front with seven minutes to play.
Both sides threw themselves at goal but the score stayed unchanged as Mountain continued their perfect start to the season and Allstars remained win-less despite another good showing.
Mountain club official Adam Barbera was pleased with the outcome, but could’ve done with less drama.
“Very happy to get the result against a team who pushed us all the way,” he said.
“We started the game well but failed to match Enfield’s intensity as the half progressed, made a couple of costly defensive mistakes which led to us conceding, and were probably our own worst enemy with the ball as we constantly butchered good chances.”
“At halftime we just asked the girls to keep to the basics, move the ball quicker and press with more intensity as we knew we would have the legs to outrun Enfield.
“It was very pleasing to see the girls never lost their composure and they all believed if we kept to our game plan we’d get the goals and win… we left it late, but we knew we could’ve performed better.”
Majik notched up their 15th goal of a sizzling summer.
Quake levels Mascot
Mascot Vipers and Campbelltown Quake fought out a thrilling 2-2 draw at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday night.
It was a ding-dong battle all the way as Jemma Crane and Stephanie Haaring goals for Campbelltown cancelled out a first-half Natasha Aitken strike for Mascot.
Staring down a third straight defeat Vipers stirred in the second period and a second Aitken goal put them back on level terms, and the sides finished all square at the hooter.
Next week’s games
SELECT Futsal Premier League round-4 Saturday matches starts with a top-of-the-table clash between Mountain Majik and Inner West Magic at Blacktown Leisure Centre (3.10pm), Campbelltown Quake host UTS Northside in a third-vs-fourth battle at Minto Indoor Sports Centre (3.50pm), Dural Warriors welcome Mascot Vipers to The Centre (5.50pm), and Eastern Suburbs Hakoah face Enfield Allstars at All Sorts Indoor Sports centre (7.50pm).
-By Dan De Nardi
